Infrastructure and America’s dirty laundry

We bought a new clothes washer and dryer this week, and they were delivered and installed Friday. Okay, go ahead, ask: “This is worth an article in the newspaper???” As a matter of fact, it is. We were lucky. Wessinger’s had them in stock, they match our needs, and we got them. Quickly.

Contrast our success with that of a friend. She and her husband ordered a new stove last Christmas. It will be delivered in July. The thing is, there’s nothing particularly fancy about their new stove, it’s just on backorder, along with a lot of other appliances people need to replace older versions.

America’s supply chain was severely disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s just now cranking up again. And for over a week, shipments of appliances and other goods were delayed by a huge container vessel blocking the Suez Canal. Clearly, America’s supply chain is fragile, especially since much of it is overseas.

A critical item in the supply chain is microprocessors. One of the things I first noticed about our new washer and dryer is a “download” setting. Our new appliances connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and if the company needs to do an update of operating software, it can now be done automatically. Privacy issues aside, computer-controlled devices aid in boosting efficiency, lowering energy costs and in turn helping with climate change. But most microprocessors are produced overseas, even those designed by American companies such as Intel. Further, cell phones and the microprocessors they use are dependent on supply of rare earths that are found overseas – especially in China, which is not totally in sync with America’s beliefs or goals. Even if we produce automobiles here in the U.S., production of those vehicles depends on an adequate supply of microprocessors. Got any idea of how many microprocessors there are in a new car these days? The simple answer is “a bunch,” everywhere from antilock braking systems to fuel and transmission control. Maybe we need to think about rebuilding onshore microprocessor manufacturing capability, investing once again in an industry that we created and then let go overseas. Maybe we need to make sure that our manufacturing infrastructure can’t be crippled by decisions made overseas by people who don’t have our interests at heart. Maybe we can move away from being dependent on cheap overseas labor with innovative new manufacturing methods. Maybe we can train and use our own huge labor force to produce goods using those new methods.

There’s a big debate now about what constitutes infrastructure in America. Some say, “roads and bridges, nothing more.” But we’re a complex, interconnected society, dependent on way more than in the past. Think of the ways in which businesses depend on each link along the supply chain, and you see much more than roads and bridges. By the way: I should mention that I’ve heard a lot lately about people not taking jobs that are out there, and in truth the latest jobs report from the federal government was less than expected. Some people are saying it’s because people would rather collect unemployment benefits than work. Consider, though, the lack of childcare available (even when schools are fully open) and the continuing presence of the COVID-19 virus in society as we’re still considerably short of “herd immunity.” No doubt there are other factors as well. Remember what I said in my recent article about “hysteresis,” the delayed response in the economy after a recession? Maybe that’s what’s happening now.

Maybe our crumbling infrastructure, our economy, and the way we think about them are America’s dirty laundry.