"Going into 2022, we as a nation need to face our new reality. Globalization is not what as good as we were told and sold. In fact, it is fraught with risks. Donald Trump had it right. Make more stuff here. We have more energy than any other country, we raise more food, and we manufacture good stuff."
My wife and I hit the lotto recently. Hearing reports of a looming turkey shortage, and if you can find it a turkey, it might cost a mint, we went into hyper speed in our search. Then we hit pay dirt. Seeing some turkeys at our local grocery store all costing close to $2/pound, we heard through the grapevine that WalMart had name brand turkeys for less than a buck a pound. We found a 16 pounder (perfect size for our clan) at our local WalMart, bought it, and stuck it in the freezer. A close call for a major holiday gathering.
Between the pandemic, supply chain issues, and federal governmental self inflicted wounds, we have gone from a land o' plenty, to a land of "maybe's". Maybe I can get this, maybe I need to substitute that, maybe the price has doubled since last year, maybe we can't afford to drive over 100 miles to find things.
Turning on the news these days, has been a barrage of bad news. It has caused many of us to be very strategic in our thinking and our buying habits. Some things however, are outside of our control. If you put 100 miles on your car every week, just to go to work and back, that cost is much higher than last year. And next year, it is forecasted to be even higher. If we have a cold winter this year, the cost to heat your home is going to be a whopper this year. And if Biden shuts down Line 5 in MI, it will be even higher next winter.
Currently, we are plagued with twin supply headaches - out of stock and if in stock, prices being out of this world - high. I have told my wife since the pandemic started, and we could not find many of the items we needed, our new shopping motto needed to be this: "Buy what you can, when you can, if you can, and how you can." If this new world of supply shortages and higher prices is indeed going to be our new norm, we all need to be smarter than we were last year. Instead of being spontaneous, we need to be strategic. We need to be planners. Not just in some things - in most things.
I have heard some families have given up on having a turkey this Thanksgiving. To much uncertainty. But then what do you have? A large roast? Seen the price of beef lately? Pork roast could be okay, as the price increase in pork has not been as high as beef (at least in these parts). Up until this year, buying a turkey at any time was always the best deal. It could stretch into a big meal with lots of leftovers. But that was then, and this is now.
In any event, Veteran's Day is now over (and it was wonderful). Next on the radar is Thanksgiving. And then Christmas shopping, although we have already been warned that many popular gifts for kids might be in short supply.
Going into 2022, we as a nation need to face our new reality. Globalization is not what as good as we were told and sold. In fact, it is fraught with risks. Donald Trump had it right. Make more stuff here. We have more energy than any other country, we raise more food, and we manufacture good stuff. We should be okay, but now we are not.
We don't need to have half our stuff made in China. Or sitting on dozens of container ships, waiting in a liquid parking lot outside of Long Beach or LA. We as a country, need to be smarter. And quickly.
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