I've suggested to DH that we position ourselves to be as independent as possible to prepare for the next shoe to drop. Beyond being debt-free, and dramactically simplifying our lifestyle are there any other suggestions out there?
1) Write your elected representatives.
2) Join and contribute to organizations putting pressure on the political system to stop the madness.
Regarding steps 1 and 2: I think doing things to help prevent the disaster are much preferred over steps to minimize personal impact once it happens.
3) I'm not sure being out of debt is a good thing. In countries where there has been very high inflation (or even hyperinflation) it is much better to be a debtor than a lender. Paying off that loan in increasingly worthless greenbacks is what you want.
4) I'm not sure TIPS or I-Bonds offer much protection against really bad inflation. At that point there will be a crisis in confidence regarding US Government promises, and it's very likely TIPS would become less valuable on the secondary market. Given everything else that will be happening, the government will be sorely tempted (and probably encouraged by the public) to engage in some shenanigans regarding the computation of the inflation component of I-Bonds and TIPS. a tsunami of
5) The usual survivalist/"sky is falling" stuff. (Physical gold, food, ammo, some fuel, a barterable skill/goods, etc). I'm fairly sure it won't come to this.
I don't know if any foreign currencies would help much if the US dollar really hit the skids. Who is going to take your Swiss francs in exchange for groceries? I could be wrong, and maybe there are economies that will come out of this smelling like a rose--I'd think it would be best to own stock (unhedged) in companies doing business in these countries. And they'd have to have a business that didn't depend on exports to the US. But the countries would also have to have political systems that are rock solid and able to say "no" where the US politicians have been unable to do so. Ironically, Europe is being much more responsibe regarding govt stimuliii and government involvement in the private sector than is the US right now. Probably because they've been down this road and know where it leads.