In these #quarantinediaries posts, I’ve written a lot about supply chain issues I’ve noted in my little neck of the woods. Things that have been in short supply or simply not available. Today, a little bit of anecdotal good news. Not to worry, I’ll probably be back to the usual doom and gloom by the next #quarantinediaries post.
Four months ago, just before The Great Toilet Paper Freakout, all hand sanitizer disappeared from shelves. Prior to that, I’d been able to get 8 ounce bottles (with a squirter) or 11.2 ounce refills (without) of 70% ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer at my local dollar store. The kind that any grocery store sold for $1.99 as a brand-name item. One day they were available, the next day they were gone. Everywhere.
For about six weeks, hand sanitizer was simply not available in my area. Some distilleries switched their production lines and by about Week Six, $15-a-liter 70% ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer started showing up in local grocery stores. About a month ago, 8 ounce bottles started showing up, initially $6.99 then dropping to $5.99, and at about the same time 70% methyl alcohol hand sanitizer started showing up in stores. What could possibly go wrong?
And then yesterday, 8 ounce bottles (with a squirter) or 11.2 ounce refills (without) of 70% ethyl alcohol hand sanitizer at my local dollar store once again.
Coronavirus News and Analysis:
American Airlines says as many as 25,000 employees could be furloughed
Out of Work: The coronavirus shutdown through the eyes of the recently unemployed
I do performances and teach workshops at colleges, but by late March, my next three months of gigs were canceled. Obviously, I started panicking. I picked up a part-time job that’s considered essential: maintaining ATMs, which is so random.
Washington state is 70 percent white, and a lot of the places I have to go are outside of Seattle, way outside of my safety zone. I get a lot of disbelief from people when I say I’m there to fix the ATM. At one grocery store, I was asked by about four different people what I was doing, even after I’d checked in with the manager. Something I’m scared of is when I have to drive a rental cargo van or a big box truck because I’m removing an ATM out of the store.
7 Things America Has Learned From Survivalists This Year
Jim Rickards: Depression Will Last 5 Years But World Will Be Changed For A Generation. Yeah, five years seems like a pretty specific timeline. Take it with a grain of salt?
Will the Fracking Revolution Peak Before Ever Making Money? And this was written before the economic collapse that’s severely limited frackers’ access to capital.
From Flour to Canned Soup, Coronavirus Surge Pressures Food Supplies
Grocers are having trouble staying stocked with goods from flour to soups as climbing coronavirus case numbers and continued lockdowns pressure production and bolster customer demand.
Manufacturers including General Mills Inc., Campbell Soup Co. and Conagra Brands Inc. say they are pumping out food as fast as they can, but can’t replenish inventories. Popular items such as flour, canned soup, pasta and rice remain in short supply.
Chris Martenson’s latest:
