Mark Stoller moved to Falcon in 2007.†He and his wife, Andra, both U.S. Air Force veterans, enjoy life with their daughters, extended family and adopted rescue dogs in Latigo. Mark savors the privilege of his wife and daughters being his muse for topics, people to meet and places to investigate.The opinions of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of ìThe New Falcon Herald.î
As of Oct. 22, there were 112 shipping vessels waiting to be offloaded at the Port of Los Angeles. Normally, there are around three to five ships.Manufactured items we purchase are imported in 20-foot metal containers. Shipping vessels delivering these imports can carry 18,800 to 23,964 20-foot containers each.In 2019, 20,000 containers at $5,000 a container cost $100,000,000 per ship. Today, 20,000 containers at $20,000 a container costs $400,000,000 per ship.How can companies cover the $300,000,000 difference ó especially if the ship remains in a holding pattern for weeks outside of a port? (Adds exponential costs to each ship and its cargo.)You are going to help them. Inflated delays and fines for imported merchandise generates inflated consumer cost.This is the cause-effect consequences from COVID-19 worker shortages (those infected, those who quit to take the financially elevated COVID unemployment handout, the vaccine mandate stand-off) and a manufacturer surge to restock shelves in response to increased consumerism.Additionally, the American Trucking Association recently announced they are short 80,000 truck drivers to deliver the merchandise from the ports to the rest of the country.Set the expectation for your kids and grandkids now ó there will be shortages of toys for Christmas. For the rest of us, get used to the ìnew normalî label: Out of Stock.With supply chain problems like this, most citizens look to the government for a solution.When asked about the supply chain issue, on ìThe View,î The U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg dismissively (my opinion) stated, ìThereís no easy fix. There’s no magic wand Ö . Weíre relying on infrastructure that was built decades ago, sometimes a century ago … . My deputy is a great, smart lady and sheís doing wonderful handling this.îOf note, Pete Buttigieg is enjoying the second month of his three-month paternity leave with his husband.Family leave is part of the proposed $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. Having been called out for the lengthy leave, Buttigieg said, “It’s helped us have a conversation about parental leave Ö every American ought to be able to get paid parental leave.îButtigieg previously touted his U.S. Navy experience as a presidential candidate for the Democratic party.Hey, Pete, let me remind you of the first thing every basic enlisted and entry-level officers are taught in Leadership 101: Lead from the front and be part of the solution. Save the family leave baiting for another time. Geesh!And now ó the COVID vaccine kerfuffle ó as of today, we are still a free country with rights protected by the Constitution. Yet, the federal government feels the need to force the vaccine decision and avenge non-compliance with loss of livelihood. In response, Americans are willing to quit their jobs in defiance.We are at a crossroad of civil liberty vs. government overreach.On one hand, the number of unvaccinated, purportedly, outnumber the vaccinated in hospital COVID wards. The wear and tear on all hospital staff is evident.Dr. Carl Lambert, a Chicago family physician, says, ìDonít try to wait out a pandemic ó the pandemic always wins.îAs a serving military member, we were government property and required to be dosed with whatever vaccine they gave us ñó anthrax, yellow fever, smallpox, chickenpox, hepatitis A & B, MMR, pneumococcal, typhoid and influenza.On the other hand, as a private citizen, does a ìsuck it up buttercupî approach to the vaccination take our society another step down the road of surrendering our Constitutional freedom?You be the judge.To conclude, this month we celebrate Thanksgiving. Iím thankful for my family and my freedom.
