Supply Chain Issues Didn't End At Christmas

For months, we heard an awful lot about the issues with our supply chain. There was worry that Christmas would be well and truly ruined due to a lack of goods. The White House did what they do best. They got defensive over it.

In the end, Christmas came and went and we dealt with it like Americans tend to do. We may gripe and complain, but we also adapt, improvise, and overcome.

Yet those supply chain issues remain. Here are some stories from just the last few days:

Chicago car dealership talking about supply chain issues in the auto industry.

The New York Post talking about a champagne shortage ahead of New Year’s Eve.

A restaurant in Great Falls, MT discussing supply chain issues.

The New York Times talking about parents having to wait for car seats for their kids due to the supply chain.

I don’t care what the White House may want to say, we have an issue. This isn’t American simply having the ability to buy more goods, either. That kind of quantum leap in buying power just doesn’t happen overnight and manufacturers are pretty good about stepping up to meet demand.

Unless they can’t.

See, this is on my mind a lot right now. Yesterday, the laptop I use for work died on me. There was no rebooting in safe mode or anything else. It was D-E-A-D dead. That meant I needed to run out and get another, and I couldn’t shop online as I tend to do. I needed it in hand yesterday so I could work today.

I went to four different stores—Sam’s Club, Walmart, Office Depot, and Staples—which are the places locally where I can usually find computer options. In almost all of them, there was very little inventory available. It wasn’t that people got laptops in staggering amounts over Christmas, either, it was simply that there weren’t computers available.

Now, I was able to eventually find something that would work. The screen is 3.5 inches smaller than I’m used to, as is the keyboard, but it works and has a better processor and more RAM, so I’ll deal, but I’m an American, I’m used to only having to settle due to price, not availability.

Currently, the White House isn’t concerned about that. They’re focused on meat prices, which, in fairness, does make some sense. Food is generally a higher priority than consumer electronics.

Unfortunately, that only goes so far. I mean, if you’re someone who needs a computer so you can afford meat at even rock-bottom prices, you might have a different idea about just where priorities should be.

Besides, the White House has a whole staff. They should be able to multitask. Especially in the era of COVID when so many people are still working at home. They may not have the luxury of company-issued computers (case in point: Me!) so they may well need an inventory available for purchase.

But really, I don’t want to make it about how much of a pain in the ass it was to find a computer. We are still fortunate enough that we can just run out and buy one, even if it’s not what we’d ideally want.

The truth is that computers are only part of the problem. People are having trouble getting all kinds of goods they either want or need, and so far I’m not seeing much from our supposed leaders to address these shortages.

While that came home for me yesterday, it’s come home for millions of others time and time again in recent months.

If the Biden administration is simply unable to solve the problem, then that’s something the American voters will be remembering come 2024. You better believe it’ll play a factor in November’s midterm elections as well.