Turns out it was neoliberal policy
 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

View this email in your browser

Illustration: Peter and Maria Hoey

 

Dear reader,



The biggest story in America right now is inflation. How did it get so
high? Why do I see random empty shelves when I go to the grocery store
or pharmacy? Why is this happening?

For the past few months, the Prospect has been looking into this. And we
discovered the reason: bad policy.

For 50 years, neoliberal policymakers and economists have sung from the
same songbook, with a few key gospels. Scour the globe to find the
cheapest labor to produce your product; allow companies to merge and
take over markets in the name of efficiency; transport everything from
the factory to the storefront just in time, with no reserve inventory;
deregulate all the key industries that ship those goods to drive down
costs; and let Wall Street enforce these gospels in the name of
corporate profits.

This system evolved into what we call the supply chain, a word you've
probably heard entirely too much these days. The supply chain problems
creating all these shortages and high prices all stem from this badly
designed, outsourced, monopolistic, deregulated, financialized, fragile
system. We broke the supply chain so corporations could add to their
profit margins. We were told we'd get low prices in return. And now
even that's not working out.

We thought it was important enough to shine a bright spotlight on the
supply chain mess, how it was caused, and how it can be fixed. We turned
our findings into an entire special issue of the Prospect. And we wanted
you to be the first to know about it.

For the next two weeks, we're releasing all of our stories from our
special issue, "How We Broke the Supply Chain." Our first story,
from
me and Rakeen Mabud from Groundwork Collaborative, our partners on this
project, introduces you to how we spent a half-century allowing business
executives and financiers to take control of our supply chain, making it
supremely ill-equipped to handle any disruptions, and facilitating
corporate profits at the expense of all of us.

I'm so excited to show you this issue over the next two weeks. I think
it's the best thing I've done in my tenure at the Prospect, and it
shows the unique value of this magazine: to go behind the headlines and
spin, explaining how power works and what it means to your everyday
life. Understanding this mess and how to fix it is critical to our
future prosperity and security.

You can see all of the stories as they are released at
prospect.org/supply-chain

And, you can help support this work by becoming a member today
. All of the reader support we receive
funds our editorial mission: illuminating stories about ideas, politics
and power.

If you're already a Prospect member, THANK YOU!

We can't do special issues like this without you. And if the Prospect
doesn't do it, there aren't many other places that will.

BECOME A MEMBER

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
David Dayen, Executive Editor
The American Prospect

 

Your contribution is tax deductible, and goes directly to supporting our
editorial team. American Prospect, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit
organization incorporated in the District of Columbia. EIN 52-1617061.
Copyright (c) 2022 The American Prospect. All rights reserved.

Stop receiving emails about our Supply Chain special issue.

Manage Your Newsletter Preferences
_________________

Sent to [email protected]

Unsubscribe:
[link removed]

The American Prospect, Inc., 1225 I Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC xxxxxx, United States