How we built a fragile supply chain
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Illustration: Peter and Maria Hoey
 
Dear reader,
The first step in the supply chain is at the factory. And you might have noticed that, for decades now, factories have been leaving the United States and moving to a small handful of low-cost locations, most notably China. When all of your production is centralized in a few countries, and something happens to disrupt that flow of goods, chaos ensues.

One of the smartest and most insightful observers of the decline of U.S. manufacturing and the false promises of globalization is our co-founder and co-editor, Robert Kuttner. In today’s story for our special issue, How We Broke the Supply Chain, he breaks down the forces that led to rampant outsourcing to China, and the consequences when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

You can read Bob Kuttner’s story here.

This story is part of our special issue, How We Broke the Supply Chain, that explains how bad policies created the disaster that is causing shortages and raising costs.
You can see all of the stories as they are released at
prospect.org/supplychain
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David Dayen, Executive Editor
The American Prospect
 
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