Hundreds of cargo ships continue to sit off the coast of Los Angeles as the supply chain crisis continues to hamper the United States economy. A number of factors that have contributed to the crisis such as the labor shortage and union regulations and the Biden administration has done little to alleviate the issue, even scoffing at the issue. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki mocked a reporter asking questions about the crisis saying she doesn’t feel sorry his treadmill will be late. Much of the blame has been laid at the feet of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who has been on paternity leave for two months and has done barely anything to fix the issue.
But one issue that has not been addressed is environmental regulations here in California. Much of the nationwide backlog can be attributed to California policy and other states such as Florida have noticed saying they will take any ship stuck in California. Around 30% of imports go out of California ports so a crisis like this can have a significant impact on our economy. A new law passed this year requires any truck that wants to enter a California port to be 2011 or newer and have a number of environmental tracking devices. Chairman of Reform California Carl DeMaio said that this new law is driving truck drivers from California since many of them drive older trucks to save money, “We are literally turning away good truck drivers who are now working elsewhere” said DeMaio on KUSI. DeMaio also said that AB 5 could be a “death nail” as truckers are currently exempt from AB 5 but could soon be forced to abide by it depending on a court case that will soon be decided. Around 45% of California truck drivers are independent and it could turn more drivers away from the state.
We have all seen the crisis first hand, from empty shelves at the store to the photos of ships just sitting in the water waiting, while some states have tried to solve the issue Joe Biden, his administration, and other Democrats have looked the other way and scoffed at the crisis. With the holiday season fast approaching the Democrats may be the Grinch who steals our Christmas.
Photo Cred: Tim Agne KJZZ
