If you ask the political left, they have the answer for everything. They know how the current problems we are facing should be handled. They see how the issues of our past could have been dealt with. And in the future, you can bet they’ll come up with any and all solutions.
That is, just so long as they don’t actually work or change anything.
Take the current shipping or supply chain crisis in the US, for example.
For weeks, we’ve been getting reports of hundreds of cargo ships coming into port all over the nation, only to be forced to sit and wait for days at a time just to be unloaded. For example, in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area, two of the nation’s largest and busiest ports. It was reported last week that a record number of ships, 167, were sitting off the coast of California… just waiting.
As you well know, if you haven’t seen it already, this problem is causing many other issues. Stores are running out of products, companies have orders backed up farther than ever before, and prices are rising even more. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
However, Biden and his jolly administration have come up with a solution.
As they announced last Wednesday, the ports at LA and Long Beach were now going to start operating 24/7, increasing the potential number of ships that could be offloaded and the amount of cargo needed to be put before consumers.
According to the transcript from Rev.com, Biden said that negotiations had been going on for weeks. After speaking with “union retailers and freight movers, they had finally come up with a solution everyone could be happy with. And one that would solve all their problems.”
He said, “By staying open seven days a week through the night and on the weekends, the Port of Los Angeles will open over 60 extra hours a week, will be open.”
Now, to be clear, opening the ports for more hours in the day and more days per week isn’t a bad idea in the least. As Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pointed out later that same day, most of his ports have been running 24/7 for years now, and it is believed to be, at least in part, why his state is dealing with the current supply chain crisis better than those such as California.
However, as several workers around the docks can testify, simply opening up the ports more doesn’t do a lot.
In fact, as NBC News’ Lester Holt reported, “not much has changed” in the days since the ports were opened for longer hours, and the “crisis level” has not diminished.
Why?
Well, as Frank Ponce de Leon, an LA crane operator and union leader with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, reminds us, the ports are only part of the equation to make the supply chain work.
He says, “This is not an L.A., Long Beach problem. This is greater than that. Other parts of the supply chain need to be in tune with working 24/7.”
He told Holt that union leaders have pushed port workers to be available 24/7 for months now, all throughout the pandemic, really. And most workers have answered that call. Unfortunately, however, “it’s not up to them when they’re called to work.”
Instead, that depends on when trains or trucking companies are available. And those parts of the supply chain aren’t without their own problems at the moment.
Port workers can unload all the cargo they want, but if there are no trains or trucks to take the loads, they’re just creating a bigger mess. The same thing goes for trucking companies. Again, they can take all the loads they want, but with warehouses full around the country, the trucks are forced to sit on city streets in places and again… just wait.
So, you see, Biden’s solution only works if all parts of the supply chain are reading the same page and working similar hours. And right now, they are not. As usual, his answers are only half-baked, leaving an ooey-gooey mess that helps nothing and no one.
