Utah Shelter Systems and 'the Greater Depression'

Financial institutions are going bankrupt. So are families who suffer home mortgage foreclosures. Jobs are being wiped out. Prices are skyrocketing.

So we're all in this together, right?

Actually, a good number of us are deciding to go it alone. The survivalist movement, unlike the stock market, is surging in numbers, according to an MSNBC report.

You might want to buy stock in Utah Shelter Systems, which manufacturers underground shelters that are designed for surviving the aftershock of a nuclear or biological attack. Sharon Packer is a co-owner of Utah Shelter Systems, and she's not among those who are suffering financially. Like a bomb, business is booming.

The odd aspect is that Utah Shelter Systems did not immediately have a big boom after the 9/11 attacks. The surge in orders for these $40,000 dwellings instead has accompanied an economic downtown that some survivalists describe as "the Greater Depression."

Sharon Packer says most of the orders for Utah Shelter Systems are coming from well-heeled folks who fear the worst. Still, what connection would a lousy stock market have with a terrorist attack? Packer says her customers perceive that if the United States has a weak economy, then terrorists will perceive that the nation is more vulnerable to attack. (Note to Readers: Terrorists were not immediately available for comment.)

A decision to purchase an underground shelter from Utah Shelter Systems may seem like quite an overreaction. This isn't the Cold War of the 1950s, the Soviet Union no longer exists, and Dwight D. Eisenhower is not the president of the United States.

More sensible is the decisions, among families who can afford it, to stock up on non-perishable foods such as rice, dry beans and canned goods. Some analysts forecast that this year's sharp rise in food prices may be only a start. Nobody says that the price of food will become as volatile as the price of oil, but a similar trend could emerge. Families who fill their pantries may be glad that they did so, down the road.

As for the New York City company that designs furniture with food storage compartments, this again seems a bit extreme.

Then there's the Survival Center in McKenna, Wash. General Manager Richard Mankemyer told MSNBC reporter Kari Huus that a major corporation placed an order to stockpile survival foods for its executives. Mankemyer said he gently suggested that the corporation may also want to stock up for its employees.

Are we all in this together? Not always, apparently. And the sad part is, the people who survived the original Great Depression are best known for how they shared and supported one another.

SOURCE

www.koaa.com/aaaa_featured_stories/x1949200918/Planning-for-Greater-Depression.