Prepper Recon

Congratulations to the winner of the Descent Giveaway, Lauren B!

This year’s meeting of the BRICS nations in August did not have the new gold-backed trade currency on the agenda as reported by RT. However, the developments of the group’s annual summit were no less noteworthy.

BRICS approved membership applications for three OPEC members, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the UAE. Additionally, they granted membership to Argentina and Ethiopia.

It is unclear why the gold-backed trade currency was not a topic of discussion at this year’s meeting. The suggestion that it would be may have been Russian propaganda. Or, the new members could have insisted on a seat at the table for the new currency discussion. Or, diplomatic pressure might have been applied by the US to India or another of the member countries. Regardless, I’m hesitant to write off the possibility of the topic being revisited in the future.

What we know for sure is that Russia and Brazil are both pushing for a BRICS alternative currency. We also know that China, Argentina, India, Russia, and many other countries who once to relied strictly on the US dollar for international trade are now settling oil, gas, and other commodity contracts in their own currencies, driving down demand for the dollar.

The infographic below, put together by the Visual Capitalist, shows how the new memberships affect the BRICS share of global GDP, oil production, population, and exports. All of these are indications of economic power and influence, and it is undeniable that the BRICS alliance is rising on the world stage.

In my latest series, Lamentations for the Fallen, a merger of BRICS and OPEC and their development of a new trade currency was the catalyst for a cascading failure of the US dollar. This series is fiction and these types of collapses typically don’t play out at the break-neck speeds necessary for a thrilling literary tale. But make no mistake. As we see the existing world order morph into a bifurcated economic system, the influence of the dollar will continue to wane. And with that waning influence will go our government’s ability to abuse the world’s reserve currency along with the dollar’s purchasing power.

Upon Congress reaching a 45-day stopgap deal this week to stave off a government shutdown, the US debt clock jumped $275 billion in a single day, bringing our national debt above $33.4 trillion. The current Fed funds rate is 5.5%. But if the US had to pay even 5% on our current debt, that would be $1.67 trillion, over a third of the total tax revenue collected in 2022.

Should rates go higher, lets say to 7.5%, more than half of the total tax revenue would go just to pay the interest on the debt. We’re already running a $2-trillion-dollar annual deficit and things will only get worse from here. This country is barreling headlong into a sovereign debt crisis from which there is no way out. And while the time line may be more stretched out than the catastrophes I write about in my novels, the end result will be no less cataclysmic.

In my last email, I ended my comments with the recommendation that you plan accordingly. Many of you wrote back wanting to know how you should go about that. Ten years ago, I wrote the Seven Step Survival Plan which is just as relevant today as it was when I wrote it a decade ago. It’s the plan I’ve followed for my family and continue to adhere to even now. If you still haven’t read it, you can request a free copy by clicking the banner at the top of the Prepper Recon website. It’s also available in paperback, kindle, and audiobook format for purchase.

But now for the good news. The final chapter of Lamentations for the Fallen, Book Three: Descent is now available in all formats.

Thanks to Caleb’s and Bristol’s bravery, Cocke County has been freed from the Koontz family’s greedy grip. However, in a world that is being savaged by an economically induced famine, the local criminal cartel is far from the only threat.

To combat the growing crisis, President Teivel signs the Restore America Act granting emergency powers to FEMA enabling them to set up shelter and sustenance centers in all major metro areas. The legislation mandates that all citizens report to the nearest relief center or face involuntary relocation.

Caleb and Bristol ignore the unconstitutional order but while on a scavenging mission to gather medical supplies, they butt heads with a military patrol searching for survivors in Newport, Tennessee. They try to escape but to no avail. Caleb and Bristol are detained and transported to the Knoxville FEMA super complex, Camp 11, Resocialization. Camp 11 is set up for wayward citizens who need to be taught to appreciate what their magnanimous government is trying to do for them.

Once there, they learn that Camp 11 is far from the most egregious form of FEMA’s compulsory compassion. Caleb and Bristol will have to be on their toes to not get sucked further down the rat hole before they get an opportunity to escape.

Don’t miss this unorthodox post-apocalyptic tale set in America’s near future. Get your copy today!