Camping Out At Home
An Increasing Number Of Americans Are Living In Their Homes With The Water And The Power Turned Off
"The U.S. economy is literally collapsing right in front of our eyes. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their homes. Others are trying to hang on any way that they can. As more Americans than ever switch over to "survival mode", some strange new phenomenons are occurring. For example, an increasing number of Americans are now living in their homes with the electricity and water turned off. That's right - they are camping out in their own homes without any power and without any running water. In the "richest nation on earth", millions of Americans can no longer afford electricity and water. Utility shut-offs have been rapidly increasing as more Americans than ever before find themselves simply unable to pay their debts. So is this what the American Dream has come to? Sitting in our homes with the water and power turned off?"
I was actually homeless for two summers, in 1979 and 1980, living out of a backpacking tent in the woods at 9000 feet in Wyoming. I was working for the Bridger - Teton National Forest, building fences and fighting forest fires. I drank and bathed in ice cold spring water and chased moose away from the tent so I could get some sleep. Nearest town was 50 miles away and the sky was totally black with incredible stars. Members of my crew made a thousand a week when we shipped out to fires in Idaho and Utah. I was in heaven.
Ever since then I steadily prepared for any eventuality and change of fortune for my wife and me. We're lucky to have a camp trailer and a covered utility trailer, and if the situation warrants it, a canvass outfitter's tent with wood cookstove, cots and some flooring I rigged up. We have backups to backups. I'm saying this because she and I might have to be like those folks mentioned in the article above because of some unfortunate family activity. We have to sell stuff if we want to stay in a house this fall and winter and we're not all that certain we can pay the rent and the bills together. We'll actually be in much better shape than the vast majority of people who choose to cut their electricity off, if that's what we do. We have two portable generators and good well water so we can keep food cool in a refrigerator and have plenty of water for washing, cooking and spraying the garden. Not sure about the internet, but maybe I can bargain with a neighbor or just go sit in the Safeway with a coffee. We'll do what we have to, like the steadily increasing numbers of people across this third wold country. No moose this time though.
"The U.S. economy is literally collapsing right in front of our eyes. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and their homes. Others are trying to hang on any way that they can. As more Americans than ever switch over to "survival mode", some strange new phenomenons are occurring. For example, an increasing number of Americans are now living in their homes with the electricity and water turned off. That's right - they are camping out in their own homes without any power and without any running water. In the "richest nation on earth", millions of Americans can no longer afford electricity and water. Utility shut-offs have been rapidly increasing as more Americans than ever before find themselves simply unable to pay their debts. So is this what the American Dream has come to? Sitting in our homes with the water and power turned off?"
I was actually homeless for two summers, in 1979 and 1980, living out of a backpacking tent in the woods at 9000 feet in Wyoming. I was working for the Bridger - Teton National Forest, building fences and fighting forest fires. I drank and bathed in ice cold spring water and chased moose away from the tent so I could get some sleep. Nearest town was 50 miles away and the sky was totally black with incredible stars. Members of my crew made a thousand a week when we shipped out to fires in Idaho and Utah. I was in heaven.
Ever since then I steadily prepared for any eventuality and change of fortune for my wife and me. We're lucky to have a camp trailer and a covered utility trailer, and if the situation warrants it, a canvass outfitter's tent with wood cookstove, cots and some flooring I rigged up. We have backups to backups. I'm saying this because she and I might have to be like those folks mentioned in the article above because of some unfortunate family activity. We have to sell stuff if we want to stay in a house this fall and winter and we're not all that certain we can pay the rent and the bills together. We'll actually be in much better shape than the vast majority of people who choose to cut their electricity off, if that's what we do. We have two portable generators and good well water so we can keep food cool in a refrigerator and have plenty of water for washing, cooking and spraying the garden. Not sure about the internet, but maybe I can bargain with a neighbor or just go sit in the Safeway with a coffee. We'll do what we have to, like the steadily increasing numbers of people across this third wold country. No moose this time though.
posted by nolocontendere at 8:30 PM
2 Comments:
Wow, it's hard to believe that so many families are forced to switch off power and water because they can't afford it... electricity and water is what separates us from the third world, and it seems that the line is being blurred...
Over the decades where I've lived the utilities went out now and then because of one thing or another. Along with being homeless for a while I really learned my lessons about being prepared for any eventuality and it's possible we may have to shut off our utilities too. But the way we look at it John, is we'll have a roof no matter what and we can always have them turned back on.
IMO we're going to see an epidemic of hardship coming the likes of which will make our heads spin.
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