Why are my shelves barren?



We are currently seeing shortages of items that most can’t fully understand, so I’ll break down for you the variables causing this shortage.

Should you doubt any of these items, feel free to research each and every single one yourself.

  • Natural Disasters (hurricane, flood, drought, tornado, etc.)
  • Lack of Labor (workers/associates)
  • Government interference (Rona restrictions & Unemployment Payout)
  • Trucking Industry shortages
  • Industry Competition for workers
  • Shortages of Raw Materials (sand, wood, resin, aluminum, steel, rubber, copper, zinc, etc.)
  • Shipping industry backups
  • Train crew shortages

I won’t touch on every single facet of each point because there are many layers upon many layers with all this junk.

– Natural Disasters: We can’t stop hurricane season here in FL, so the only thing we can do is brace up our home and always keep a stockpile of emergency supplies. In every state, there is some form of bad weather that hits every single year and yet people are STILL woefully unprepared. We know that there are hundreds if not thousands who are unprepared due to the media always featuring last minute shoppers before a natural disaster strikes.

– Lack of Labor: There are multiple causes of lack of labor but there is just a general lack of help in hundreds of industries across the United States. If companies do not have the work force to put out supplies on shelves, then products sit in the back room and wait.

– Government Interference: The American government has seen fit to kick the can down the road by offering numerous pay outs to individuals and have even instituted a monthly deposit for any children which is creating a socialist mindset in many American minds. I’m not saying don’t accept these pay outs, but use them wisely.

In addition to that, we have sweeping restrictions from the very beginning of this that not only hindered businesses but forced many local mom and pop stores to shutter their doors for good.

– Trucking Industry Shortages: In order to drive a big rig, you are required by law to possess a license called a CDL and in order to obtain it you must take classes. Due to the COVID restrictions on in person schooling, many sites were shuttered or class size reduced to help prevent the spread. Many of the locations that train individuals for truck driving, try to get as many students as possible in a classroom so that’s it’s worth it for them financially. So, the American government manufactured this crisis and continues to cut off their nose to spite their face.

– Industry Competition: If you are a worker, are you going to go to the fast food chain that barely pays minimum wage for numerous hours flipping burgers or are you more likely to go for a higher paid job that doesn’t involve the food industry at all? Right now, almost every single company out there is hiring and yet we still have incredible delays in getting mechanical work done or store shelves stocked.

– Shortage of Precious Materials: If people are locked down in their homes, how do you expect to get the very materials that allow completed products to roll finished off the line? Oh, and again let’s not forget that you have to stay 6ft apart, get a vaccine, and wear a face mask, all while doing dangerous and tedious work. I can’t imagine any of these rules working in the deep coal and copper mines around the world while being expected to meet a quota.

– Shipping Industry Back Ups: At last count, there are 65+ shipping container ships that have NOT been unloaded and are currently sitting in queue waiting to be next in line. These ships have spent weeks waiting and waiting with no real forward motion happening. Oh, and then there’s everything I listed above!

– Train Crew Shortages: Just like being a truck driver requires special training and licensing, so does driving a train or working on the train lines across the United States. You can’t be trained as an engineer with sweeping government regulations. And even if you are licensed to operate a train, you can only cover so many hours during the day and travel so many miles within an allotted work day.

There are numerous individuals in the United States and even around the world who have convinced themselves that what is happening is either temporary and it will eventually revert back or this is the new normal and we have to adjust to it. In this moment, you need to accept that neither of those are good options and you must make plans for your family.

Get a pencil and paper, and get start checking them off.
(1) Get yourself enough non-perishable foods to last you for at least 6 months.
(2) Build a chicken coop and raise chickens for meat and eggs
(3) Tear up your back and side gardens up, drop in some square foot borders and get vegetables in ground as soon as possible.
(4) Get a rabbit hutch built, making sure to create a way to gather the herbivore poop to use as natural fertilizer in your garden. Read books on slaughtering your own rabbits.
(5) Start gathering needed supplies to hunt during fall/winter when hunting season begins.
(6) Sell any items that won’t help you get to where you need to be.
(7) Build a duck pen, set up a kiddie pool as a mini pond and raise water fowl.

Keep in mind that this isn’t the full extensive list, but it’s a start to give you an idea where you need to get yourself. Because I can assure you, there is no going back and there is no future in

Published by Cherie de Vidal

SAHM of 3 special needs kids, wife to Christopher, Permaculture enthusiast, food forest consultant

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