Why Are There So Many Shortages?

What is causing the shortage of goods and workers? What should we do about it?Topics covered include:How a tree pandemic killed billions of American Chestnut treesHow a massive increase in demand has crippled the global supply, leading to an eight-fold increase in shipping costsWhy there are so many job openings and people quitting their jobsWhy the free market doesn't work as well for child daycareHow stimulus payments during the pandemic reduced poverty ratesWhat is the lying flat movementHow everything is in place for an extended period of high inflation even though the bond market still anticipates inflation will be transitoryWhy we should own real things and plan more downtimeThanks to Policygenius and Masterworks for sponsoring the episode.For more information on this episode click here.Show NotesThe Demise and Potential Revival of the American Chestnut by Kate Morgan—Sierra ClubU.S. Imports to Increase by 20% by End of 2021—Material Handling & LogisticsThe largest port in the US hit a new ship-backlog record every day last week, as 65 massive container boats float off the California coast by Grace Kay—Business InsiderThe World Is Still Short of Everything. Get Used to It. by Peter S. Goodman and Keith Bradsher—The New York Times‘Just Get Me a Box’: Inside the Brutal Realities of Supply Chain Hell by Brendan Murray—Bloomberg BusinessweekRising Shipping Costs Are Companies’ Latest Inflation Riddle by Thomas Gryta—The Wall Street JournalIncome, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2020—United States Census BureauEmployers Are Baffled as U.S. Benefits End and Jobs Go Begging by Katia Dmitrieva and Olivia Rockeman—BloombergJob Openings and Labor Turnover - July 2021—U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics‘Lie Flat’ If You Want, But Be Ready to Pay the Price by Allison Schrager—Bloomberg‘Can’t Compete’: Why Hiring for Child Care Is a Huge Struggle by Claire Cain Miller—The New York TimesTreasury Releases Report Showing U.S. Childcare System Overburdens Families and Causes Shortages Due to Inadequate Supply—U.S. Department of the TreasuryRelated Episodes323: The Economy Is Not A Machine331: Why Do We Work So Much?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.