You do realize they have changed the way the calculate inflation and unemployment since the 70s. 3.4 percent unemployment? Take a look at the labor participation rate in 1980 and compare it to today.

I'll agree it's nothing like the 70s though, sure interest rates are where they should have been but if this is the new normal the federal government is going to have to make some drastic changes. Won't be long and we'll be paying over a trillion dollars a year just to service the federal debt.

I think your right it will be more like 2008 although locally we didn't really feel it bad till Q4 2009

It may sound like I am taking SHTF situation and it is and was , most people think some Red Dawn type movie when they think SHTF.
loosing you job is a personal SHTF
a bad winter storm is a SHTF
loosing a family member or having one in the hospital , or ending up injured yourself.

I am not saying buckets of food in the basement you don't eat , I am saying a pantry of food you do eat a months worth longer on some items that keep well.

so you have that mortgage say 90K remaining and you get to deduct the 3.5% interest from your income so maybe you don't want to pay it off even if you could.
if the house looses big time value your paying it at a loan not much different than rent but it is a fixed cost you could pay off any time with what you have in the bank.

money isn't going to be worthless over night and your mortgage says you pay it in US $ 90k of them no matter how worthless they become.

Ditto on your taxes , most places have a limit to how much they can raise them in a year 3% is common here , they can re-assess your house and get you for more but if the market tanks you can argue your value went down and they are stuck with the max % they can raise

you have that 100K in the bank that is good , keep 5K at home.
cash right now makes things happen and is a great tool of flexibility.

put a little here and there into stocking the things you know you are going to use , food staples , tp , oil, personal care items, socks.

keep your vehicles in good working order but driving older paid off or cash purchases vehicles is good especially if you can do some of the work on them yourself.

wood heat is as much an investment in the infrastructure as any thing if your in a northern state your going to need heat it just is.
having that infrastructure puts you feeding a stove and being warm rather than trying to buy heat or build infrastructure when in a crunch.

20 years worth of hunting ammo isn't that much a box of rifle for deer a year maybe two buy a box a pay check till you have what you want and you hardly notice it. 4-5 boxes of shot shell game loads a year, few bricks of 22.
we definitely see stuff become un-available and very expensive. I am not saying put up a million rounds or your going to fend off some hoard.
you might have to discourage some looters at some point hopefully not.

your traps can make meat also as well as fur and take no ammo.

it's all tools and you have to use them and keep up the knowledge or it is just stuff.

a garden isn't a bad idea if you enjoy it , learn what you like and what grows well , chard makes a good green and is the last thing green in the fall. almost till it is covered in snow. it will also reseed it's self as a biennial.

say you loose your job , you can keep that fire fed look for a new job , eat from your freezers and cut your costs till you find work again.
cut more wood and work from the tools and resources you have for good while especially with that 95k in the bank to pay your taxes and mortgage.

Formaly arguing devaluation of your home did not work for me in 2008.

I bought a piece of property that had a tax value of $158k, but I paid $90k for it. I went in and tried to get the taxes lowered (They are very high because it is lakeshore) and they wouldn't even listen to me.

I made some improvements to the structures on the property, and they raised the value to $285k in one year and of course the taxes are correspondingly higher. I paid the mortgage off, but now the tax payments are higher than the mortgage payments were. Go figure.

had 10 foreclosures I could see without stepping off my porch in 2010 ,it cleared out the neighborhood I have 2 neighbors from pre 2008

it may not have worked for everywhere , but houses around me had been selling in 2005 for 100-120s and were selling for 40-80 in 2010 my house got assessed at 79k that year my taxes actually went down a little in 2011

it may not work but it shouldn't be able to go up more than the set cap limit without a referendum.

lake front that isn't a surprise

When there is high unemployment, you don’t see sign up bonuses and “we are hiring” signs everywhere. Just sayin! I was looking for a job in the midwest in 1981. Waste of time. Moved to Texas to find work.