Opinion | Of strikes and storms: A potentially disastrous political season – By Brian J. Cavanaugh (The Hill) / July 31, 2022
Beware of the Ides of August! With most of this year’s primary elections settled, except for 13 states that hold primaries in August and September, political pundits are turning their attention to public opinion polling about issues confronting our nation. In the background, a potential confluence of events is building to what could become a “perfect storm” that reshapes the sentiments of voters nationwide.
In a recent Pew Research Center survey, only 20 percent of Democrats and 5 percent of Republicans rated the conditions of the U.S. economy as “excellent/good,” and of those surveyed, 75 percent said they are “very concerned” about rising prices for food, gasoline and other goods.
Exposed only over the past two years, our supply chains for decades have been a fragile network of just-in-time delivery. Persistent disruptions of supply chains are a key component driving concerns about the economy and, to an extent, inflation.
As summer winds down and we look toward November’s midterm elections, it’s important to step back to consider what poses incredible risk to our supply chain. We are in the midst of two stalled labor negotiations in the transportation sector and about to enter the peak of hurricane season. The convergence of these events could wreak havoc on our economy and the elections.
