I do have to make a comment about the Evergreen people loving Walmart.
The majority of the customers that come through my doors hate Walmart and are very happy we opened the store. The others that don't come out as say they hate Walmart will try to purchase local as long as it is within their budget and many who say they can afford more will spend it on a local vendor vs going to Walmart.
We have met so many people up here that want to start businesses but with things the way they are they just can't let go of a job that is making them money.
On another note, we have tried to hire a few people to do work around our home just lately and I will tell you that they either do not show up (and never call to tell us why) or they come 3 hours late and get mad because we are not home.
We have also hired very good people hard workers that were wonderful wish I knew in advance which were which
Certainly a lot will depend on what the circumstances are but my immediate thinking is to put medical skills to work where needed, plant gardens, hunt (using every last bit right down to the tendons for thread and needles), cut and haul firewood and haul water.
I haven't thought to the larger community as I didn't necessarily expect or plan that there would be any really good forms of communication available nor gasoline. My immediate thinking is after immediate parties are secure, and more than likely it will be extended family, friends and neighbors to fan out to the neighborhood to see what is required.
Today, rather than wait til the situation is dire we have been reaching out to neighbors and helping with things that need to be done. Some of the people up here are barely making it now and more than likely will be moving down to the city because they can't make their mortgage or pay for gasoline. But we can help now while they are still here. So it isn't a matter of waiting but doing things now.
And you know VL makes some good points, there will be others who will be desperate enough to take all you have so there may realistically be a need to defend, unfortunately.
bumper sticker - honk if you will pay my mortgage
"The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money." attributed to Margaret Thatcher
"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government." Thomas Jefferson
I don't believe in the "zombie" scenario. If you look back at the Great Depression, people really did reach out to each other, they didn't victimize each other, with rare exceptions. Just came across this link. Surely it would be better to band together as a community than to let people end up like this:
AspenValley wrote: I don't believe in the "zombie" scenario. If you look back at the Great Depression, people really did reach out to each other, they didn't victimize each other, with rare exceptions. Just came across this link. Surely it would be better to band together as a community than to let people end up like this:
America was different in 1929....it had a stronger moral fabric. Today, after decades of liberalism and multiculturism I doubt there it would be as peaceful at the Depression.... take away unemployment and food stamps....and America would be a blood bath.
residenttroll wrote: America was different in 1929....it had a stronger moral fabric. .
Oh thats why? I think it's because they did'nt write about all the horrors of the depression. People did'nt want to hear it so get real Mary Poppins..Greed is as hold as dirt and people will canabilize eachother if things gets bad enough..
mountaindollar wrote: I do have to make a comment about the Evergreen people loving Walmart.
The majority of the customers that come through my doors hate Walmart and are very happy we opened the store. The others that don't come out as say they hate Walmart will try to purchase local as long as it is within their budget and many who say they can afford more will spend it on a local vendor vs going to Walmart.
We have met so many people up here that want to start businesses but with things the way they are they just can't let go of a job that is making them money.
On another note, we have tried to hire a few people to do work around our home just lately and I will tell you that they either do not show up (and never call to tell us why) or they come 3 hours late and get mad because we are not home.
We have also hired very good people hard workers that were wonderful wish I knew in advance which were which
HC I just think your area does better financially because you can get most items there and that keeps the money in your neighborhood. 285 does not have that. IMHO.
I used to have the same problem with some employees as well in my previous business. It is not easy.
otisptoadwater wrote: How about volunteering and giving to charity? If you still have the means to do so be generous with your time and/or money. Regardless of how we got here and who dunnit, reality is that this is the mess we are in and it's up to us to start making right from what is wrong.
I'll stop there otherwise I'll go into what I think about what happened and what parties are at fault...
All the money and labor gets lost when you give it to some bureaucratic charitable organization....I want to go right to where i'm needed the most, and I want the needy to get 100% of what I got to give..
Great Idea, by pass all the BS and do it your self! Which means EVERYONE... who wants to help, give or has an idea needs to take it upon them selves to make the change, get together and peacefully change what is going on! A little hard work never killed anyone!
deltamrey wrote: As predicted for three years - the economy up here is in deep trouble - and the retrogressive attitudes make it much worse. Bailey is probably a lost cause but Conifer has a great future IF it moves to the Evergreen model. The REC District vote tells me we are not ready to move forward
YET. Resistance to change will continue to drag us behind
the wealth flows UP the mountain and we must accommodate those that buy our real estate and services........or continue to lose the economic base that is the engine.
I have been noticing that since the early 70's, especially once you head upstream from Bailey. There used to be a lot of businesses up there, now many are shuttered, never to reopen. Reminds me of the empty storefronts in the rural midwest.
I hear in this thread about older people who still have good skills, but so many men in my generation, (40ish) and younger have below average basic skills, mechanics, electrical, plumbing, etc.
So many have specialized and never learned things outside their niche.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
