We need more Self Sufficiency

Once long ago I did a thread on self sufficiency. We discussed what it would take to become self sufficient as a country. A lot of people seemed to think it not worth the effort, or would be too damaging to our economy. In light of recent events I think it pertinent we once again have such a discussion.

I believe we nations, each and every one, is too reliant on other countries, often for basic needs. I think this is folly and foolish on our parts. Trade is good, and so is sharing resources, but I think we've allowed it to get away from us. It's too easy for events like this to potentially cripple everyone. On top of that, it makes each nation beholden to each other regardless of worth in a twisted spiderweb of corruption. It allows corporations, and other entities to hold too much sway and power over nations by allowing them to spread themselves about shifting the locale where various needed resources come from, giving them the power to choke the lifeblood out of nations who refuse to capitulate to their demands.

It is time we think long and hard about putting forth the effort to bring our nation back to true independence, as that's where real strength and freedom comes from. It's why we were the sleeping tiger to be afraid of waking. There's a reason we weren't spread so thin before the world wars, a reason we looked to strengthening our nation first and foremost. There may have been a lot wrong in those days, but this was not one of them.

We need to bring back our independence and truly become the land of the free. We need to figure out how to de-tangle ourselves from the banks and countries without our best interests. If we were all more self sufficient as nations with stronger borders, we'd all be stronger for it.

a reply to: Puppylove

here here

a reply to: Puppylove

Agree with you there Puppylove!

For those concerned about the global warming/climate change/what's it called today? crisis it would also go a long way towards reducing emissions.

Perhaps establishing zones of production where, within a certain region you must be able to produce enough of the basic resources for people could be an option however, dictated by the free markets with minimal government involvement.

Australia can produce I think everything we need (even if it's not processed here any more) and I would quite like to see us look more internally in the next few decades. Oh, and get some nukes. We need nukes.

a reply to: Puppylove

Now I know why I bought 2 acres and a run down bungalow in rural France with it's own well and oodles of fruit trees.

Dig dig dig. Seeds are high on my next shopping list. And sugar for jam making galore.

Anyone want to join me and my cat?

Seriously!

a reply to: Puppylove

It seems the world is too far gone in the terms of globalization. And, honestly, it must be embraced if we as as humanity want to prosper.

I think the future might be filled with more mega coalitions like we have seen with NAFTA or the proposed USMCA, and from there we will all govern trade.

But within such coalitions, we must secure localized societies, Mexico, is Mexico, US is the US, Canada is Canada, for example, but we all help each other out by moving goods and securely let families and immigrants flow to benefit each other. It's going to be tough, but at the core of it all, independence is a key factor.

Humanity is not ready for any sort of global collectivism.

a reply to: strongfp

When push comes to shove, things always become local, if that which is needed isn't present, everyone suffers. Every nation needs to be able to shut it's borders, and care for it's citizenry without need of outside help, because when the chips are down, needs oceans and thousands of miles apart is not acceptable.

a reply to: Puppylove

Absolutely every country in the west lost it's self sufficiency entirely during the great corporate rip off of our nation's when private enterprise was lured away by the cheap labor promised in the far east, this stripped our economy's of job's, impoverished our society's and left the majority of our populace more poor than they otherwise would be, over the last 30 years at least the rate of pay in western factory job's has gone down in real term's when compared to the rate of inflation in these country's.

This was severely exacerbated in nations such as the UK and other's were the selling off of state owned nationally important asset's such as infrastructure, vital industry's that were either part of wholly owned and/or subsidized by western government's became fashionable from the 1980's onward and caused an extreme rapid spiral downward in our real world capability's and self sufficiency - this MISTAKE as I regard it was used to spur short term economic boosts and boom's that have had no real long term national value other than to divide our society's between the have's and the have not's.

The USA is a great model though, it was both large enough to be actually completely self sufficient and had industry that even without the occurrence of the second world war was set to make it the greatest economic power house on the planet, it had no choice but to enter the war against Japan and Nazi Germany but despite the mega boom it's new status as the most powerful nation in the world brought with it through the 50's and 60's the end result of an unfettered capitalist system came to the inevitable fruition of greedy ultra rich elite basically owning almost everything in that nation while the nation is actually it's people and the majority of those people are in real term's very poor, often even more poor than there European counterpart's and ancestral relatives.

For a while though the US was the poster boy for the concept of protectionism, it worked very well BUT not well enough for the elite, however it would have collapsed eventually due to the run away mechanic's of free market capitalism - if that capitalism was regulated though - and several US president's did just that very thing - it would still be a viable system.

Look at the money trail to understand, who own's what, how does international money transfer and corporate secrecy hide the real power players and how can a single man or even a family of such men and woman ever be allowed to control so much of the world when in fact when all thing's are said and done they were fallible human being's that should never have been allowed to secretly rule so much of the world, then again US president's have been assassinated for getting in the way of the money flow in the past.


Now do not get me wrong, I am actually AGAINST protectionism if it is too strong but a mild form of protectionism is actually a good thing, government's keeping vital industry's within there own nation's and more or less under there control even if they are privately owned so that in time's of crisis they can then be called upon to help out the nation,.

Government's willing to subsidize both for economic survivability in unfavorable international markets AND to reward major employers for creating and maintaining decent paying job's in an economy,.

I am also a great proponent of a welfare system that pay's enough to live on to the poorest members of society and keep's them above the minimum standard of acceptable life, they actually spend that money which they receive which then goes back into the retail and other commercial sector's (kind of like an unofficial subsidy and investment by Government that they then make back and more through tax raised),.

This in turn stimulates job's in those sectors and maintain's them when otherwise they would collapse, a good example of the harm 'taking away' a social safety net can do is the British Tory Part's universal credit, sanctioning and inhuman treatment of the unemployed in the UK,.

No sooner hand they CLAMPED down on the British welfare system than the high street's up and down the country started to bleed out through loss of income and revenue,.

Shop's and even major retailer's closed, the supply and logistical job's that ran them, the imports and exports and the British production industry and other industry's that also supplied them ALL began to fold and suffer economically as a consequence,.

The Tory's knew what they were doing but continued and combated people's attempts to stop this by trying to remove people's people's right's (even going so far as to try to limit human right's in some, nay many cases or even outright ignore them AND so that they could not be taken to court they cut Legal Aid (A national system of paying solicitors/lawyer's fee's for the poorest and therefore eligible in society in order to prevent those very people there welfare reform's (actually counter welfare reform's and welfare abolitionism or stage one of it) were harming from prosecuting them and even when people died of starvation in there own home's or on the streets' after being evicted because the Tory's Sanctioning system had cut all there welfare they did not stop for one humane moment of reflection on there cruel policy.

a reply to: nerbot
nerbot, that sounds absolutely lovely!
I am a cat person too! Also have many useful skills. I'm not in the position to up and go right now but boy, it sounds amazing!
Best wishes to you

Can agree we would do well to become more independent. Love the local zones idea, that would be great!

originally posted by: nerbot
a reply to: Puppylove

Now I know why I bought 2 acres and a run down bungalow in rural France with it's own well and oodles of fruit trees.

Dig dig dig. Seeds are high on my next shopping list. And sugar for jam making galore.

Anyone want to join me and my cat?

Seriously!

That actually sounds pretty nice..

I can cook and fix things lol. I'm pretty good at house chores as well. lmao

Well in 90 days you could all be harvesting your own dinner potatoes peas greens fruit. If you start now. Even indoors in pots where there is snow and frost still happening.

Pretty sure there are some farmers in southern states will be looking for a workforce of laborers soon. That used to be imported that offer food, fresh air social isolation. That you can't get in big cities.

Perhaps if someone has a link to those websites that used to hire the crop pickers and planters some Americans can get some jobs.

Government isn't going to be offering temporary work visas this year.

So if you really want to help then this is the year the SJW gets out into the field and shows the solidarity by working and creating, not protesting and destroying.

jobs link a start

So how many are going to dig for victory this year?

a reply to: Puppylove

Good day, hope you're well. Your sentiment is valid, tho unlikely to change sadly.

Best, MS