Employment/Income at T-90 Days and counting

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In the spirit of "all the king's men putting Humpty Dumpty back together again," what can/should we be doing in the final stretch to maximizie opportunities for income/employemnt into 2000? This forum has "kicked" the idea around some, but not enough. Are there things in other areas collecting non-hybrid seeds and gardening tools that could be done without the long learning curve associated with many professions/trades? Intersted in what the Y2K-aware community would say at this hour?

Maybe I could put the question this way, to stimulate thought: If you were given $1,000 (that's about all that's left) for the SOLE purpose of preparing for income production/employment on the other side, HOW WOULD YOU USE IT IN THE NEXT 30 DAYS?

-- B. Webert (webert01@hotmail.com), September 28, 1999

Answers

Gary North has written some intriguing reports on this topic, many based on his fundamental assumption that Y2K will disrupt the "division of labor" upon which modern society depends. In olden days, we had butchers and bakers and candle-stick makers, but people tended to have a wider range of skills and abilities for day-to-day survival. Today, we "outsource" almost everything, from fixing a leaky faucet to changing the oil in our car.

So you might try to answer B. Webert's question by asking yourself, "What skills are likely to be in high demand, and also in scarce supply, if Y2K disruptions are severe?"

Ed

P.S. Here's a "lateral thinking" answer to your question: since the situation is likely to be fairly confusing and unclear for the first few weeks or months of 2000, it would be nice to have the luxury of doing NOTHING for a while, rather than jumping at the first opportunity that comes along. So it's possible that I would simply spend the $1,000 on additional food and necessities, so that I could watch the situation unfold in Jan and Feb and Mar, without feeling pressured to rush out and replace the job that came to a screeching halt on 12/31/99

-- Ed Yourdon (HumptyDumptyY2K@yourdon.com), September 28, 1999.


(1) I have been offered an opportunity to teach 16 small business remediation seminars. This will take a lot of time, but will also supply some additional income.

(2) Buy a video camera (including underwater housing), sailboat (fishing/travel), SCUBA dive compressor, and/or fishing gear. I may also pick up a prep item that has been a bit expensive... a DAN Oxygen unit (est. $650).

(3) Even with a moderate cost sailboat ($3,500), I still have another $5,000 of preps that I'd like to get...(and the video comes after that!)

(4) I'm not too worried about employment...my current employer will still be in business, as will be their major customer here. If it's a ten, all bets are off...and I'll need the sailboat. If its less, fishing from a sailboat could provide additional food or income...or both.

(5) Video. One of the things that did well during the great depression was the movie industry. While entertainment has changed in the interim, I suspect that there will be a possible window of opportunity for a company that is able to work differently than traditional movie studios.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 28, 1999.


1. If gas is hard to come by, gas mowers won't be moving. In the spring, it will be important for lawns to be mowed, to keep bugs down, etc. Purchase a push mower.

2. If the lady of the house can sew, a treadle sewing machine would be useful. Pick up some cheap patterns at flea markets right now and inexpensive cloth.

3. Save all of your containers -- everything. Do not throw any away. They can be used to start seedlings which you can sell. Save all newspaper. It can be used to make little seedling pots that can be placed right into the ground after seedling has started growing.

4. Purchase a solar shortwave radio. You can make notes on any important news you hear, then -- (see #5)

5. Purchase a couple cheap, working manual (non-electric) typewriters to type up a newsletter. You could include news you hear on your radio, and other tips you have learned regarding survival. Also, can be used to help any businesses that are still around to get work done. If you do bookkeeping, pick up ledger sheets, etc. Be sure to have a solar calculator.

6. Buy a non-electric hedge clipper. Once again, there may be some folks who can't stand having their hedges get overgrown.

7. Be sure you have plenty of little plastic sandwich bags to put your seeds in to sell. I bought huge bags of wildflowers for about $1 each when the local super hardware (Builders Square) was going out of business. They should come back year after year and if the local garden store isn't open, some people may be willing to pay (or trade) for some seeds for flowers to brighten up their lives. Many people today plant annuals that don't come back, so wildflowers would be good. You should still be able to buy big bags cheap.

8. Be sure to have a bike for running errands for folks in case gas is rationed or impossible to get.

9. Also, if you have a CB and/or scanner, you can use info. you get on that for a little newsletter.

Those are just a few ideas I've had of things I may be able to do if my job is gone. Hopefully, it will at least keep my roof over my head until things get better.

Good luck.

Diana

-- Diana (healthy53@nauticom.net), September 29, 1999.


I used to be a lay career counsellor once upon a time in a prior life. Perhaps a revisit to "What Color is Your Parachute," or the Crystal workbook ("Where Do I Go From Here With My Life.") would be helpful. They are fun and great at helping people to identify transferable skills.

Hmm - approaching this in another manner...

Would I want to provide a service? What skills do I have or could I acquire? What services would be saleable? What tools and materials would I need to provide the service? Would I provide the service in my home, a business or in theirs? How would I price the service?

Would I want to provide a commodity? What skills do I have or could I acquire? What commodities might be saleable? What tools and materials/resources would I need to produce this commodity? (Will it be raw or value added?) How would I market the commodity? How would I price the commodity?

Would I want to have tools or other resources (like a draft horse) I rented to others for their use in producing a service or commodity. You get the drift.....

Myself, I have toyed with the idea of truck or chicken farming, building an outdoor oven and baking bread, (but then I have to find a grain supplier,) doing sewing and laundry (ugh,) I have settled on being Empress of my valley - lol.

-- anon (anon@anon.calm), September 29, 1999.


Buy a chain saw mill for your chain saw and make lumber. Buy various nails in the big boxes to sell with the lumber.

-- Taz (Taz@aol.com), September 29, 1999.


I realize it would anticipate a full break-down scenario, but Sutter's Fort always comes to my mind as a basic community unit as far as division of labor and traditional manual tools of the trade. There are separate buildings for each major task. If you are interested, there is a "virtual tour" of the Fort at http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/suttersfort/contents.html Suggest you try the "clickable" map at http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/suttersfort/today.html that links to photos of the various task rooms and buildings.

Sorry - history buff - couldn't resist.

-- marsh (armstrng@sisqtel.net), September 30, 1999.


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