Leftist policies are wrecking global supply chains
Sept 30, 2021 18:52:19 GMT -5
Post by Berean on Sept 30, 2021 18:52:19 GMT -5
September 30, 2021
Leftist policies are wrecking global supply chains and triggering shortages and looming hyperinflation. Stand by for capitalism to be blamed
By Thomas Lifson
We already see soaring prices, empty store shelves, shortages of critical products, factories shut down, workers unemployed, and people freezing in their homes. Soon, progressives will be blaming capitalism itself and demanding more government controls if not the outright seizure of the means of production. But in fact, these disruptions to what had been a smoothly operating integrated global economy that had raised hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the last three decades are all due to progressive policies being enforced by those very governments that stand ready to seize even more power over our lives.
There are multiple sources of the troubles bedeviling the international division of labor, but they all have one thing in common: bad government policies pushed by progressives.
Start with COVID, a highly communicable virus that can be lethal if left untreated, especially in people with comorbidities including obesity and diabetes. Governments around the world for the first time in human history decided to quarantine the healthy, not the sick, and went into "lockdowns" for a disease that has a 99.5% recovery rate is most dangerous to an identifiable subset of their populations: the elderly, the obese, and the already ill.
Those lockdowns constricted production, and the resulting unemployment temporarily deferred demand for many goods, including durables like cars and home appliances. In the United States, tax-free payments were offered to unemployed people that were more lucrative than the taxable wages they might receive if they returned to work, resulting in a predictable artificial labor shortage, further crimping the manufacture and distribution of many goods.
Many of the same factors were at work internationally. Jack Phillips of the Epoch Times explains:
The International Chamber of Shipping, a coalition of truck drivers, seafarers, and airline workers, has warned in a letter to heads of state attending the United Nations General Assembly that governments need to restore freedom of movement to transportation workers amid persistent COVID-19 restrictions and quarantines.
If nothing is done, they warned of a "global transport system collapse" and suggested that "global supply chains are beginning to buckle as two years' worth of strain on transport workers take their toll," according to the letter. It was signed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which represent some 65 million transport workers around the world.
"All transport sectors are also seeing a shortage of workers, and expect more to leave as a result of the poor treatment millions have faced during the pandemic, putting the supply chain under greater threat," the letter said. "We also ask that WHO and the ILO raise this at the U.N. General Assembly and call on heads of government to take meaningful and swift action to resolve this crisis now," they wrote.
With demand surging for goods that consumers deferred purchasing, and with worker shortages hindering resupply, choke points are developing all over the world.
Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, attempted to shed some light on the problem during a recent ABC News interview, noting that there's a significant backup of container ships off the coast of major ports of entry.
"We're witnessing a pandemic-induced buying surge by the American consumer, the likes of which we've never seen," he told the network on Sept. 29.
It's gotten to the point where at least one major retailer is attempting to bypass normal transport systems:
Costco said it's chartering its own container ships between Asia and North America amid supply chain issues worldwide, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said in a recent conference call.
Costco, he said, is dealing with "port delays, container shortages, COVID disruptions, shortages on various components, raw materials and ingredients, labor cost pressures" along with "trucks and driver shortages," Fox News reported.
These COVID-induced shortages are stoking inflation.
In remarks on Sept. 29, [Federal Reserve chairman] Powell said that the current spike in inflation is a "consequence of supply constraints meeting very strong demand," saying it's "associated with the reopening of the economy, which is a process that will have a beginning, middle and an end."
Continued at link
Leftist policies are wrecking global supply chains and triggering shortages and looming hyperinflation. Stand by for capitalism to be blamed
By Thomas Lifson
We already see soaring prices, empty store shelves, shortages of critical products, factories shut down, workers unemployed, and people freezing in their homes. Soon, progressives will be blaming capitalism itself and demanding more government controls if not the outright seizure of the means of production. But in fact, these disruptions to what had been a smoothly operating integrated global economy that had raised hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the last three decades are all due to progressive policies being enforced by those very governments that stand ready to seize even more power over our lives.
There are multiple sources of the troubles bedeviling the international division of labor, but they all have one thing in common: bad government policies pushed by progressives.
Start with COVID, a highly communicable virus that can be lethal if left untreated, especially in people with comorbidities including obesity and diabetes. Governments around the world for the first time in human history decided to quarantine the healthy, not the sick, and went into "lockdowns" for a disease that has a 99.5% recovery rate is most dangerous to an identifiable subset of their populations: the elderly, the obese, and the already ill.
Those lockdowns constricted production, and the resulting unemployment temporarily deferred demand for many goods, including durables like cars and home appliances. In the United States, tax-free payments were offered to unemployed people that were more lucrative than the taxable wages they might receive if they returned to work, resulting in a predictable artificial labor shortage, further crimping the manufacture and distribution of many goods.
Many of the same factors were at work internationally. Jack Phillips of the Epoch Times explains:
The International Chamber of Shipping, a coalition of truck drivers, seafarers, and airline workers, has warned in a letter to heads of state attending the United Nations General Assembly that governments need to restore freedom of movement to transportation workers amid persistent COVID-19 restrictions and quarantines.
If nothing is done, they warned of a "global transport system collapse" and suggested that "global supply chains are beginning to buckle as two years' worth of strain on transport workers take their toll," according to the letter. It was signed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), which represent some 65 million transport workers around the world.
"All transport sectors are also seeing a shortage of workers, and expect more to leave as a result of the poor treatment millions have faced during the pandemic, putting the supply chain under greater threat," the letter said. "We also ask that WHO and the ILO raise this at the U.N. General Assembly and call on heads of government to take meaningful and swift action to resolve this crisis now," they wrote.
With demand surging for goods that consumers deferred purchasing, and with worker shortages hindering resupply, choke points are developing all over the world.
Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, attempted to shed some light on the problem during a recent ABC News interview, noting that there's a significant backup of container ships off the coast of major ports of entry.
"We're witnessing a pandemic-induced buying surge by the American consumer, the likes of which we've never seen," he told the network on Sept. 29.
It's gotten to the point where at least one major retailer is attempting to bypass normal transport systems:
Costco said it's chartering its own container ships between Asia and North America amid supply chain issues worldwide, Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said in a recent conference call.
Costco, he said, is dealing with "port delays, container shortages, COVID disruptions, shortages on various components, raw materials and ingredients, labor cost pressures" along with "trucks and driver shortages," Fox News reported.
These COVID-induced shortages are stoking inflation.
In remarks on Sept. 29, [Federal Reserve chairman] Powell said that the current spike in inflation is a "consequence of supply constraints meeting very strong demand," saying it's "associated with the reopening of the economy, which is a process that will have a beginning, middle and an end."
Continued at link