Tuesday morning my garage door made a hideous noise as it opened: the top right set of rollers had jumped out of the track, resulting in a cattywampus mess with the door leaning east to west. Fortunately, the door opened enough to get the car out. The “same day guaranteed” repair guy arrived the next morning (a story in itself) and got the door working in about five minutes. As I expected (the door being 25 years old and experiencing grumpiness for years), the repair guy said the time had come to replace the door.
Problem #1. Even standard doors are in short supply. One top of the line almond door – what we needed – could be available before July.
Problem #2. Garage doors had jumped way up in price in recent months.
“You know the reason why?” the repair guy asked. “It’s all that free government money making everything cost more.”
As a facebook post shared thousands of times noted, from April 2020 to April 2021 lumber soared from $304 per thousand board feet to $1,500; a bushel of corn doubled to $6.86; and, a gallon of gas popped from $1.95 to $3.05.
Except, of course, that post forgets about COVID-19. Lumber prices fell because no one could build anything with contractors sidelined. With restaurants closed, well, the demand for tacos dropped, plus less corn went to the ethanol plants. And, with everyone unemployed or working from home, who visited the gas station?
In short, we’re experiencing the economic hangover after better than 13 months of pandemic intoxication being followed by binge buying.
Which brings up the rest of the right wing fairy tale…millions of Americans stay home because excessive unemployment payments keep them comfy. This myth found great manure to grow in among Republican governors, including Missouri’s Mike Parson…
These 24 governors…say that they need to limit unemployment benefits in order to get people back into the workplace. In the process, they are ignoring the evidence that simply offering better wages is a better way to fill positions, not to mention how the so-called free market the GOP constantly celebrates is supposed to operate.
https://www.fatherly.com/news/unemployment-benefits-covid-19-programs-republican-governors/
Think back before the pandemic and all the signs you saw from employers desperate for workers. Every fast food, every gas station, most retailers and many others really needed employees. I recall one landscaping company head repeatedly saying on the radio how he couldn’t get lazy Americans to work – 12 hour shifts outside in the St. Louis summer, pay only when you work – so, he had to have more cheap Mexicans.
As I mentioned the other week, the McDonalds near my home advertises $14.00 an hour to start. Alas, no one gets fulltime, and, they offer scant benefits. A lot of jobs remain unfilled because they are lousy.
Remember too that the Missouri restaurant and the state chamber of commerce supported Medicaid Expansion. Not because it is the right thing to do, no, they want expansion so their members’ workers can get health care without them paying for it!
In this reign of FOX News, well, why take the word of noted research economists when Rudy tells you the truth.
I never corrected the garage repair guy…Maybe after I get that new door.
Glenn