...is collapsing due to covid restrictions and generous gimmees for people to not work .

Maybe government gimmees should end for able bodied Americans when jobs are available .

Maybe instead of passing infrastructure legislation for roads that goods are not being transported on anyway we should plan to shorten the supply chain and bring the work to the US or at least to this hemisphere .

Why do we favor empowering a strategic rival like China to get goods to the country by shipping them half way around the world when there are obvious advantages to making product here or in nations in the Western Hemisphere ? Relying on China is a self defeating proposition.

Yesterday transport workers published this urgent letter to world leaders at the UN General Assembly .

Joint open letter – Transport heads call on world leaders to secure global supply chains | International Chamber of Shipping (ics-shipping.org) (https://www.ics-shipping.org/press-release/joint-open-letter-transport-heads-call-on-world-leaders-to-secure-global-supply-chains/)

"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,"


Everyone will notice come Black Friday when there are no goods in Walmart to fight over .

Everyone will notice come Black Friday when there are no goods in Walmart to fight over .
And stop with all the panicky news flashes and dire warnings about certain goods -- e.g., bottled water, meats, tp and paper towels, AND Thanksgiving turkeys!!! -- rapidly disappearing off store shelves.

I'm less concerned about those items than building supplies ,semiconductor chips that forced Toyota to cut production by 40% ,steel etc .Around the country there is demand for products but factories cannot make them . I was experiencing the beginnings of this before I retired . Purchasers were tearing their hair out looking for alternate suppliers . In my development homes are in the process of being built . But they are at a snails pace compared to late last year . The home across the street was sold . But the owner had to wait weeks to move in because garage doors were not available . I waited almost 3 months to complete my fence . In that time the price of lumber more than doubled .

In England there are long lines for petrol . The NHS announced that they has to delay some blood tests because of scarcity .

Meanwhile hundreds of ships are parked off of LA waiting to dock . But there are not enough workers to do the job. China closed some export ports due to covid and has been slow to reopen them.

Container shipping is the backbone of the supply chain and that is close to a broken system. In that scenario panic buying is almost logical .
The price of moving goods to the United States from Asia is up as much as 10x since the beginning of the pandemic
So I ask again where is the logic in continuing on this treadmill. ?

So I ask again where is the logic in continuing on this treadmill. ?
How do we get off? Get rid of Covid?

No Covid is here to stay .

I propose that the supply chain be shortened by moving the manufacture of goods we purchase to this side of the world . It was always a fools bet to rely too heavily on the Chi-coms . There are plenty of nations on this side of the Pacific that would more than welcome the business. Who knows ; maybe jobs in Mexico ,Central America, South America ,the Caribbean islands would result in people staying in their own nations.

I propose that the supply chain be shortened by moving the manufacture of goods we purchase to this side of the world . It was always a fools bet to rely too heavily on the Chi-coms . There are plenty of nations on this side of the Pacific that would more than welcome the business. Who knows ; maybe jobs in Mexico ,Central America, South America ,the Caribbean islands would result in people staying in their own nations.
Excellent! How can we help make that happen?

I think COVID will be around a while which means the business of paying people not to work needs to end yesterday. We just have to learn how to live with it.

Not sure if there is a legal way to enforce the buying of products from countries nearer to us. There are many pitfalls associated with those efforts. I’m much more concerned about the current practice of fantasy budgeting where we pretend to have money we don’t have and lie about money magically appearing in the future.

All of that will take real leadership which we have not had in quite some time.

I was actually talking about this for a decade since I became involved in procurement . I was shocked at how many basic raw materials in the drug industry were sourced from China . As an example ;during the early stages of the pandemic ,China restricted the export of PPE . Critical drug raws are made in China .As an example they have cornered the antibiotic market . To me this was always a national security weakness .

As to your question ;We can start by giving pink slips to the globalist free trader bureaucrats and leaders in this country (like the fools who championed China into the WTO)

This is where the covid pandemic actually has people thinking about shortening the supply chain. Those ships lined up waiting to unload cargo is a big wake up call .
There is also geopolitical pressures to rethink the logic of an extended supply line given China's belligerence . History tells us that is not a wise strategy .(see Napoleon's Russia invasions )

I think the shift is already underway by the multinationals that are getting burned the most by this disruption. But Quid as the President can start the ball rolling . He wants hundreds of billions of dollars in investments for manufacturing, research, workforce training etc But these plans are not enough .They can only work if steps are taken to improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, and to create demand for products made in the Americas.

Will Quid do it ? Or will he follow Hunter's plan for the big guy to get in bed with Xi ?

Not sure if there is a legal way to enforce the buying of products from countries nearer to us. There are many pitfalls associated with those efforts.

to force it no . But there were incentives that prompted the move to the Pacific nations . End those incentives as Trump attempted in what they called his trade war with China ,and instead transfer the incentives to this hemisphere . Trump's USMC trade agreement started the ball . Expand it across the hemisphere . Business will go where it is most welcome .

To me this was always a national security weakness .That is really true and is a topic that virtually never is addressed. Relatively few computers are made in the U.S. I imagine that much of the hardware used for networking is imported. These are important issues that need to be addressed. The repubs have both an obligation and an opportunity here if they have enough sense to use it.

I think the shift is already underway by the multinationals that are getting burned the most by this disruption. But Quid as the President can start the ball rolling . He wants hundreds of billions of dollars in investments for manufacturing, research, workforce training etc But these plans are not enough .They can only work if steps are taken to improve the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing, and to create demand for products made in the Americas.
All the more reason to bring vocational guidance and training into middle schools and high schools!

’m much more concerned about the current practice of fantasy budgeting where we pretend to have money we don’t have and lie about money magically appearing in the future.

Did you see the inane comment by Tres Sec Yellen ? She said she wants to "abolish " the "destructive " debt limit . Because it makes " no sense " to limit Treasury's ability to pay bills approved by Congress.

'we don't need no stinkin limits '

Wonder what she thinks about a balanced budget amendment so the government can operate like 50 states and most American households have to operate ?

There is a day of reckoning coming for all of this. Foolishness always has its own reward.

This genius has an answer to the supply chain issue . Don't spend .

Here's the answer to your holiday supply-chain worries (opinion) - CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/03/opinions/supply-chain-worries-christmas-filipovic/index.html)


But wait ,the container ships are coming in

https://scontent-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/s720x720/248714363_10165931771120346_8859571122374000621_n. jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=825194&_nc_ohc=3-R_11rYp64AX8lHXw7&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-2.xx&oh=dde804713ada4000bae0f8970e928ddd&oe=618A39F1

Babylon Bee did a parody of arranging container ships to read 'Let's go Brandon' . The compliant press "fact checkers " actually wasted their time fact checking it .

https://pbs.twimg.com/card_img/1455109566363013126/JoJezFrb?format=jpg&name=small

Your two pics made me laugh out loud. Better laughing than crying, I suppose.

49346

Quid say Americans are too stupid to understand the supply chain. He tells Americans to suck it up, and blames Americans for the shortage.
"If we were all going out and having lunch together and I said, 'Let’s ask whoever's in the next table, no matter what restaurant we’re in, have them explain the supply chain to us.' Do you think they’d understand what we’re talking about?"

His stooges agree.

What is hard to understand? Americans see empty shelves in the store. Shortages of the goods they want and need to buy. Cargo ships waiting to off load, and prices sky rocketing. It is all your fault for wanting to give gifts and buy things!!
,
Yeah that is right, The Dems are taking the war on Christmas to the next level.

Bagdad Bob Jen Psaki mocked consumers when asked about it.
‘The tragedy of the treadmill undelivered’ Psaki plays down supply chain chaos, claims it’s because people are buying more | The Independent (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/psaki-supply-chain-treadmill-tragedy-b1941412.html)

Mayor Pete has no answers so he shrugs his shoulders and says this will continue into next year.
Buttigieg warns some supply chain problems will persist into 2022 - POLITICO (https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/17/buttigieg-supply-chain-problems-2022-516145)

The compliant press has joined the chorus with many op-eds claiming the problem is Americans are too spoiled and materialistic. If only we would just down size our expectations. It echoes Jimmy Carter blaming America's problems he could not solve on the people's malaise.

They say the supply chain is not working because Americans want too much.
Worried About the Supply Chain? Stop Buying So Much Stuff - The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/10/stop-shopping-global-supply-chain-shipping-delays/620465/)
Don't Buy Anything New This Holiday Season (newser.com) (https://www.newser.com/story/313099/dont-buy-anything-new-this-holiday-season.html)
People buy things to compete and stand out, but a new handbag won’t make you happier, says professor (kcrw.com) (https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/supply-chain-consumers/consumerism-sociology-happiness)

This is really just their excuse for not having a clue about the job the American people voted them in to do.

The truth revealed. 'Baghdad Bob' Jen Psaki revealed that the Quids are happy gas prices are going up.

"Our view is that the rise in gas prices over the long term makes an even stronger case for doubling down our investment and focus on clean energy options."

doubling down our investmentThe modern term for spending money you don't have. I told my wife yesterday, "I want to invest in a fishing boat." Judging from her response, evidently the Biden philosophy has not yet taken hold in her mind.

I tell my wife we have to purchase now before the price increases. But she doesn't buy it.

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=49346&d=1636205847











https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FEILYYAXoAcJTLr?format=jpg&name=small

The compliant press has joined the chorus with many op-eds claiming the problem is Americans are too spoiled and materialistic. If only we would just down size our expectations. It echoes Jimmy Carter blaming America's problems he could not solve on the people's malaise.

They say the supply chain is not working because Americans want too much.
Worried About the Supply Chain? Stop Buying So Much Stuff - The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/10/stop-shopping-global-supply-chain-shipping-delays/620465/)
Don't Buy Anything New This Holiday Season (newser.com) (https://www.newser.com/story/313099/dont-buy-anything-new-this-holiday-season.html)
People buy things to compete and stand out, but a new handbag won’t make you happier, says professor (kcrw.com) (https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/supply-chain-consumers/consumerism-sociology-happiness)


You see; our real problem is that we don't live like the Europeans . We over consume.


Americans may have to get used to consuming like Europeans. We will certainly not be deprived, but we will trim back our excesses, perhaps be more thoughtful about what we buy and purchase fewer, higher-quality goods.
Personal Finance: Americans Need to Live More Like Europeans - Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-12/personal-finance-americans-need-to-live-more-like-europeans?sref=2o0rZsF1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-view&utm_content=view&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic)

Stop your purchases. Put the economy into recession.

here's another moron who writes that the answer to the supply chain gridlock is to stop spending ,

Second Opinion: There's only one real solution for supply chain problems: Stop consuming so much (yahoo.com) (https://news.yahoo.com/second-opinion-theres-only-one-111257044.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall)

Hate to break it to these clowns who think inflation is a good thing . In fact it contributes to the supply chain strain. Why ? Because businesses that know prices are raising will stockpile . People do the same thing . You saw it during the beginning of the pandemic . Shortages of paper products and suddenly shoppers were walking out of stores with carts full of toilet paper .


A coordinated effort has to be created to unclog the gridlock . Quid and mayor Pete are not up to the task .

An understanding of what is actually causing the supply chain problems would be a good place to start. They clearly don't seem to understand the issue.

Normally not a big fan of '60 Minutes ' .But this is a good expose of the issue.

Cargo with nowhere to go: 60 Minutes investigates the supply chain crisis - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY2TBPPap_0)

This is the actual show. Lasts about fifteen minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7jSsyQKIfE

Another call strike three for the Biden admin.

so how do you fight inflation? One way to NOT is to have a tariff war with one of your largest trading partners that also shares a 5,525-mile border with you.

But that is what Quid is doing. The Commerce Dept announced it will double the average tariff on Canadian softwood lumber to 17.9% from 8.99%.

As you know lumber was and is in short supply during the new home construction boom that is still ongoing. The domestic sawmill industry is doing some rent seeking with Quid's support. Canadian timber is cheaper. What Quid's move will do is further increase the cost of lumber or create another shortage.
Trump was just as bad regarding imposing tariffs on our neighbor trading partners. Quid campaigned against Trump's protectionism. But he is just as much a protectionist as Trump ever was.

Not printing huge sums of money would help.

Not printing huge sums of money would help.
What do you suggest?

pass balanced budgets and cap discretionary spending like Bubba and Newt did . I am for an amendment mandating balanced budgets so 1997 -2000 is the rule rather than the exception.

Clueless Joe said yesterday that inflation is a "natural byproduct of recovery" . We have had many recoveries but we have not seen inflation at these levels since a pair of clueless Presidents in the 1970s.

He also said that the supply chain is in strong shape. He boasted of his administration’s efforts to relieve crowding at U.S. ports. All they have done is move the ships further out to sea. Some companies like Walmart have taken things into their own hand by chartering their own cargo ships.

At the same time, he claims that he has fixed the supply chain, his FTC has ordered retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Kroger, Procter & Gamble, Tyson Foods and Kraft Heinz Co. “to turn over information to help study causes of empty shelves and sky-high prices.” In other words, it can't be the government's fault. FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said “Supply chain disruptions are upending the provision and delivery of a wide array of goods, ranging from computer chips and medicines to meat and lumber.

Clueless Joe said yesterday that store shelves will be full for the holiday season Ummm it is the holiday season and store shelves are NOT full. He added a caveat that only Santa can promise gifts on time. Nope; Santa's elves are either on strike or have not reentered the work force.

What do you suggest?I can't improve on this answer. "pass balanced budgets and cap discretionary spending like Bubba and Newt did . I am for an amendment mandating balanced budgets so 1997 -2000 is the rule rather than the exception."

California dreaming

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FF3qfQXVEAAPSlg?format=jpg&name=small

So with the supply chain severely under stress ;especially in the southeast ;what a perfect time for the dock workers from the east and gulf coasts to strike.

They are Luddites who do NOT want automation. Hate to break it to you ,automation is coming like it or not All a strike will do is hasten the arrival.

They complain about wages .. Join the club .Inflation has eroded everyone's spending power. Monday they were offered a 50% increase and they turned it down.They want a 77% increase to $69/hr from $39/hr .More than half of 3,726 dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey earned more than $150,000 annually . About one in five dockworkers at the port earned over $250,000.
Port Strike Launched by Dockworkers From Maine to Texas - WSJ (https://www.wsj.com/articles/dockworkers-launch-strike-at-ports-from-maine-to-texas-dbbeec39?mod=hp_lead_pos3)

No sympathy here . Most of the country is in worse shape. When Kam the Sham speaks of greed ;she should point a finger at these unions .

To date Clueless Joe refuses to invoke the Taft -Hartley act that would compel them back to work for 80 days to continue negotiations .

As I stated earlier ;I suspect that this could be a staged false flag. Kam the Sham would appear like a leader and hero if she got the sides together to negotiate a deal.
All I know is either way this will impact prices we pay. Looking for people to start stocking up on items in anticipation of shortages .

Monday they were offered a 50% increase and they turned it down.They want a 77% increase to $69/hr from $39/hr That's really breathtaking. They turned down a 50% pay increase? Lunacy.

I suspect this is a play already scripted . Give it a week or so . They can't wait too long because of the impact it will have on the election. Then it's Kam to the rescue

I was thinking earlier how long it would have taken me to accept a 50% pay increase as a school principal. 3 seconds or so???

Thinking maybe the unions have not been reading labor reports recently . The good times are over . Post pandemic was a labor market . They could quit jobs and get new ones or get higher wages.

Well that ship has sailed . The "Great Resignation "is over .
The hiring rate fell to 3.3% in August, the slowest pace since October 2013,Workers are quitting their jobs at the slowest pace since 2015. Maybe a good time for management to clean house .

Job Hunting Is a Challenge for Recent College Grads - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/05/business/economy/jobs-college-graduates-unemployment.html)

U.S. Job Market Shifts to Lower Gear - The New York Times (nytimes.com) (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/06/business/economy/jobs-report-august-2024.html)

I was a boss for many years . There were times my options were limited ;and times when I could trim dead weight .

Amazon is ordering their employees back to the office. Employees who have worked in their pajamas and started their liquid lunches early while getting a sun tan at home are not happy .

Why is Amazon doing this and having to keep expensive offices operational ? Because productivity has suffereds and because the labor market has shifted . They are no longer beholden to the will of their employees.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Faces Employee Revolt Over Full-Time Return To Office Mandate, 73% Consider Quitting: Survey (yahoo.com) (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-faces-004257911.html)

Amazon workers 'rage apply' for other jobs after RTO mandate (nypost.com) (https://nypost.com/2024/09/30/business/amazon-workers-rage-apply-for-other-jobs-after-rto-mandate/)

These employees are now going to feel the full extent of Bidenomics-Kamenomincs .
They did not have to pay the cost of the commute (and this ME conflict will raise the price of gas . It is already happening ) . They have to buy clothing again (and this dock strike is going to cause retail prices to go up ) This foolish move by the Fed to lower rates is bound to bring back the inflation rate that was barely contained .

And worse for these remote workers . They will be held accountable for their time. Believe me ; Amazon would not be doing this if they did not feel they were being hosed by their remote workers.

And screw the dock workers and their extortion. Who gets a 77% increase in wages and a tripling of benefits ? Who will pay for it ?

Clueless Joe can act . But as of now he won't .

"It's collective bargaining," "I don't believe in Taft-Hartley."

Biden says he won't intervene if port workers go on strike (cnbc.com) (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/29/-biden-says-he-wont-intervene-if-port-workers-go-on-strike.html)

Screw him too

More on the job market
Americans quit their jobs at the lowest rate since 2020 in August (yahoo.com) (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-quit-their-jobs-at-the-lowest-rate-since-2020-in-august-145429761.html?.tsrc=372&ncid=crm_-1419049-20241003-1&bt_user_id=Hyj9u%2BOiWInlYbq76aUlUOOZ5EAQk%2BPkGfu YToDA2I4VJT7sRj5NgjCXRb5xt3BZ%2BnKdFqFDbmIupul9ZEG IZmPq6hj4gBu4d2mOEIn%2FtlQSQ5WNUs8nluv7diqxBh9G&bt_ts=1727949645187)

and please fill your gas tanks . The supply chain was already disrupted because we allow Houthis pirates to hit ships . Now this attack by Iran did much more damage than we are led to believe .Israel is going to his back hard ;probably at Iran's energy assets .

Rising oil prices after Iran strike could increase US gas prices, experts say - ABC News (https://abcnews.go.com/Business/rising-oil-prices-after-iran-strike-increase-us/story?id=114394795)

Union boss has 7,000 sq foot mansion and the Dems in his hip pocket .

Harold Daggett's sprawling NJ mansion has Bentley, 5-car garage and guest house (nypost.com) (https://nypost.com/2024/10/02/business/harold-daggetts-sprawling-nj-mansion-has-bentley-5-car-garage-and-guest-house/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost)

Because they are middle class for the little guy.

good news the unions have agreed to extend existing contract until January 15 to continue negotiations .

How convenient for the VP.

How convenient for the VP.

According to Politico

Quiet — and, finally, public — pressure from President Joe Biden and his team helped seal the agreement, people familiar with White House thinking said.

Port strike deal ends no-win dilemma for Democrats - POLITICO (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/03/port-strike-ends-defusing-a-political-time-bomb-00182455)


They did some polling and found that people did not want shortages a couple of weeks before the election.

So they gave marching orders to management ,who upped the ante and now has a 62% increase on the table.

Also DeSantis put some pressure on them.

‘Simply unacceptable’: DeSantis suggests alternative to longshoremen strike resolution (local10.com) (https://www.local10.com/news/local/2024/10/03/simply-unacceptable-desantis-suggests-alternative-to-longshoremen-strike-resolution/)

The strike is done for now . Wages and benefits aside ;one of the biggest issues is likely to remain a problem. Our ports are some of the worse run ones in the world. Ranked by efficiency only one US port is in the top 50 .

World Bank Document (https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099051723134019182/pdf/P1758330d05f3607f09690076fedcf4e71a.pdf)

Many of our major ports are in the 300s and Savannah is ranked the worse . You would think this would come up in negotiations . Well it does because the unions are opposed to the one thing that would improve the ranking ...... automation.


USMX is trying to fool you with promises of workforce protections for semi-automation. Let me be clear: we don’t want any form of semi-automation or full automation.

Letter of Opposition to USMX’s Misleading Statement – ILA Union (https://ilaunion.org/letter-of-opposition-to-usmxs-misleading-statement/)

This even though studies show that automation is beneficial for the workers also,


Like other technological advancements, automation arouses fears of job losses. Yet the LBCT and TraPac terminals show that it can be a win-win: Cargo-handling growth is yielding gains for labor on the docks. And since ports are at the at beginning and the end of the supply chain, they have a multiplier effect on job creation throughout the economy. “History and economics show no intrinsic conflict among technological change, full employment, and rising earnings,” the MIT study on the future of work concluded.26




Nacht-and-Henry-Automation-Report-May-2022-Final.pdf (pmanet.org) (https://www.pmanet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Nacht-and-Henry-Automation-Report-May-2022-Final.pdf)

The World Bank global port ranking helps show what this means in practice. The Container Port Performance Index 2023 ranks ports by the amount of time a ship spends in port. Not a single American port cracks the top 50, with top-ranked Charleston, S.C., coming in at 53. Yangshan in China is No. 1, and China is investing in ports throughout Latin America.
This isn’t the longshoremen’s first tangle with technology. In the 1960s the container revolution marked a shift from stuffing cargo inside the holds of a ship to putting cargo inside steel containers. Containers reduced the number of dockworkers needed, and the ranks of longshoremen declined as it was adopted. Today other nations are automating faster than the U.S. That means they are becoming cheaper and more productive.



How Bad Are U.S. Ports? The Best Is 53rd Worldwide - WSJ (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/how-bad-are-u-s-ports-the-best-is-53rd-worldwide-longshoreman-dockworker-2f1e9a87?mod=opinion_lead_pos3)