The port closures on the west coast are costing the US economy over one billion dollars per day. The ships that should now be back in Asia reloading more cargo are still sitting in the ports with all their original cargo still onboard. Furthermore, consumer spending is one of the most CRITICAL pieces of this economy that have yet been too badly beaten down. However, if there is nothing to spend money on, guess what's going to happen? Factory workers are getting laid off due to excess labor that is now sitting around dormant while nothing gets shipped. This is turning into a serious situation. Those ports are responsible for HALF of all imports into the United States. Forget Iraq -- we've got a seriously corrupting domestic agenda to get on top of.
I have not kept up with the dock situation aphie. Whose factory workers are being laid off because nothing is being shipped? The asians? And I wonder if there isn't some upside to americans not being able to spend their money on imported junk and having to save it for awhile, a novelty, or buy american made products.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/818319.asp?0dm=C15LB Apparently Bush may intervene afterall. Quite frankly, he really has nothing to lose at this point. Holiday sales are already affected by this -- it just gets worse each day. The economics of the entire situation is complex. A lot of people get upset about all these imports but that is what comes from having a strong currency. If our dollar fell against the rest of the world, people would be importing more of our stuff.
Most of the shit on those ships deserves to rot out there on the seas. It's mostly cheap plastic and pot steel trinkets, power tools and the like that aren't worth the diesel that was burned to get them here. Once proud firms like Delta and Sony now are all made in China, Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan and aren't worth 1/4 the prices they command at market.