American Exit Strategy: Book 1

American Exit Strategy

Book One of The Economic Collapse Chronicles

Mark Goodwin

Copyright © 2013 Mark Goodwin

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote short passages in a review.

All scripture is from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN:1492373990

ISBN-13:978-149273995

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Jesus Christ, the Messiah for lifting me up out of the miry pit and giving me a firm place to stand. Thanks to my Mom whose prayers protected me in dark times.

Thanks to my beautiful wife for all of her help and support in getting this book together.

Thanks to those who helped awaken me to the need to prepare through blogs, podcasts and books, especially Ron Paul, James Wesley Rawles and Jerry Robinson.

Forward

American Exit Strategy is a work of fiction, but the threats that materialize in the book are real. Many of the numbers stated in the book are forward projections made by the author and based on real numbers. American Exit Strategy looks at the current financial problems our country is facing and simply does the math. Plan accordingly.

The steps taken by the Bair family to prepare are based on extensive research by the author to prepare for an actual economic collapse and is included for educational purposes and to convey realism. The author shall not have liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or allegedly caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

For more information on preparing for a financial meltdown or other natural or man-made disasters, visit the author’s website at www.PrepperRecon.com

Except for a few people and one cat whose real names were used with permission, all of the characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, places or events are entirely coincidental.

CHAPTER 1

"A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."

-Thomas Jefferson

Texas Senator Paul Randall plopped down on his hotel bed. Exhausted, it was all he could do to loosen his tie. He thought to himself "Once this campaign is over, I promise myself I will never return to New York.” He hated the hustle, the bustle, the crowds, the traffic and most everything that made New York, New York. He had been in New York for three days now and had spoken at two banquets and given seven interviews. There were only three more weeks until the election. After that, win or lose, it would be over and he could get some rest. For now, his body ached, his head pounded and he was too tired to sleep.

There was a knock at the door. "It's open." Randall called.

Sonny Foster, Randall's campaign manager opened the door and stuck his head in the room. "Sir, you look bad. Are you going to be OK? Should I have the doctor come check you out?"

"I am tired Sonny, not dying" Randall snapped.

"Yes sir, but we have to keep you well, or I won't have a campaign to manage.  All the staff is ordering Chinese. I took the liberty of ordering you some BBQ wings, ribs and crab rangoon.” Foster stated.

“I thought you were trying to keep me well.” Randall smirked.

"Comfort food sir." Sonny replied. "Tomorrow is a long day. We are heading to New Hampshire for a rally."

"What happened to the NYC Police breakfast and that Central Park thing tomorrow?" Randall asked.

Sonny walked over to the writing desk near the bed and sat in the chair. "New York is a lost cause sir. We’re spinning our wheels and wasting valuable time here. It’s time to cut our losses. Besides, New Hampshire will be a bit more relaxed for you. You’re running on empty. You just have to give them 20 minutes of face time at the rally then a 15 minute interview with the local Libertarian talk show host guy and you can rest the remainder of the day. While we’re on the subject, dodge the abortion questions. I don't have to tell you that you are losing a huge chunk of the Libertarians to New York Governor Howe on that issue."

Paul Randall sat up as Sonny had just struck a nerve. "They shouldn't claim to be Libertarians if they don't stand up for everyone's liberty.  A woman's right to choose what she does with her body ends where that unborn child's life begins. That unborn child has the same God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as anyone else."

Sonny replied "I agree with you sir, but I just think we should have fought that battle after you got into office.”

Paul looked at Sonny and said "America tried that in the Revolution. Everyone went along to get along. Several states looked the other way on the issue of slavery to get a consensus on the Constitution. That wicked infection festered until it erupted 80 years later in the bloodiest war our nation has ever seen.  You knew when you took the job that we were going to do this right or not at all Sonny."

"I know sir." Sonny conceded. "It‘s just that you’re fighting an uphill fight as an Independent. You need all the alliances you can get. No one has ever won an election doing what you are. You are neither a Democrat nor a Republican."

Randall shot back “I am a Republican Sonny. I am a true Republican. It’s the Republicans that are not "Republicans". The party has been hijacked by the Neo-Con war mongers and the mealy mouth big government liberals. The true Republican Party began as the Jeffersonian-Republicans. Small government, non intervention, no federal bank that can tax the citizens through inflationary money creation to be spent on the profligate lifestyle of an obese state; what we now call a Constitutionalist is the true Republican. I am the true Republican candidate, not Juan Marcos. Juan Marcos is the corporate fascist candidate."

Sonny said in a tired tone "Be that as it may sir, Congressman Marcos is the one wielding the full power and might of the Republican political machine. And whatever you may call it; it is a power to be reckoned with."

CHAPTER 2

“I think myself that we have more machinery of government than is necessary, too many parasites living on the labor of the industrious.”

-Thomas Jefferson

Matthew Bair arrived home from his job as a financial planner a bit earlier than his wife, Karen. He gathered some fresh field greens and a few bell peppers from the small garden in the backyard. It was the first small crop of the year. Late October was the beginning of growing season here in South Florida. Matthew got a quick shower and started dinner. He looked at his phone to be sure the ringer was on. Karen was a bit later than normal, but he didn't get concerned as she frequently stopped at the grocery to scoop up special deals that were often time sensitive. Karen was something of an expert couponer. She had managed to still feed the two of them and their small cat for under $50 a week. This was a phenomenal feat, especially with the excessive inflation that had nearly doubled grocery prices in the last three years.  Just as he turned away from the phone, it rang.

"Karen?" he answered. "Are you OK?" He was a bit jittery as the neighborhood had been locked down by police searching for suspects two times in the past week. Even in their middle class neighborhood, there had been a carjacking and a home invasion in the past seven days.

"I’m OK." she replied. "But I have a flat."

"OK, we can handle that." he said, relieved to hear it was nothing more serious. "There is a can of fix-a-flat in the trunk. Just shake it up and screw it on the valve stem. Push the button on the top and the tire will re-inflate."

"I did that already." she said. "All the air just came right back out of the side of the tire."

"OK, I'll be there in 15 minutes." Matt said "Wait for me inside. I don't want you standing around outside in that neighborhood. And take your pistol with you."

"We can't have guns in the school Matt. I could get fired for even having it in my car on school grounds." Karen said.

Matt said firmly "Please don't argue with me about this, there are a lot worse things than being unemployed."

Karen agreed to follow his instructions and went inside.

Karen was a high school counselor for the public school system. Her school was far from the worst in their county, but none of them were really safe. The second down swing in the economy had taken effect just after the implementation of the new health care law. Many counties around the US had gone bankrupt. Several schools had closed, class sizes had nearly doubled and schools were little more than holding cells for students as teachers and administrators were overwhelmed and understaffed. 

The mass school board lay-offs of the first round of the recession had been replaced by mass “no-show” firings in this, the new depression. Rather than give a resignation, hoards of teachers had simply not shown up for a few months, then filed for unemployment stating they were fired. They had seen how the welfare class manipulated the system day in and day out. Many of their students bragged about how they didn't need an education because the government would take care of them just as it had done for their parents and their grandparents before.  With recent tax increases and inflation, the teachers were risking their lives to live on the exact same level as those who did nothing but milk the system. Why risk getting shot or having your throat slit? They weren't making any difference in these kids’ lives. There was no discipline, the very few who had an interest in learning received no attention because of the behavior of the rest. In fact, many of the good kids dropped out to get GED's. They could earn their GED online, in the safety, peace and quiet of their own home.

Matt pulled into the lot of the school and got out of his Dodge Ram pick-up truck. Karen walked out to meet him. Matt looked at the flat tire. "Someone knifed your tire. Did you have any of these kids locked up lately?"

"No" she said. "The police don't come to arrest them anymore. They say they don't have the resources to send officers unless there has been a murder or rape. There are metal detectors at the door where the kids go in. I doubt they could get a knife in here."

"They can sneak in a ceramic knife. They won't set off a detector.” Matt said. "Why would anyone slash your tire?” Matt popped the trunk to pull out the jack and the spare tire. As he looked down at the bumper, it clicked in his head. "It’s your 'Paul Randall for President' sticker.”

"What about it?" Karen asked curiously.

"Some liberal slashed your tire because of your bumper sticker. It’s nice to see the kids even know who he is." Matt answered.

Karen rolled her eyes. "It was probably one of the teachers. They mostly all support Howe. Most of them carry knives to 'open boxes' since that’s the only form of self defense they can have. There may be 20 boxes to open all year, but we all have a knife if that box makes it to our desk. They say some really hateful things about Paul Randall, things that would probably be illegal to say if he were president."

These types of vandalism were to be expected. Their county had voted 2 to 1 Democrat in the last presidential election. This city was a liberal septic tank. While they preached a message of tolerance, the liberals around here were anything but tolerant.

Matt got the tire changed and they headed home.

Over dinner, Matt was quiet.

"The car is fine Matt. Don't let it bother you." Karen tried to console him.

"It’s not the car. It’s work. I lost another company account. It was the last one. So many places are closing their doors; companies can't stay in business. This depression is killing everybody. The few places that can keep their heads above water are forced to shell out what they would have contributed to employee retirement plans on government health plans. The government taxes them to pay for everyone else's health care. After the health care law bankrupted all the health insurance agencies, the government took over. There is no alternative to paying what they demand. It’s the law. Without company matches, no one invests their own money into a 401k. I don't blame them. Retirement plans are just money pits now. I only have a few individual accounts left. No financial planner in the world can protect people's wealth in this market. Everything is going down.” Matt explained.