Hyperinflation Risks Of The Coronavirus
The coronavirus is all over the news today, and as a result of my reading, I learned a new ‘catchphrase’: Flu-economics. Then I start wondering: is this threatening pandemic leading us to hyperinflation?
The financial costs can be devastating. The stock market has seen its biggest losses since the 2008 global financial crisis. The cost of treating infected people, the massive business losses due to cutbacks, the tourism industry taking a beating, school closings, etc., can be financially devastating.
Hyperinflation gravitates to a period of economic turmoil or depression. We seem to be leaning to that kind of period in time. And if it should occur, most of us won’t last a month in a government collapse brought on by hyperinflation, which can be brought on by a global pandemic such as COVID-19.
Hyperinflation In History
Hyperinflation is a term to describe rapid, excessive, and out-of-control price increases in an economy. While inflation is a measure of the pace of rising prices for goods and services, hyperinflation is rapidly rising inflation.
Although hyperinflation is a rare event for developed economies, it has occurred many times throughout history in countries such as China, Germany, Russia, Hungary, and Argentina.
Investopedia
An indication of economic catastrophe for a country is the inevitable collapse in the value of its currency, otherwise known as hyperinflation. Cases of hyperinflation abound throughout history.
- The most well-known example of hyperinflation was during the Weimar Republic in Germany in the 1920s.(a loaf of bread cost 200,000,000,000 marks)
- The most recent example of hyperinflation is in Venezuela. As of 2019, that country had more than $100 billion dollars in foreign debt.
- In Zimbabwe in 2019, poor economic policies by the government caused hyperinflation there.
Sometimes, governments that are acutely in debt with no way to increase their income levels will start printing money to pay off the number value of their debt. Say your country owes someone several billion dollars. All you must do is print out several billion dollars of currency. How easy is that?
Hold on there! The problem with this is that the increased supply will decrease its value because every currency today is a command and not backed by any particular commodity like gold. And that is where the problems will start.
What are Your Emergency Preparedness Plans
With all that is being said about prepping all over the net, less than one percent of our total population is actively getting ready for a worst-case scenario. That’s amazing, considering that you can buy basic survival supplies in the big box stores.
As I have mentioned several times on this site and others, they won’t take action even if you give most people
the information they need. They might say they will do it but never follow through.
Do you know why they never start? Because they’re still expecting the government to bail them out.
That’s right: Most of our population has learned how to depend on the government. George Orwell’s Big Brother is there to take care of you.
That’s actually rather amazing to me, considering FEMA’s track record. After Hurricane Katrina, they did a horrible job of responding and helping the people out. Later, they didn’t do any better when Hurricane Sandy came along.
Of course, the media covered up the fact that they didn’t do any better after Hurricane Sandy. They didn’t make a big deal out of it as they did with Katrina, but it was still a disaster.
FEMA didn’t even start putting out requests for bids until a couple of days after Sandy struck, and they had several days’ notice that it would hit NYC! How’s that for government red tape?
You see, the government really isn’t prepared to deal with any disasters, let alone one of the nationwide proportions. If the government itself should collapse, then there won’t be any help coming. Yet people will still expect someone to support them in a crisis.
Too many people have become dependent upon the central government for everything. That’s one big thing that makes preppers different from everyone else. They don’t depend upon the system; they’ve decided to depend upon themselves.
When all hell breaks loose such as a pandemic that might lead to a hyperinflation scenario, the dependents will rise up in anger and protest. Only after that doesn’t do any good will they start to take any action for themselves. That crowd of angry people will become a mob and start destroying things because they feel they’re out of options.
These people won’t have any way of taking care of themselves or their families. So, they’re going to do what they’ve been taught to do. They’re going to expect others to take care of them. If the government can’t, they’ll look for whoever can.
You need to be ready for that time. You may have to defend your home, and you may have to bug out. I can’t tell you now which it will be. I know that things will get ugly if the dollar rapidly loses its value.
I have to say; things aren’t looking good. The government and the country are more polarized than ever. There’s a new crisis in Washington every month, and now we have this pandemic going on. Where will it end?
Eventually, the government could run out of money. It’s not about the debt ceiling; it’s about people willing to loan the government money. With all that’s happening, the US government is losing trust quickly.
That’s why we need to be concerned with such things as a survival kit and some survival knowledge. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to depend on FEMA to take care of me. I love my independence too much for that.
I’ll take care of myself.
An Economic Scenario
So how could this run-away inflation start? It begins with a run-a-way effect on the value of a particular item. Such as, a gallon of gasoline costs 2 dollars at the beginning of the process; it can start costing 50, 500, 5000, and even 5 million dollars of currency to buy that same gallon. Soon, everyone’s savings become completely worthless, and unless you prepared beforehand, you up that creek without your paddle and completely and utterly broke.
However, for Western countries, this seems like an unlikely event. However, since 1971, we as U.S. citizens have been able to utilize our green-backs as the only form of money that, for the first time had no currency with any gold or silver backing. This is where you get the saying that U.S. dollars are backed by the “full faith and credit” of the U.S. Government.
Yikes!
Combine that with our $20 trillion-and-climbing debt and this coronavirus thing, and you get a potentially disastrous situation like hyperinflation.
So, suppose we find ourselves in a situation where the inflation rate is starting to climb into double-digit levels. In that case, we want to be emergency prepared for a situation where our money isn’t worth the printed paper.
Hyperinflation preparedness can be broken down into three different time spans – what to do leading up to the crisis, short-term ability to bug out and survive the potential wave of chaos and violence, and some long-term asset production and survival tips in your back pocket.
Survival Strategies After A Collapse
How are you going to prepare for hyperinflation?
You need a plan of attack for when disaster strikes – where will you go both financially and physically?
How are you going to get there?
Long-Term Survival Tips
A post-money life may not be so bad if you’ve practiced your emergency preparedness accordingly. If you’ve stocked first-aid items, food, water, and basic luxury goods such as needed tools, you’ll more than likely have everything you need to get started.
If you developed a skill, begin offering your services to your neighbors. We may be in a bartering economy, and you must learn some bartering skills.
High-value trade items might include weapons, ammunition, food, drugs, tobacco, medicine, coffee, alcohol, and marijuana.
Develop Essential Survival Skills
People need certain things to survive and thrive. Your job is to provide them with the items or services that allow them to do that. This includes carpentry, blacksmithing, farming, or you as an educational resource.
If you own arable land to produce food, start fertilizing it, preparing it, and getting it ready to plant it for the growing season. Your existence may now depend on your assets to start producing value.
Bugging Out For Survival
Mobility is key if you need to get out of town. Also, the usual bug-out bag with food and supplies will be necessary.
A car that has some off-road capabilities is a wonderful asset to have. A small stash of extra parts for it – like extra tires – and some extra fuel will provide you with a safe ride to your out-of-town destination. (Remember, gas has a 6-month useful life expectancy, so change out stored fuel regularly.)
Bring your knowledge, the bartering items, and any other materials for a productive life that you haven’t already moved to your destination with you.
Before Hyperinflation Preparedness Tips
Considering some of these long-term emergency preparedness ideas might be a good idea before approaching an economic collapse.
Invest in a getaway piece of land. Land that can be productive such as having a water source and farm-ready land. People are going to have food issues and will need to eat. Pigs and chicken raising are also high-value assets to keep on your land for fertilizer and food.
Getting away from high-population areas that will be the center of a lot of chaos will increase survival chances a dozen times over.
You may want to invest in foreign assets such as real estate and maybe keep some of your money in a foreign bank that is not dependent on your own economy.
Investing in one of these new digital currencies, such as Bitcoins, might interest you. Be warned that they are not tied to any particular country or their currency. They are extremely volatile, so venture into digital coinage carefully, as you can easily lose everything overnight ‘quick’.
Do not forget the internet if you still have access to it. The digital business offers limitless ways of making a living via your own niche startup or, some meaning, full employment.
Navigate the Financial Storm: Hyperinflation Isn’t the End
Hyperinflation might sound like an economic bogeyman, but you can navigate its treacherous waters with the right knowledge.
First on your to-do list? Diversify your assets, focusing on tangible goods and stable foreign currencies. It’s daunting, but remember: storms don’t last forever.
You can shield your finances from the worst hits with savvy strategies and a calm head. You’ve got the resilience, the insights, and now, the tools. Feel overwhelmed? Reach out, learn more, and remember, you’re not in this alone.
Ready to tackle hyperinflation head-on? Take a deep breath, strategize, and let’s weather this storm together.
Your financial future awaits!
