From: blockedofcourse@foo.invalid
On 2/5/2026 7:52 AM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:
> Don Y wrote:
>
>> I'm thinking back to how screwed up the supply chain got during
>> COVID and wonder what manufacturers and investors will do when
>> the future is far less certain than a "pandemic".
>>
>> Opinions?
>
> We have sleepwalked into this and the few who have raised the alarm have
> been (and still are being) ignored and ridiculed.
"Computer chips, potato chips -- what's the difference?"
-- Michael Boskin (Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic
Advisers under GHW Bush)
People making the policy decisions are inept so unable to comprehend
the consequences of those decisions.
(Gotta wonder where the guy who came up with China's "one child"
rule is, today!)
> There is a wider problem: we have become 'travel junkies' and rely too
> much on transport. "I can get it cheaper from..." doesn't take into
> account the hidden costs such as liability to supply disruption, loss of
> control over the design and the fundamental need to teach underlying
> principles and train people in making things themselves.
People are always looking for "more value" -- ignoring the costs
they incur in getting there.
Look at how many product use Linux kernels -- yet likely have no one
on staff that understands or can maintain such a big chunk of code
ON WHICH THEIR PRODUCT DEPENDS.
> We haven't got the factories.
> We haven't got the machines.
> We haven't got the people who know how to operste the machines.
> We haven't got the machines to make the machines.
> We haven't got the people who know how to make the machines
> We haven't got the material.
> We haven't got the undustry to make the materials.
But each of these things have associated costs.
Employers want "new hires" that are familiar with TODAY'S
technology. There is no concern for how well suited they
will be for TOMORROW'S! ("We'll just replace them!")
Individuals frequently make decisions with much longer
timescales (going to college, purchasing a vehicle, house,
relocating to a different geographical area, accepting a
particular job, etc.).
But, the bigshots are terrified to make a decision that
doesn't have a resolution in the short term.
> In the thrall of Greenwash we have simply exported the 'dirty' jobs to
> other countries and then added to the pollution by shipping the goods
> back.
A group I'm affiliated with recycles medical, electronic, etc.
kit. For years, we would just load up a 40 ft rolloff with
old CRT monitors and ship it down to MX. There was no way
to dispose of all of that "hazardous waste" in the US
economically. But, groups in MX would painstakingly
disassemble the monitors and sort out how to deal with the
individual components (at least, that was the hope; AFAIK,
there might be a mountain of old CRTs sitting out in the MX desert,
someplace!)
OK, so we no longer produce CRTs (in those quantities). But,
anyone notice how much waste an 85" LCD/LED TV generates??
How long until THAT is an issue?
> If Russia could do to the UK what it is doing to Ukraine, the country
> would have to surrender within a week.
The bigger problem, IMO, is the disruption to the economy that
would come from such a potential supply chain interruption.
During COVID, folks were largely sidelined so component
shortages were offset by labor reductions.
Imagine entire assembly lines waiting for key components...
all of those salaries needing to be paid!
And, even if the components can on-shored, can they be produced in the
quantities needed? And, at the price points folks have become
accustomed to?
If every ECU in a new vehicle was suddenly 10% (or 50%) more
expensive, how many fewer cards would get sold?? How many
factory workers sidelined?
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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