Rocky Times Ahead: Are You Ready?

This article is from David Korten's yes! magazine. Korten is the Stanford educated economist who has now devoted his life to preaching "the great turning" away from our unsustainable corporatocracy. No, this isn't about building an underground bunker and stocking it with five years of canned beans, assault weapons, and ammo.

by Sarah Byrnes, Chuck Collins

Can forming a small group like this really make a difference, when the problems we face seem so overwhelming? History tells us they can.

"I don’t believe the economy is getting better,” says Billy R., a member of a mutual aid group in Oregon that he jokingly calls “my reality support group.” “All around me I’m surrounded by media and advertising urging me to keep borrowing, buying, and sleepwalking. I love meeting with others who are staring down the potential risks and challenges of the future.”

Maybe more of us could use a reality support group.

Even with the announcement that the official unemployment rate fell to 9.4 percent, millions of people remain in dismal economic straits. The pace of home foreclosures has barely slowed and millions remain out of work. Even upbeat scenarios still assume protracted unemployment and economic stagnation for much of the decade ahead. The unspoken scenario is that things could get worse.

Sometime during the next couple of years, there will likely be a fundamental shift. It might be another economic meltdown along the lines of 2008, or a shock to the economy thanks to a rapid spike in energy costs. It could be a series of extreme weather events that result in flooding, drought, or unprecedented heat waves. Think Hurricane Katrina on a larger scale. These changes could lead to food and water shortages—and test our personal and community preparedness in ways that we have not experienced in our lifetimes.

Read more here.