Talking About the Coming Crash With Friends and Family

Jim Sinclair has this advice for discussing what’s going to happen with friends:

Do not try to convince your friend that gold is right, the dollar is wrong, or your favorite gold shares is good for them. You gain nothing, and stand to say goodbye to your friend, whether you be right or wrong.

He’s absolutely right. Furthermore, when you talk about the dark future we’re seeing coming upon us, it’s worth some thought about who in your family you discuss the situation with, as well. Now, of course you should do what is necessary to secure your family’s financial situation, but be careful about how that information is communicated.

In the couple years leading up to Y2K, I became an advocate of updating your hardware and software (usually by going to Apple products) to avoid computer meltdowns when the year turned from 1999 to 2000. As the most tech-savvy person in my circle, since I had my first computer in 1981, and was online heavily( and expensively) via CompuServe in 1982, I had the best perspective on the problem. And there was a problem. My family business’ software crashed under Y2K testing, confirming what I knew about code written by programmers (of which I was one) in the 80s. Much of it would not calculate dates properly, thanks to the memory-saving habit of using only two digits to refer to the year, and that was a problem.

Seeing the way the public and government viewed the issue (as a mostly non-issue), I decided to make sure I was stocked up with water, some extra food, medical supplies and other staples necessary to weather the interruptions in basic services that could happen if things went very bad. I didn’t expect armageddon, but knew there was the specter of a difficult time lurking. So I stocked up a little. And happily, needed none of it.

A family member who even to this day knows nothing about computers, despite the fact I bought him a complete system and have provided much tech support, has always ridiculed those steps, since he “knew” nothing was going to happen. He doesn’t understand, after some 9 years of almost daily computer use, the concept of dragging files into a folder to unclutter his desktop, but he “knew” that two-digit year codes wouldn’t be a problem for old software running all sorts of computer devices. In reality, a Y2K meltdown was avoided through a massive code-patching campaign as well as a huge computer-upgrade cycle that created billions of dollars of wealth for the people who owned hardware and sotware manufacturers. We dodged a bullet that day, to be sure. Unfortunately, to people ignorant of the situation, “nothing happened. It was all hype.”

Looking back, I should have stocked up and kept my opinions to myself. There is seldom any appreciation when that stocking up is done to, in part, protect those who don’t believe such steps are necessary. Creating a situation in which that lack of appreciation is shown can hurt family relationships. Sure, you should be able to talk about these things with those closest to you (certainly some people can), but it’s not a sure thing.

So, heed Mr. Sinclair’s advice with regard to trying to convince friends…And sometimes that extends to family.

Posted in Economy, US