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Economy
Shortages now being blamed on Americans
2021-10-19
[Business Insider] Americans are buying everything they can get their hands on, and they'd be buying even more if it weren't for those pesky supply-chain snarls, the National Retail Federation said.

"Spending might have been higher if not for shortages of items consumers are eager to purchase," Jack Kleinhenz, the NRF's chief economist, said in a statement issued on Friday.

Those shortages seem so ubiquitous that the term "everything shortage" is now being used liberally to describe consumers' frustration as they try to get goods of all sorts: paper towels, milk, toys, and more.

Yet claims that the country is running short on everything miss a key point. America has, in fact, imported an immense amount of stuff in the past eight months. And that's part of the reason we're in the midst of an epic supply-chain congestion.
Posted by:Besoeker

#9  Supply meet demand. But to blame it on the consumer?? A good socialist would not have the money to buy such items and we would not be in this problem. So I guess its all America's fault...
Posted by: 49 Pan   2021-10-19 15:55  

#8  Just finished my Christmas shopping since it will be all FUBAR'ed in Nov-Dec.
Posted by: DarthVader   2021-10-19 15:00  

#7  Should have started six months ago, but not too late. Four weeks maybe? When the 2022 price listings start to unveil.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2021-10-19 13:00  

#6  ^^^ Yes, that was a big part of the problem by the late 1970s. It was labeled "inflationary expectations," but it was exactly buying thinis before the prices went up yet again.
Posted by: Tom   2021-10-19 12:50  

#5  When the value of money is being rapidly degraded by inflation it makes good sense to buy all the 'stuff' you can get.
Posted by: Glenmore   2021-10-19 11:41  

#4  Oh. My fault. Guess the solution is More Government.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2021-10-19 11:18  

#3  Some think ahead (0:30).
Posted by: Procopius2k   2021-10-19 11:07  

#2  Many businesses consider customers a "necessary evil" at best. I blame MBAs.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2021-10-19 11:00  

#1  Rationing for gas and oil products only. Electric vehicles will remain exempt.
Posted by: Besoeker   2021-10-19 10:59  

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