(Thursday’s article, titled “The Great Fuel Crisis Is Here! The Food Crisis Is on its Way,” wound up becoming the size of one of my Deeper Dives, so this Deeper Dive will be an addendum to that article.)
I want to lead off with where we were just a couple of nights ago in the rapidly expanding fuel crisis. Remember this photo that I posted on Wednesday night, showing the local diesel price:
I believed that station would do all it could to avoid tripping over the $6 handle on that price for diesel because putting a $7-anything up there would be such a shock to customers that it would probably elicit some complaints. Today, I looked up as I was driving by, and I had to pull over and snap another photo:
That’s my “Oh, my gosh,” shaking-my-head look without even meaning to.
And that is the cash price. Add a dime per gallon if you are using your credit or debit card.
O.K., I thought, this station tends to run higher than some of the other stations in the area because of its highway location; but after I had driven two blocks into town on my way home, this is what I found:
And that is diesel at the low-price truck stop! These guys are usually near the lowest prices locally. And, again, as you see, it’s the cash price. Fuel prices are changing faster than I care to go out and take photos to keep track of them.
Several articles this weekend are referring to this event as the “Great Fuel Crisis,” which I also went with in my last article, but I think I’m going to go with Leo Hohmann’s example in his article and refer to it from here on out as the “Great Trump Fuel Crisis.” Trump loves to put his name on everything to create a legacy, so I want to make certain to put his name on the one thing for which he is directly responsible because this disaster is one for the history books. We’ll be talking about these days for years to come. Over the course of the year ahead, this event will also devolve into the “Great Trump Food Crisis” and, for some parts of the world, the “Great Trump FAMINE!”
I am not thinking, at this point in my process, food shortages will get that bad in the US for those who have money—at least not this year or next spring—because our nation can usually use its comparative wealth to get the food it needs. But you will have to use more of your money than you are used to in order to get what you need from the stores that use their wealth to obtain it for you because of the global food shortages along with the rising costs of growing food that I’ve written about plus the rapidly soaring cost of fuel to get the food to you.
However, I do think we are likely to experience shortages of some food items in the form of store-imposed rationing and temporary “out of stock” signs or alternative products. So, take advantage of all the BOGO deals you see now while there is plenty, as one reader recommended in the comments section, on items you like that have long shelf lives while such deals last. Stock up. In some parts of the world: Yes, actual famine is likely.
And, yes, this is a disaster
A few people thought I was hyperventilating about the fuel crisis that I said would hit this summer because it didn’t lift off as soon as summer began, but remember I told everyone that, once it got started, it would ramp up with surprising speed. The speed at which it is sweeping in now and the number of articles calling it by such names as “the Great Fuel Crisis” should tell you all you need to know about whether I ever overstated the case. Use that as your guide as to whether I am overstating my case now. It may not feel like a disaster yet; but, believe me, we are just getting started.
In the remainder of this Deeper Dive, I’m going to share links to some of the best articles that describe the true and serious disaster that is now unfolding outside of anyone’s ability to control it. I will summarize their main points that provide the details to back up their and my claim that this is a disaster in case you don’t have time to read them. The times are changing quickly now, and we’re getting swept into a vortex that many have never even imagined is coming.
I’m going to share this one article with everyone before moving into the part for paying subscribers only, because she gives a great overview that neatly unifies the fuel crisis with the food crisis that I’ve been bringing up as the inevitable outflow of the fuel crisis. Plus I want to promote this young woman’s outstanding writing:
I really like that one by Lily-Rose Dawson, even though for readers here it just repeats of a lot of what I’ve been saying, and she goes further on how bad some things will get than I would (at least, for the US at this point, but we may get to where I will go there in my own predictions). Believe it or not, in the alternative press, I’m the conservative one here at The Daily Doom on how bad this will get. I like the article because she says it with such snap and fire and ties it all together so adroitly, and she’s only 23!
Like I said, I don’t think it will get as serious here as she describes BECAUSE we a history of always managing to deploy more money to get anything we need that is in short supply, but it could. I mean look at what characters are in charge. If Trump won’t back off on his tariffs—like he did with beef—to gain some reprieve, the costs will be quite serious for some. It’s going to be bad for all, except those rich enough to shrug it off because they cannot eat enough to put even a small dent in their vast wealth.
The next one is from The Winepress:
Here are the bullet points…
They read like a tidy recap of all my own articles on this subject:
