Fictional representations of post-crash economy?

not in NYC

 

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except hiding your eyes when the monster came out...

 

My grandfather and grandmother owned a country store for over 35 years, where you could buy almost anything including groceries, all types of meats, shoes, work clothes, livestock feed, and practically anything else needed in a rural setting. The store was heated by a potbellied coal-fired stove, where the old timers gathered in the evening.
At that time, in the mid 1950’s they sold Gulf gasoline at under 30 cents a gallon and my favorite Orange Crush soda was 7 cents. Of course, they always returned my Merc dime on a soda purchase and allowed me to search the change drawer for collector coins during off hours when I visited them. That was the start of my lifelong hobby.
Thanks @Inspector43 for rekindling fond memories of my grandparents during this time of the year!
Happy New Year All!
Dan

 

@buckeye73 Thanks for your memories. Collecting was way different back then. I have similar recollections. If you are interested, I posted a message about my early collecting activities. It became a Featured post. Here is a link to it:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/building-a-twentieth-century-circulation-collection.385921/

 

I'll have an RC and a Moon Pie

 

And think about Hemp as your cash crop like the Amish are doing.

 

I'd happily pay those prices if it was possible where I live.

 

I have had discussions with employers over the years - especially with ones I was at for a while when they would give me no raise, or a tiny raise (2 percent) that they were cutting my pay given inflation. Like many - eventually I had to leave to get a decent boost in pay at another company. Lots of folks quitting these days over the same thing. My current company is struggling to hire folks these days, and the cost of trying to replace folks who left is hitting our bottom line as well.

 

And nothing was ever bad in the "good ole days"? Pure bliss and maple sugar!! LOL

 

I dunno, in a crash scenario, there certainly will be people looking for gold or silver in exchange for goods, but it's more of a store of wealth than it is a transnational currency, I think it would revert to barter, I have this, you have that, be it tools or labor, or knowledge, and an agreement is struck to where both parties get what they want.

I mean, you can't live in silver or gold, you can't eat it, if everything crashes, it's the ones that have a trade or skill and tools or knowledge to grow or gather food that have something everyone wants and will trade for, not the guy with some merc dimes.

But yes, once basic needs are met and you have shops and shopkeepers and "extras" then you'd have the need to store wealth, and people wanting coin of some sort to store the wealth beyond their needs, you wouldnt want 250 pounds of beef sitting around going bad let's say, so then silver or gold comes into play..... If I have all needs met, nothing I want, I have abundance, sure I'll take some gold or silver in exchange for the extra I have, but let's say I need roof work done and don't have tool or material, better believe I'm going to exchange food for the roof work instead of silver. Silver might not get me what I need, but food or service to exchange is more powerful a tool.

this is why most of the "collapse" stories don't hit on the economy side of things beyond the collapse, because reality is, there isn't much of one and most of it's person to person barter for a long time until there is a structure set up and in place and a market of some sort, and a bank, and ect. it's kind of "down the road" after the dust is well settled.

I mean, in middle of nowhere Alaska, sure you can buy some things if you travel to a store, but trading something for something else with neighbors is huge even nowadays because money won't keep you safe, fed and warm, even if it's labor for labor, or labor for tool, or tool for tool, ect. ect. that's what gets everyone over the hump.

And seriously, I have no earthly idea what the bottle caps thing is about and don't think it would ever be a thing in real life,,, unless water were scarce and they were valued for capping off bottles full of water. still makes no sense really it's a useless item I can't imagine people would want or need for anything.

 

Gallon of milk . . . $3.50
Loaf of bread . . . $2.50
2 BR apartment . . . $1900/mo
Gallon of gasoline . . . $3.50
Average new car . . . $46,000
Not sure where Tough coins lives.
Here is my scenario

Gallon of milk... 2.65
Loaf of bread... 2.00
2br house... 1495
Gallon of Gasoline... 2.75
Avg new car is probably still the same.
All these prices are higher than usual. except the house I have been here for 9 years and the price has only gone up $50/M.
That is a lot when your income pretty much stays the same.

 

There is a good book called “The Mandibles” by Lionel Shriver which came out a few years ago. Its about an obnoxious rich family who becomes impoverished when the US dollar becomes essentially worthless after a new crypto currency becomes accepted worldwide as a replacement to the USD as the international reserve currency. The novel is supposed to be darkly comic and satirical, but it’s portrayal of how miserable and uncomfortable life would become if your money suddenly lost all of its value is actually pretty scary… I do remember in the book the tax police, called SCAB (social contribution assistance bureau) visit homes of those suspected of “not paying their fair share” in evermore crushing taxes and use metal detectors to search for hidden contraband gold and silver which has become illegal to own. It’s the only book I’ve ever read which is hilariously funny and also scared the hell out of me. Interesting to note that a book written probably 10 years before the great Covid panic of 2020 foresaw the scarcity of toilet paper as a significant outcome of a financial collapse - Ha!

 

sounds like an Ayn Rand novel

 

1984 was supposed to be a work of fiction, not an instruction manual.

 

is that what you think you're living in right now?

 

I think it was Ray Bradbury who said it: "I'm not trying to predict the future, I'm trying to prevent it."

 

I grew up in Ypsilanti, MI but never thought I was raised by lowed income parant durin a tiem wen most eryone treeted eachuva wif respects. We din't eat a lot of farst foods because it was konsidered a treat, not food groop. We drunk Cool-Aid made from water THAT CUM FRUM ARE KITCHEN SINKS! with REEL SUGERS! We ate baloney samwitches, or even tunafishes (witch was incan not a pouch), M&PB&J, girlsd cheese samwitches, hogdogs, potpies, butt mustly homade meels consisting of manly dough, meat, potatooees, vegertable, bread & butter, and homade desert.
We grew up durin a time whens we mows lawms, pulls weeds, babeshat, helper naybors with chores urns us own money. we went outside a lot to play games, ride bikes, red rocket, dodgerballs, run wit siblins and fiends & played hide and seek. We drunk water frum the hoss outside... bottled water jut wan'nt heard of. If we had a coke -it was in a glass bottle ... and we took them empties back to the store for a dime. Coke frum a can my daddies gto coulda jump it
We watched TV shows like Bananzas, Leave Itto Beaver, Grilligran's Island, Happy Day, Bebitched, The Brady Guys, Tiny House On The Prairie, and I Love Lucille. After scool, we cam home an did homwork n chores befor goin outside or havin friends over. We would ride our bike four hours. We ad to teell our pappy where we was going, who we were going with, and what time we'd be back.
U LURNED from yer parent instad of disreespecing thum and treeting thum asif theys knews absolootly nuffin. Wat theys saids was LAW and u dint it, and you hud bettar no it!!!
When thas suns wasa startsin to sets you hads bettar bee home. In scool we saids the Pledges of Allegiances, we stoods up fer tha Natonal Antham and listenud to our teachsher.
We watch wat we says arond r elder becaz we knews if we DISRESPECCED any grown-up we wud get r behind whoop, it wan't call aboose, it waz call discipline! We held tha doors, carries groceries, and gavup r seet for an oldfolk wiffut bein assked. You din't heer cuss words on tha radio in songs or TV, and if you cuss and got cought you gut ur mouf washed out and had to stand in the corner. “Pleese, Thankus, yesa pleace nothanku where part of r daeily vocabulary!
You growed up too respects the Nasheen, the flags, and the Prarsidant, NO MATTER HOO it was or wat party they where from.
Re-post if your thankfuls for your chilhoods and will NEVER FORGATS where you cum froms & them times you cum fram! Wudn't it bee nic if it where possibles to get bak to thus waay of lifes? I rally likes that life!!!!!!!!!
Thank you mom and dad and BARB AND DEB AND GARY!

 

But you don't have to stay that way