Thanks to globalism selling politicians, we are not able to buy a N95 mask for $1.35 in the USA when we need it the most.
Everyone should know or be reminded about the story how the USA outsourced manufacturing capacities that began on Dec 8, 1993 when Bill Clinton signed the NAFTA treaty despite the warnings that it will suck out millions of USA jobs and our Nation’s manufacturing capabilities.
Outsourcing manufacturing turned into an avalanche over time with some good effects for creating cheaper prices for non-essential items which buyers could wait 37 days for ships to transport. Yet it resulted in many former manufacturing workers to be paid less livable wages by stocking shelves in big box stores instead of skilled manufacturing wages.
The Purpose of This Post
Is to remind us to correct the problem of allowing manufacturing of 90 percent of medical supplies to be imported which sadly is the main reason why there is a shortage of PPE protective medical gear and N95 masks in the USA,
The result is thousands of lives have been impacted or lost or either medical personnel, elderly, and the general public along with a quarantine shutdown of the USA economy along with added trillions of dollars to our National Debt.
King Solomon
“It’s no good, it’s no good!” says the buyer– then goes off and boasts about the purchase. (Proverb 20:14)
What’s My Point?
Politicians have been listening to the warnings over the years by thousands of critics about outsourcing manufacturing of critical items such as medical supplies and military equipment.
Globalism proponents brushed off their concerns with economic theories and arguments to result in politicians agreeing to globalism.
For example, when Obama was running for his first term in office, he promised to renegotiate trade agreements. I am assuming after listening to the globalism economists and by his record of making more trade agreements he decided their argument that the USA would thrive as a service economy and manufacturing will never return to the USA.
My point is as the above proverb explains, buyers and sellers have been negotiating with each other to obtain what they may at the time be the best deal for themselves for thousands of years..
Sadly though, the best deal to import lower cost critical protective (PPE) medical supplies and masks, and if there ever was a war, military parts, has not turned out to be the best value based on the trillions of dollars now being spent because of the pandemic.
Or as every professional purchasing agent is taught or learns from experience.
“Sometimes the cheapest price is not the best value over time.”
In My Opinion
If you read the articles below you will better understand how 3M, while increasing manufacturing of N95 masks by millions is still exporting to other countries the masks.
It is a humanitarian thing for 3M to do because globalism is a two-way commitment and Canada needs the masks just a badly as the USA.
In previous posts I also explained what everyone with manufacturing experience knows. That we cannot build 4.1-million-dollar machinery in a week, or month, and even years. Especially if the machinery has to be built in Germany because the USA no longer has the trained machinists, technical expertise, and machinery to make the machines that make the masks.
Hopefully, this sad experience will sadly serve to remind our politicians of the consequences of outsourcing 90 percent of medical supplies was not the best deal or value for the USA.
If Interested
Read the Source Links below and previous posts
You Decide
Was globalism of 90 percent of USA medical supplies and a service economy a wise or foolish economic theory?
Would it be better if the USA had stocked billions of masks, or would it have been far better and more efficient and economical to have the capability to manufacture billions of masks if the manufacturing machinery was available in the USA?
For example, in a previous post I explained how Illinois paid millions of dollars and who know what exorbitant price to fly in N95 masks because of the pandemic. Hopefully the masks obtained were not counterfeit or inferior masks as I explained in previous posts.
In your experience, have you ever bought any item because it was cheaper than a brand name? Then regretted it later for some reason because over time it turned out not to be the best deal that you, or the same as the proverbial buyer boasted 3000 years ago to someone about the great deal he purchased or negotiated?
Regards and goodwill blogging.
Source Links
December 3,1993
https://time.com/5468175/nafta-history/
3M Bloomberg
3M Hits Back at Trump
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