I was driving around town the other day and observed all of the businesses that are closed, and a wave of sadness hit me. Each of these closed businesses represents an entrepreneur who’s life is devastated right now. Small businesses are the backbone of the USA, and they are being destroyed like never before in history.
I don’t think many people understand how deep this damage goes. The economy is an interconnected web of businesses that serve each other, and ultimately us. There is no such thing as essential businesses or non-essential businesses, nor can you simply turn and economy on and off without destroying people’s lives.
In a previous article I used my father’s business as an example. They make high-end water distillers. They are considered an essential business, and indeed, demand is very high right now. But they have hundreds of products sitting idle on the assembly line because they aren’t able to get a single component in.
Many, many businesses are shut down and will never again reopen.
What history has taught us time and time again, is that when government interferes with this intricate web of business interconnectedness it never turns out good. The effects take a while to trickle through the economy though. One effect that is surely coming is a food shortage.
Right now there are tens of thousands of pigs being slaughtered and buried every day because the distribution system is messed up. It costs farmers a lot to feed these animals, and if they aren’t able to get the meat to the processors, they don’t get paid and thus can’t keep feeding them. Additionally, the pig fetuses are being aborted because farmers can’t risk raising piglets that are not going to make it to market.
This has the potential to be a very serious issue. How serious? It depends upon the level of government interference, and whether we continue to have a stable dollar.
If government will step back and let the markets correct themselves, it will probably be a short-term, minor issue. If however, you think that the governors and other bureaucrats don’t understand how the economy works and have the view that government’s role is to step in and fix everything, then we may be in for some serious trouble - potentially worse than America has ever seen.
Please listen to this interview with Congressman Thomas Massie. This is a VERY important video.
I want to make four points…
Be prepared. Yes, this food shortage may be serious, but it might be. Here’s the thing though, this is a predictable event we see it coming. It’s like a hurricane headed our way in which we have days to prepare, instead of an earthquake that strikes without warning. The time to prepare is NOW. There is no downside of stocking up.
When this happens, do NOT let the government and the media blame the virus. It’s not the virus that caused it, but rather it’s how the government responded to it. The government killed the economy and we let them do it because the general public is not properly educated on how economies work.
We are like people who eat a hamburger without realizing that the meat came from a living animal. The economy is alive, and it feeds us and keeps us safe, yet we shut it down without realizing that we would end up hurting ourselves.
Support local businesses! As soon as you are able, go to the movies. Go to the nursery. Go to your local restaurants. Support them.
Share this message! It’s never easy to share the message of “Get Prepared!” because people don’t want to hear it. They trust what they are being told. But if ever there was a time to share the message of “Get Prepared!” it’s right now.
Do you have anything to add? Let us know in the comments.