One question. If we are lacking in people to fill roles, why exactly are we creating entire DEI departments and administrative positions? My gosh, it seems like a huge cut in these areas would be beneficial to everyone.
When you cut the ideology out of the equation (which is, I admit, non-trivial, but bear with me), they are essentially parasite industries. If you sell people really expensive education loans that yield them no real skills, then give them taxpayer-funded (or mandated) jobs as sinecures, your in-group can harvest a greater and greater share of the GDP while incurring no liabilities (until the scheme collapses). Everybody in on the grift--from the trainers, to the lobbyists, to the legislators, to the bankers--wins, and the only people who get fucked are those who actually produce things.
Most of the stuff I find online concentrates on "inflation is when prices go up," which basically pretends that "defining" a thing is the same as explaining a thing.
Inflation is when money loses value--therefore, because money is worth less, prices are higher. What makes money less valuable? Too much money is available to meet the needs of the economy. If you only have an extra dollar, you not want to spend 75c on a piece of candy. If you have an extra $5, you're unlikely to choke on spending $1.25 for that same piece of candy.
This video does a pretty good job of explaining how and why too much money drives inflation, and some of the places that too much money can come from.
The video does not discuss the way deficit spending pushes inflation--it's the biggest hidden driver. The gov't borrows money into existence from the Fed. Res., spends it into the economy, increasing the money supply, etc. The interest rate also effects what the gov't has to pay for the money it borrows into existence. This is what people are talking about when they say "The government is 'printing money'." It used to be that there was a literal printing press involved--now it's just a ledger entry.
It has the potential to be VERY closely analogous. Time will tell what, if any, differences that things like automation, modern finance, modern migration, etc. make to the picture.
A question and a half: You mentioned trucking out of the West Coast but not rail transport. My understanding is a large part of West Coast container traffic crosses the Rockies on double stack rail cars to inland ports where it is distributed to trucks. I know at least in the 90s and 00s there was even container traffic from East Asia to Europe that crossed the Pacific to the US and then ran the rails to the East Coast before being reloaded to Europe (enough that the New York, Susquehanna, and Western survived as an independent line in part on this traffic coming into New Jersey to ports it served). I would think there is some slack in the rail system that could pick up a part of that load (although precession railroading on the NS has probably eliminated a lot of that slack East of the Mississippi).
While we are on railroads while the Longshoremen may be the first to succeed since the 1970s the IAM strike against CSX in 1992 attempted the same thing complete with lockout. It failed when Congress and the President intervened within 24 hours as all major railroads of the time (more than today as a lot of consolidation was still in progress) and several minor ones shutdown claiming connection issues but probably to force Congress's hand.
Given a lot of plants were already at JIT (an idea only a business school grad can love) there was pressure from auto manufacturing (corps and labor) among others for government intervention.
A real tangent point, the image of the Longshoremen isn't helped when their union head has a lifestyle more like Harvey Weinstein than a Longshoreman. The professionalization of labor unions was another factor in their loss of prestige and power in the 70s and may hurt them this time around as well.
Well, their union head IS a mafioso, after all ;-)
The rail transport sector is not what it once was, but it is cheaper than moving stuff by truck and will doubtless gladly also take up some extra cargo traffic. But, like with trucks, it will only be a small portion of the trade lost from a 50% national reduction in port capacity.
I read that in the inbox as "their unicorn head IS a mafioso" and wondered why you were abusing the lamented Ballentine Adult Fantasy series.
And, yeah, lamented. Whoever holds the rights could reproduce it, complete with Lin Carter's introductions, in editions similar to Penguin's deluxe hardbacks of its classics and I'd buy everyone.
Shoot me a private message? I have a 12v cummins and will (hopefully) soon have a 3cyl International Harvester. I will need parts from time to time, and it's always good to shoot business in the direction of a friend :-)
One question. If we are lacking in people to fill roles, why exactly are we creating entire DEI departments and administrative positions? My gosh, it seems like a huge cut in these areas would be beneficial to everyone.
When you cut the ideology out of the equation (which is, I admit, non-trivial, but bear with me), they are essentially parasite industries. If you sell people really expensive education loans that yield them no real skills, then give them taxpayer-funded (or mandated) jobs as sinecures, your in-group can harvest a greater and greater share of the GDP while incurring no liabilities (until the scheme collapses). Everybody in on the grift--from the trainers, to the lobbyists, to the legislators, to the bankers--wins, and the only people who get fucked are those who actually produce things.
What's a good beginner reference for understanding how inflation works?
Most of the stuff I find online concentrates on "inflation is when prices go up," which basically pretends that "defining" a thing is the same as explaining a thing.
Inflation is when money loses value--therefore, because money is worth less, prices are higher. What makes money less valuable? Too much money is available to meet the needs of the economy. If you only have an extra dollar, you not want to spend 75c on a piece of candy. If you have an extra $5, you're unlikely to choke on spending $1.25 for that same piece of candy.
This video does a pretty good job of explaining how and why too much money drives inflation, and some of the places that too much money can come from.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIbNJCSCEjk
The video does not discuss the way deficit spending pushes inflation--it's the biggest hidden driver. The gov't borrows money into existence from the Fed. Res., spends it into the economy, increasing the money supply, etc. The interest rate also effects what the gov't has to pay for the money it borrows into existence. This is what people are talking about when they say "The government is 'printing money'." It used to be that there was a literal printing press involved--now it's just a ledger entry.
Thanks, I'll check it out
Also, how does this situation with labor compare to that with the Black Death?
It has the potential to be VERY closely analogous. Time will tell what, if any, differences that things like automation, modern finance, modern migration, etc. make to the picture.
Looks like these guys might end up being contenders. They won't have to take the price on Wilson this time.
A question and a half: You mentioned trucking out of the West Coast but not rail transport. My understanding is a large part of West Coast container traffic crosses the Rockies on double stack rail cars to inland ports where it is distributed to trucks. I know at least in the 90s and 00s there was even container traffic from East Asia to Europe that crossed the Pacific to the US and then ran the rails to the East Coast before being reloaded to Europe (enough that the New York, Susquehanna, and Western survived as an independent line in part on this traffic coming into New Jersey to ports it served). I would think there is some slack in the rail system that could pick up a part of that load (although precession railroading on the NS has probably eliminated a lot of that slack East of the Mississippi).
While we are on railroads while the Longshoremen may be the first to succeed since the 1970s the IAM strike against CSX in 1992 attempted the same thing complete with lockout. It failed when Congress and the President intervened within 24 hours as all major railroads of the time (more than today as a lot of consolidation was still in progress) and several minor ones shutdown claiming connection issues but probably to force Congress's hand.
Given a lot of plants were already at JIT (an idea only a business school grad can love) there was pressure from auto manufacturing (corps and labor) among others for government intervention.
A real tangent point, the image of the Longshoremen isn't helped when their union head has a lifestyle more like Harvey Weinstein than a Longshoreman. The professionalization of labor unions was another factor in their loss of prestige and power in the 70s and may hurt them this time around as well.
Well, their union head IS a mafioso, after all ;-)
The rail transport sector is not what it once was, but it is cheaper than moving stuff by truck and will doubtless gladly also take up some extra cargo traffic. But, like with trucks, it will only be a small portion of the trade lost from a 50% national reduction in port capacity.
I read that in the inbox as "their unicorn head IS a mafioso" and wondered why you were abusing the lamented Ballentine Adult Fantasy series.
And, yeah, lamented. Whoever holds the rights could reproduce it, complete with Lin Carter's introductions, in editions similar to Penguin's deluxe hardbacks of its classics and I'd buy everyone.
Holy shite! Go labor. Unfortunately, this is gonna hurt our transportation business, though. Diesel parts...yikes.
Shoot me a private message? I have a 12v cummins and will (hopefully) soon have a 3cyl International Harvester. I will need parts from time to time, and it's always good to shoot business in the direction of a friend :-)