On the surface, the supply chain crisis that’s left ships off both U.S. coasts facing a month of waiting before they’re unloaded is caused by bottlenecks following a post-COVID retail flush, rising shipping costs, and a lack of truckers available to unload containers waiting offshore (Redstate covered that angle here). That’s what labor unions told the Daily Mail, anyway, no doubt with the intent to remind everyone of their importance.
But scratch the surface, and supply chain problems are revealed to be much more complicated, driven by bureaucratic intrusion, and effectively look like a mini-war between shippers and carriers, one that the Biden administration and the Democrat-led House of Representatives aren’t interested in working on until at least November, making the problems we’re seeing today extend into the Christmas season.
Oh, those problems are going to be extending a whole lot longer than that, I’m afraid. As I said from the very start of the Covid clusterfuck: you can’t just shut an entire national economy down, as if the action was no more complex or potentially destructive than flipping a light switch off—for fifteen days to flatten the curve a year and a half to consolidate a tyranny and train a Sheeple—then nonchalantly flip the switch back to the “On” position, emboldened by a level of confidence only the truly witless ever get to experience, that things will just pick up and carry on as before with no lasting disruption and/or damage. Their monstrously inflated egos and delusions of omnipotence notwithstanding, the idiot ProPols badly overestimated their own smarts, competence, and capabilities—exactly as they always have—and now every damned man Jack of us is going to have to pay a severe price for allowing them to do it—exactly as we always have.
Part of the problem lies with the Biden administration’s “Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains,” issued on Feb. 24, 2021, which set up a “‘sectoral supply chain assessment‘ of six industrial sectors, including transportation. It requires the secretary of transportation, consulting with the heads of the department’s modal agencies, to submit a report to the president within one year of the executive order that assesses ‘the role of transportation systems in supporting existing supply chains and risks associated with those transportation systems.’”
See what I mean? My God, the EGOS on these little tin gods, daring to imagine that diddling around in affairs that are much too big for pygmies like themselves could ever lead to anything other than disaster, widespread human misery, and societal chaos. Any genuinely intelligent, sane person would have known better. Clearly, the professional politicians…don’t. Does that suggest anything about the advisability of restricting government at all levels to no more than the merest minimum of authority and power? Why, it seems so NO DUH! obvious, so self-evident and beyond argument, that I’m shocked that nobody ever thought of such a thing before now, nor attempted to codify, explicitly and in writing, how a government strictly and sturdily fenced by such restrictions might possibly be established. A real head-scratcher, that one is. Oh well, maybe someday.
While over 150 companies and trade associations have written a letter to encourage Congress to work on the bill, there’s some concern within the industry that the legislation would only create tension between shippers and regulators and carriers.
OH yeah, by all means let’s get Congress involved too! Having them waddle their fat asses on up and thrust their snouts into the slop trough will SURELY straighten this whole mess out with a quickness. Won’t it?
In short, government involving itself and imposing new regulations while also refusing to update existing regulations have played a familiar role in the slow down of a market that is trying to bounce back after COVID stopped the machine.
Update existing regulations, my baggy white ass. The one and only treatment for what ails us that stands a ghost of a chance of curing the affliction is to take a broadaxe and start chopping as many as can be reached into little, tiny pieces.
Apropos of not a whole lot, the Red State companion-piece mentioned in the first excerpted ‘graph is worth a read in its own right.
Cargo ships anchored off California and New York, and in rail yards and on trucking routes, shipping consumer goods are incredibly backlogged due to a lack of manpower and pandemic restrictions to unload the goods. And now, there are warnings that the supply chain may be on the brink of collapse.
Shipping ports which normally only had one or two ships in dock waiting to be unloaded prior to the pandemic now have dozens lined up, waiting to be unloaded for up to four weeks, slowing the whole chain. In Los Angeles and Long Beach, as many as 73 vessels were waiting to be unloaded last month. The bottlenecks at the ports are also impacting railways and trucking. In Chicago — that has one of the largest rail yards — it was at one point backed up for 25 miles.
This is a disaster about to blow up.
If you were trying to do-in the country, I’m not sure what you would do that the Biden team hasn’t been doing.
Hey, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck…
It makes for some pretty grim reading, all the moreso since there really is no way the Great Chaos Engine our damned fool politicians cranked up and set in motion can be stopped at this late stage. All any of us can do now is brace for the impact of the imminent crash. Hopefully, the survivors can come up with some way to repay them for all the wonderful things they’ve done for us.
4
- Entries
Generally, Congress only solves problems by going out of session.
I wonder how much of this is Atlas Shrugged.
I’m convinced most of this is done on purpose with no regards for the real world consequence. They don’t give a crap about your supply chain issues. They will have their food on the table. Or so they think.
Let me explain. I wonder how many truckers just said “screw it” and joined some black market work environment. Or other professions.
I can knowledgeably assure you: PLENTY, with more still considering getting out and VERY few new drivers coming in thanks to the hassles, over-regulation, and constant surveillance truckers are subjected to by the goobermint. I’ve mentioned some of that here on a few occasions, and have been thinking about doing another post on the topic the last few days. All the daily, sometimes hourly griping my brother unloads on me over the phone as he’s dealing with all the bullshit at the port, the weigh stations, and everyplace else you can think of ought be put to some sort of use, I reckon.
“… is there ANYTHING they can’t fuck up?”
Well, they managed to fuck up the Jerry Can, so the correct answer seems to be: NO
+10
These people could fuck up a roll of toilet paper.
THIS IS ALL SOROS PLAN..NO F$%k UP.
Great NATO jerry cans made by Wavian in Latvia are available on ebay. I just bought 2 more
Y’know, way back in the dim dark mists of prehistory around April/May of last year when we were all trying to sort through the crap and BS to figure out if the Coof was a real threat or another bird flu panic, I kept saying that it was going to be the secondary and tertiary effects that were going to kill us.
And now here we are, 18-20 months along, and whattaya see? Secondary and tertiary effects damage.
Very true, IB. I see so many articles that say “COVID has caused so much economic/social/financial damage” when the reality is that government reactions to COVID have caused 99+% of the problems. As the Greatest Epidemic of All Time, the Plague of Doom That Will Kill Us All, COVID is a complete bust. The government’s actions about COVID have been the real disaster, entirely inflicted by the sooper-genius ruling caste.
Heh. Articles and posts like that are why I no longer have any enamel on my molars from grinding my back teeth, Haz. 🙂
COVID didn’t cause Jack shit, you fucking morons. The goddamned Coof panic is what caused all the damage.
They’re like my hyperactive Aussie, Woody, self panicking at random air molecules.
I’ve known a few dogs (and a number of people) like that.
Inflicted as Part of the Plan.
Does anyone think it could be UN troops in those “cargo” ships? Just asking
Only if there are underage girls and drugs as well.
+10
“…UN troops in those “cargo” ships?”
“…waiting to be unloaded for up to four weeks.”
What do you suppose they are eating, each other? Where are they peeing and pooping? In the containers?
The way you do not stage an invasion is by starving your invasion party for several weeks, all while stewing in the heat of the sun and with your own sewage.
Just answering 🙂
Plus, UN? When have they ever invaded anywhere? As a matter of fact, when did they ever do fighting unless American troops were there?
Now, I know Korea was “UN” but American troops were probably supported by ANZACS and SorKs.
In Vietnam as well. ANZACs and SVA.
British as well in WWII. Have to give credit to French underground then too.
“Plus, UN? When have they ever invaded anywhere? ”
Perhaps a pre-teen pajama party in Africa. I think that would be about it.
Seems someone (else) suggested the same possibility a month or so back, but chinese rather then UN.
I imagine the longshoremen will know what to do with the “cargo” 🙂
Well, at least ChiCom troops might make sense.
Its more likely the ChiComs and the UN worked together to “invade” DC via a Stolen Election.
Oh wait, I think that just happened.