The (perfect) Christmas Grinch

"Much of what is making up this perfect storm cannot be changed. It is cast in concrete. That is - except for one thing. Stop all unemployment insurance. If you are not working, you will not be paid."

Okay. We are a month and change away from Halloween. About two months away from Turkey Day. And? So? The experts who study this stuff, are saying the time is now to do your Christmas gift ordering. And why in the world is that? The "perfect storm" which is coming this Christmas. Or should we say, the perfect Christmas Grinch. That Grinch, is not being able to get "stuff" - including Christmas presents. And it all gets back to those dozens upon dozens of container ships, which are moored off the coasts of our major ports.

I am now going to sound like our "giggle puss" Veep for a minute. I am going to "root cause" what the heck is going on here. How this all started. I mean, this type of perfect storm has not happened before. Here is what many financial experts are pointing towards - the pandemic. Why the pandemic? Because even though the United States was the hardest hit, it still hit many other countries all over the world. Including countries who make our stuff.

That is the first cloud in this perfect storm. The hiatus in manufacturing for some of our goods. Then mix in the financial "gifts" our government was giving people to ameliorate the financial suffering from the pandemic. Gifts so lavish, that the financial incentive to go back to work once the coast was at least partially clear (from the virus) - vanished. All of a sudden we have 12,000,000 unfilled jobs, and helped wanted signs were popping up all over the place. That is cloud two of the perfect storm.

Next, mix in the demographic shift which has been in the making for years. This would be cloud three. Low birth rates in this country, followed by an aging population. That means more and more gray hairs. Retired folk. Part of that mix were the truck drivers. The over the road truckers who had a CDL. When the goods finally get to our ports, we don't have enough truckers to drive the containers away from the container ships. 

All of these ingredients will probably leave us with a Grinch like Christmas. We will be like Cindy Lou Who, who was stuck with a scraggly tree on Christmas morning, with not much under it. Is there any way out of this conundrum? Much of what is making up this perfect storm cannot be changed. It is cast in concrete. That is - except for one thing. Stop all unemployment insurance. If you are not working, you will not be paid. Those 12,000,000 job openings will be filled quicker than you can say "Joe Biden is a phony".

I will repeat what I said in an earlier post. Until we get back to "normal", consider your bunker. At any time, the supply chain can get really goofy, and we might not be able to get even the most fundamental of supplies. Don't let this Grinch to not only ruin your Christmas, but also your day to day living.