So says Monty Pelerin (www.EconomicNoise.com) in edited excerpts from his introduction* to the following 50 questions via Before It’s News entitled Prepping.

This article is presented compliments of www.munKNEE.com (Your Key to Making Money!) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. Please note that this paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.

Pelerin goes on to say in further edited comments:

Many [questions do not] have to do with what I call financial prepping, but many financial considerations [do] develop as a result of underlying non-financial conditions [so it is understandable why such questions are included. While] the list has not made me a conventional prepper it sure hasn’t altered my thinking regarding financial prepping [- not in the least].

The list is as follows:

“The following are 50 shocking questions that you should ask to anyone that is not a prepper yet:

1. Why are sales of physical silver coins breaking all sorts of all-time records?  The U.S. Mint is on pace to sell more silver eagles during the first month of 2013 than it did during the entire year of 2007.
2. Why has Germany announced that it will be moving gold from New York and Paris to its own vaults back home?  Is this a sign of a breakdown in trust among global central banks?
3. Why is China systematically hoarding gold?
4. Why have billionaires such as George Soros and John Paulson been hoarding massive amounts of gold?
5. Why are billionaires buying up so much ranch land up in Montana?
6. Why is Russia warning that we are rapidly approaching a global “currency war”?
7. Why has [President] Obama chosen this moment to launch an all-out attack on the Second Amendment?
8. Why does [President] Obama want doctors to ask their patients questions about firearms?
9. Why is there an incredibly severe nationwide ammunition shortage all of a sudden?
10. Why has a bill been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that “would ban Internet or mail order ammunition purchases“?
11. Why are gun control advocates such as Piers Morgan pushing for us to become more like the UK when the UK actually has a much higher violent crime rate than we do?
12. Why was a Forbes article that made a connection between the use of psychiatric drugs and the mass shootings that we have seen in recent years almost immediately taken down from the Internet?
13. Why does the federal government want to start putting “black boxes” in all new motor vehicles?
14. Why are some U.S. states now using computers to predict “future crimes“
15. Why are “black-clad federal SWAT teams” raiding farms and ranches all over the United States?
16. Why are we all being trained to spy on one another?
17. Why are highly advanced facial recognition cameras being put up all over the United States?
18. Why have police departments all over America begun to deploy unmanned surveillance drones in the skies over our cities?
19. Why are schools all over America beginning to require students to carry IDs with RFID microchips in them wherever they go?
20. Why are more Americans not outraged that nearly 400 TSA employees have been fired for stealing from travelers since 2003?
21. Why are Americans not more outraged that TSA goons are manhandling the private areas of our women and our children in the name of “national security”?
22. Why is an elderly survivor of the Nazi occupation of Austria, Kitty Werthmann, warning that America is heading down the exact same path that she experienced?
23. If the economy is in good shape, then why are more than one out of every four U.S. workers with a 401(k) raiding those funds in order to pay current expenses?
24. Why does the Federal Reserve continue to insist that the economy is “improving” when it obviously is not?
25. Why can so few Americans explain how money is created in the United States?
26. Why has the U.S. dollar declined in value by well over 95 percent since the Federal Reserve was created?
27. Why is the U.S. national debt more than 5000 times larger than it was when the Federal Reserve was created?
28. Why isn’t the mainstream media in the U.S. discussing the fact that the U.S. dollar is in danger of losing its status as the primary reserve currency of the world?
29. Why don’t more Americans know about the quadrillion dollar derivatives bubble?
30. Why did the U.S. national debt grow during the first four years of the Obama administration by about as much as it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that George W. Bush took office?
31. Why is the middle class in America bringing home a smaller share of the overall income pie than has ever been recorded before?
32. If the U.S. economy is producing a healthy number of good jobs, then why are we spending nearly a trillion dollars a year on welfare?
33. If the U.S. economy is not collapsing, then why has the number of Americans on food stamps grown from 17 million in the year 2000 to more than 47 million today?
34. If America is still an economic powerhouse, then why have we lost more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities since 2001?
35. Why are we losing half a million jobs to China every single year?
36. Why were one out of every ten homes sold in the state of California last year purchased by Chinese citizens?
37. Why has the percentage of men with jobs in the United States fallen so dramatically?  Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs.  Today, less than 65 percent of all men in the United States have jobs.
38. Why are so many Americans poor today?  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 146 million Americans are either “poor” or “low income”.  Why is this happening?
39. Why does the U.S. government have a website that teaches immigrants how to sign up for welfare programs once they arrive in the United States?
40. Why has the number of gang members living in the United States risen by an astounding 40 percent just since 2009?
41. Why does approximately one out of every three children in the United States live in a home without a father?  Can such a society prosper in the long run?
42. Why are our supermarkets being flooded with genetically-modified foods when a whole host of studies have shown that they are potentially dangerous to human health?
43. If the economy has “improved” during the Obama years, then why are hunger and poverty still absolutely skyrocketing in the United States?
44. Why are more than a million public school students in the United States homeless?
45. Why are more than 50 percent of all children in Detroit living in poverty?  Detroit used to be one of the greatest cities in the entire world.  How did such prosperity turn into such desolation?
46. Why did a violent riot break out at an event where government-subsidized section 8 housing vouchers were being handed out in a suburb of Detroit earlier this month?  Is this the kind of unrest that we can expect to see all over the country when things get really bad?
47. Why are cities all over the United States making it illegal to feed the homeless?
48. Why is the UN trying to take control of the Internet?
49. Why have global food supplies sunk to their lowest level in nearly 40 years?
50. Why is global power concentrated in so few hands?  According to the Swiss Federal Institute, a network of 147 mega-corporations control 40 percent of all the wealth in the world, and in a previous article I described how just six obscenely powerful corporations completely dominate the media industry in the United States.  Is it good for such incredible power to be concentrated in the hands of so few people?

Please share this article with as many people as you can.  It only takes a few moments to share an article, but the person on the other end that reads it might have their life changed forever.”

Editor’s Note: The author’s views and conclusions are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original article. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.

*http://www.economicnoise.com/2013/01/18/prepping/

Register HERE for Your Daily Intelligence Report Newsletter

1. It’s FREE
2. Provides the “best of the best” financial, economic and investment articles to be found on the internet
3. Is in an “edited excerpts” format to provide brevity & clarity to ensure a fast & easy read
4. Don’t waste time searching for informative articles. We do it for you!
5. Register HERE and automatically receive every article posted
6. “Follow Us” on twitter & “Like Us” on Facebook

Related Articles:

1. A Practical Assessment of the U.S. Debt Problem Shows It to Be Absolutely Absurd

The U.S. debt situation when broken down to one of family statistics really seems absurd. Yet it’s true. It’s a slow motion train wreck that can be seen coming miles away but which, like deer paralyzed in the headlights, everyone is unwilling to face up to and to take any meaningful corrective action – and it will be the downfall of them all. Words: 550

2. Crisis Phase Beginning: U.S. Economy to Go Into a Severe Recession By End of 2013! Here’s Why

We have been hearing a lot about escaping the fiscal cliff, but our problem isn’t solved. The fixes to date have been partial and temporary. There are many painful decisions ahead. Based on recent research and my analysis of the situation, civilization is in the early stage of the Crisis phase (state breakdown) and the U.S. will most likely enter a severe recession by the end of 2013. [Below is my rationale.] Words: 2979; Charts:  8

3. Monty Pelerin: Economic Collapse Coming to U.S. & Other Industrialized Nations of the World!  Here’s Why

Those dependent on the welfare state are unaware that their benefits are not sustainable. Most believe tomorrow will be like today and the checks will keep coming from Mother Government. Political power was gained based on promising these benefits. No politician will risk his position by trying to reduce them. No democratic society has ever rolled them back via peaceful political means. [At worst,] the economy and society could end up in ashes [and, at best,] the world is in for a long period of stagnation, retrogression and conflict. [Let me explain more fully.] Words: 1115

4. The U.S. Economy is Going to Collapse…It is Unavoidable…It’s a Mathematical Certainty…Here’s Why

5. Peter Schiff: The Federal Reserve is Now 100% Committed to the Destruction of the Dollar

6. Continued Money Debasement Means More Unintended Consequences, Social Disorder & Further Debasement of Society – Here’s Why

7. If You Are Not Preparing For a US Debt Collapse, NOW Is the Time to Do So! Here’s Why

8. The “Great Crisis” Is Well On Its Way and Will Make 2008 Look Like a Joke!

9. World Debt 101

10. Finally! Someone With the Balls to Face Reality and Outline the Probable Outcome & Utter Hopelessness of America’s Debt Problems

Many articles are being written these days that more or less scope the dire financial circumstances the U.S. is in. That being said, I had not been able to find one “analyst” – even one – who had the guts to outline the probable outcome and general hopelessness of the situation and to offer any meaningful prescription for investors to survive this coming catastrophe – until now. Words: 710

11. What is Financial Repression? Why It Will Fail

Financial repression occurs when governments channel funds into their own sovereign bonds in order to reduce debt levels through mechanisms such as directed lending, caps on interest rates, capital controls, debt monetization, or by other means. The promise of financial repression is that it will hold down government borrowing costs and reduce government debt levels, but critics argue that financial repression merely targets the producers of society, i.e., the middle class, and therefore harms the economy. Let’s take a look at financial repression ands its supposed pros and cons. Words: 1486

12. Video: What Could Happen in the First 12 Hours of a US Dollar Collapse

13. We Can Ignore Economic Reality but We Can NOT Ignore the Consequences of Ignoring Such Reality! Here They Are

14. We Are On the Precipice of Enormous Financial & Economic Change

We are on the precipice of enormous financial and economic change. It is not change for the good, especially for the United States. Excesses and mis-allocated resources of several generations are about to be exposed as modern industrial nations sink deeper into the economic hole they have dug for themselves. The purging of these economic mistakes will be painful, could create new wars as politicians attempt to deflect blame and may end up changing the political form of government in some countries. (Words: 364; Charts: 1)

15. U.S. On An Unsustainable Path That Guarantees An Eventual Catastrophic Financial Melt-down – Here’s How to Get Prepared

16. Coming Currency Superstorm Will Be Absolutely Catastrophic for U.S. Economy

17. U.S.’s Runaway Financial Train is About to Destroy the Status Quo

18. Take Note: Don’t Say You Weren’t Forewarned!

19. A Must Watch Video On Why America Is In A “Death Spiral”

The video*  below is one of the best overviews of what is going on and one of the best explanations of what lies ahead that I have heard. As such, in my opinion, it is A Must Watch!

20.  These 25 Videos Warn of Impending Economic Collapse & Chaos

The internet is awash (drowning?) in hundreds of doom and gloom videos providing dire warnings of coming world depression, food shortages,  rioting in the streets, rampant (hyper) inflation, deepening banking crisis, economic apocalypse, financial Armageddon, the demise of America – well, you get the idea. Below is a small sample of such videos with a hyperlink to each.

21. Is TEOTWAWKI Imminent – Or Will It Be Deferred?

22. Are Preparations Being Made For Worldwide Financial Collapse?

23. Don’t Ignore the Coming Financial Storm – It IS Coming and Here’s How to Get Prepared

Many people refer to me as a “doom and gloomer” because I run a website called “The Economic Collapse”. [Just because] I am constantly pointing out that the entire world is heading for a complete and total financial nightmare, [however,] I don’t think that it does any good to stick your head in the sand. I believe that there is hope in understanding what is happening and I believe that there is hope in getting prepared. [This article does just that.] Words: 2432

24. Nothing Can Be Done to Avoid Coming World-wide Depression! Here’s Why

Governments everywhere are becoming more distressed and desperate as economic realities dominate the political doublespeak. The world is at a dangerous point. Much of what we thought we knew and assumed regarding governmental behavior and economics is beginning to be reassessed. Governments of the world are out of money and out of ideas. The ponzi scam that has been perpetrated for over fifty years is collapsing under its own weight. There are not enough suckers and capital left to sustain the fraud. [Let me explain further.] Words: 999

25. The Ultimate Fear Mongering Video – or the Ultimate in Insights, Forecasting & Sound Advice? You Be the Judge

Warning: New evidence points toward an imminent financial collapse and the destruction of American wealth. Income, investments, retirement, and even personal safety are now at severe risk. In this new video I lay it all out for you. Words: 515

26. U.S Likely to Hit the Financial Wall by 2017! Here’s Why

The deficits aren’t going to stop anytime soon. The debt mountain will keep growing…Obviously, the debt can’t keep growing faster than the economy forever, but the people in charge do seem determined to find out just how far they can push things….The only way for the politicians to buy time will be through price inflation, to reduce the real burden of the debt, and whether they admit it or not, inflation is what they will be praying for….[and] the Federal Reserve will hear their prayer. When will the economy reach the wall toward which it is headed? Not soon, I believe, but in the meantime there will be plenty of excitement. [Let me explain what I expect to unfold.] Words: 1833

27. This Will NOT End Well – Enjoy It While It Lasts – Here’s Why

…The US Government and its catastrophic fiscal morass are now viewed by the world as a ‘safe haven’. This would easily qualify for a comedy shtick if it weren’t so serious….[but] the establishment is thrilled with these developments because it helps maintain the status quo of the dollar standard era. However, there are some serious ramifications that few are paying attention to and are getting almost zero coverage from traditional media. [Let me explain what they are.] Words: 1150

28. Events Accelerating Towards an Ultimate Dollar Catastrophe! Here’s Why

29. Major Inflation is Inescapable and the Forerunner of an Unavoidable Depression – Here’s Why

Whether our current economic crisis will end with massive inflation or in a deflationary spiral (ultimately, either one results in a Depression) is more than an academic one. It is the single most important variable for near and intermediate term investing success. It is also important in regard to taking actions which can prepare and protect you and your family. [Here is my assessment of what the future outcome will likely be and why.] Words: 1441

30. An Inflation Inferno is Expected – but When?

31. Major Price Inflation Is Coming – It’s Just a Matter of Time! Here’s Why

32. Oh My GAWD! This Infographic on US Debt Is Frightening

33. The U.S. Debt Spiral: When Will it End? More Importantly, HOW Will it End?

34. Government Can’t Prevent the Next Financial Diaster – Here’s Why

35. Martin Weiss: You Are Being Forewarned – Again – About an Imminent Financial Megashock!

36. 3.6 Million Views – and Counting! Why U.S. Debt & Budget Will NEVER Balance

37. Be Careful! Former Investment “Rules” Nolonger Work – Here’s Why

38. Today’s Investment Approach Must Change to Survive Tomorrow’s Major Economic Changes – Here’s How

The world is hurdling toward what seems to be certain economic collapse so, if your expectations are similar to mine, then you should be exploring ways to prepare for something that eventually will become an economic dark age. Investment performance is always relevant and it has never been more important than in these difficult economic times – nor has it ever been more difficult. Markets have already changed and are getting worse…As the economy worsens, market movements [like the two 50% declines we have seen since 2000] are likely to become more pronounced [and, as such,] it behooves anyone with exposure to the stock market to understand what is happening and [take action to] protect themselves against further 50%, and possibly larger, downsides. [This article outlines how best to do just that.] Words: 1491; Charts: 2; Tables: 1

39. “Financial Repression” May Soon Become Our Worst Nightmare! Here’s Why

40. Taxmageddon: 2013 Will be a Disaster Regardless of Who Wins! Here’s Why

“Regardless of whether or not you feel taxes need to be raised, a big set of tax hikes is scheduled to happen. To be sure, some of those hikes will be undone in compromises, but many if not most will sneak through.” [Let me explain.]

41.  Financial Repression: How Sneaky Governments Steal Your Money

One of the things that’s being lost in the welter of rhetoric around the debt crises of sovereign nations is that these are not normal debtors, and government debt is not the same as personal debt. If you or I are in debt we are obliged to fulfil the terms of our repayment obligations or to go bankrupt or to pretend to die and go off and live on the life insurance. A country in the same situation has a range of other measures available to it…[Let’s explore their options and what their implications would be for the country and its citizens.] Words: 1145

42. Stealth Taxation in the Form of Financial Repression is Coming! Here’s Why – and How

Financial Repression is a form of wealth confiscation and redistribution that is in some ways as effective as taxation – but the government never directly calls it that. It never appears in the budget (directly), and while it is dependent on a comprehensive network of laws and regulations – none of those go through the legislature with a stated intention of creating Financial Repression. So while the economic net effects are similar to a huge and comprehensive set of investor taxes being used to pay down the national debt, the “taxes” are never a campaign issue because voters and investors don’t understand what is happening – they only feel the results. [In this article I lay out for you what is slowly developing and expected to escalate dramatically in the next few years.] Words: 5800

43. The U.S. and Greece are Frighteningly Similar! Here’s Why

44. The Zombification of the Financial System: Debt is NOT a Free Lunch, Debt is NOT Wealth!

45.  U.S. “Deficit Disorder” Means Broken Promises + Even More QE! Here’s Why

One of the problems with the debate over the “national debt” is that there’s no generally agreed upon definition of that term. Is it what the federal government owes, or what it owes foreigners, or what the whole country, private and public sector together, owes? Does it include off-balance-sheet items and contingent liabilities? There’s a hundred-trillion dollar gap between lowest and highest on this spectrum, which allows each commentator to confuse the rest of us by picking the measure that best suits their point of view. [Let’s try to decipher the true state of the nation.] Words: 1468

46. Monumental Change is Coming for Most Americans – Here’s Why

47. Attention America! Your Surging Debt Will Eventually Suffocate You

48. Bernanke’s Actions – or Inactions – Won’t Prevent Coming Collapse! Here’s Why

By threatening to drop money out of helicopters to fight deflation – to  leave a paperweight on the “print” button if you will – Bernanke convinced the market and all of Wall Street that the Fed would always be there to step in and save the day. [In fact, however,] the whole thing was a bluff meant to prop up the markets – the famed Bernanke Put – and it was a lie. The markets will be realizing this in the coming months, if not sooner, and when they do, we’ll see the REAL Collapse: the one to which 2008 was just a warm-up. [Let me explain.] Words: 444

49. The $64 Trillion Question Is: “When and How Does the Debt Death Spiral End?”

50. What Will the Outcome of All the QE Mean for the U.S. (and the World)?

51. Richard Duncan: IF Credit Bubble Pops Civilization Won’t Survive the Depression that Follows

Our civilization would not be able to handle such a transition from an expansionary credit based economy where goods and services were readily available into a paradigm of credit contraction, supply shortages and destitution and this is what is coming. There is no way to prevent it – only to defer it until a later date – and that day will soon be upon us. Words: 590

52. Facts Show U.S. Gov’t Expecting Civil Unrest Should Economy Collapse

I think the U.S. government and our central bank has a tremendously transparent view of what is coming down the road in terms of financial distress….I believe the evidence [I present below] shows that they are preparing for this eventual crisis in a command and control fashion, without alerting the public to the coming implosion. The most immediate trigger event is the looming peril of a collapsing economy followed by inevitable civil unrest. I believe they will use the despair that flows forth from the fiscal wreckage as an excuse to institute martial law. Call it “crazy”. Call it “conspiracy theory”. Call it “coincidence”. Call it “fear mongering”. Call it whatever you like but I find it far more insane to shrug off the strange behavior of our power structure, and simply hope that it’s all irrelevant to the future. [Once I have put forth my evidence and explained its implications in this article I think you will agree.]

53. George Soros Predicts Economic Chaos/Conflict in Europe and Riots in the U.S.!

George Soros…is more concerned with surviving than staying rich…He doesn’t just mean it’s time to protect your assets. He means it’s time to stave off disaster. As he sees it, the world faces one of the most dangerous periods of modern history—a period of “evil.” Europe is confronting a descent into chaos and conflict. In America he predicts riots on the streets that will lead to a brutal clampdown that will dramatically curtail civil liberties. The global economic system could even collapse altogether. [Perhaps] we should be, too, [but as] we have often explained, [such comments ar nothing more than] the fear-based promotions of the power elite to frighten the middle classes into giving up power and wealth to globalist institutions. Let us explain.

54. Do You Really Want the Truth? OK, Here It Is – But You Won’t Like the Conclusion

55. Are You A Sucker? If Not, Here’s The Reality About America’s “Recovery”!

56. Ayurveda: The Cure for the Virus that Plagues Our Financial System

Today’s western financial world operates much like government-sponsored medical systems. Mask the problem and give the bankers the pharmaceutical drugs (bail out money) to help them dull the pain and keep them on life support. Letting the free markets work in curing the ailment is not an option because then there would be little need for doctors (governments) or the manufacturers of these drugs (central banks). The banks are sick and should be allowed to pass on…so the virus known as debt does not affect the rest of the population. Unfortunately, the governments and central bankers have only one prescription drug of choice to keep them alive [and that seems to be the supposed cure-all of] printing money… [Let me explain further.] Words: 970

57. Debt and the Santa Claus Principle

58. Alf Field’s 7 “D’s” of the Developing Disaster Revisited

When the supply of something is increased sharply relative to demand, the value of that commodity will decline. If the supply continues to increase rapidly and indefinitely, then that item will become worth less and less, with the potential to finally become nearly worthless. This is the Developing Disaster facing the US Dollar and the world. This is the factor that could become the single most important criterion in investment allocation decisions and possibly even for individual financial survival…[Let me explain this further by reviewing the 7 major problems facing the U.S. (and thus the world) and how they all will lead to problem #7 – devolution.] Words: 1520

59.  Where Is This Unprecedented Global Financial Crisis Headed? A Retrospective from Alf Field

Everyone must be wondering where this “unprecedented global financial crisis”, (the World Bank’s words), is heading. What follows, for what they are worth, are my cogitations on this crisis. Words: 1641

60. The U.S. is Headed Toward a Complete and Utter Collapse of its Financial System

The U.S. is headed inexorably toward a systemic failure, a complete and utter collapse of the financial system. TARP and all the other machinations have not improved the underlying insolvency of the banking system. They have, however, deferred a collapse and ensured that it will ultimately be worse. [Let me explain.] Words: 1385

61. Williams: U.S. Can Not Avoid Coming Financial Armageddon