Hillbilly Analytica

There is no nice way to put it - times are about to get rough. In February 2022, Russia announced the start of its "Special Military Operation" in Ukraine - essentially launching a war without the paperwork. Western countries are cutting ties from Russian oil with the Russkies reciprocating by drawing down two major gas pipelines in Europe, putting upward pressure on prices. The US rolled out stringent sanctions, pulling Putin's petroleum products out of domestic markets. It was in that moment, when the first Russian tank entered sovereign Ukrainian land, the West drove off a cliff and didn't look down like Wile E. Coyote. By Summer, regular unleaded gas was over $5/gal for most of the country. There was a huge public outcry. Many experts believe civil unrest becomes inevitable above $5/gal with higher rates of catastrophe and frequency being directly correlated to the price of fuel. All was not lost, though - slowly but surely, the price came down. In the time since ...

Two years ago, the world learned how vulnerable the US supply chain was when the pandemic began. In the following months, we saw shelves empty of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, protective gear, cleaning supplies, and more. Everything was still obtainable by those with money and means, but few items had ubiquitous availability. Even now, store stock hasn't entirely rebounded. So with Russia at Ukraine's throat and China waiting with bated breath to attack Taiwan, it's evident the supply chain faces an even larger, looming threat. In an effort to prepare for such a scenario where all hell breaks loose, I have compiled the list below of essential items with long manufacturing lead times, that tend to come from overseas, and/or will be in high demand following a lock-down.   Essential to Life Items: At least 50 gallons of water stored on site in opaque food grade plastic. The general rule is 5/gal/day/adult for 3 days. Potassium Iodide tablets If a nuclear strike happens, these ...