My guess is not apocalyptic, but just kind of depressing.

The whole world will be affected, and the US perhaps less so than other countries. That's simply because the US is reasonably capable of sustaining itself.

The communications infrastructure will survive. Actual travel and transportation will be severely curtailed.

Thankfully, government will shrink because there won't be money to pay for it. The military will shrink by 1/3, Social Security retirement and Medicare will happen at 70 rather than 65. People who plan on retiring from civil service jobs will get an unpleasant surprise. Few people will really retire.

Gardening will become a lot more popular. Food costs will take up much more of the typical person's budget. Few homes will be built, because there won't be demand for them. The cost of heating a home will grow substantially. People will learn to wear sweaters and keep the house at 65 degrees in the winter.

Expensive medical treatments will be cost prohibitive. If what's wrong with you can't be fixed with inexpensive medicine and procedures, you're likely to have to live with it or perhaps die of it.

We'll have 10-20 years of stagnation, fewer possessions, and less leisure time. But we won't starve and the country won't collapse. People will learn to be more self-reliant, and the extended family will re-emerge as the dominant form of the family.

Practical skills like carpentry will be in more demand. Basically, if you want something, you'll be able to get it if you build it yourself.

I don't think that multiple firearms will be a particularly valuable asset. The lever action 30-30 was designed as the all-around meat getter, family protector, and livestock protector. Something simple like that, plus maybe a pump shotgun will be useful. But target shooting for recreation will probably be too expensive to enjoy very much.

Within living memory the "standard" home was essentially two rooms: A bedroom for mom and dad, a general living/kitchen area, and a loft for the kids to sleep in. We lived through that. It can be done again if we have to. And it's not all that unpleasant in a lot of ways.


Be not weary in well doing.