OPEC+ said Wednesday that it will slash oil production by 2 million barrels per day, the biggest cut since the start of the pandemic, in a move that threatens to push gasoline prices higher just weeks before US midterm elections.
The group of major oil producers, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, announced the production cut following its first meeting in person since March 2020. The reduction is equivalent to about 2% of global oil demand.
The price of Brent crude oil rose 1.5% to more than $93 a barrel on the news, adding to gains this week ahead of the gathering of oil ministers. US oil was up 1.7% at $88.
The Biden administration criticized the OPEC+ decision in a statement on Wednesday, calling it “shortsighted” and saying that it will hurt low and middle-income countries already struggling with elevated energy prices the most.
The production cuts will start in November, and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies will meet again in December.
In a statement, the group said the decision to cut production was made “in light of the uncertainty that surrounds the global economic and oil market outlooks.”
Global oil prices, which soared in the first half of the year, have since dropped sharply on fears that a global recession will depress demand. Brent crude is down 20% since the end of June. The global benchmark hit a peak of $139 a barrel in March after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
OPEC and its allies, which control more than 40% of global oil production, are hoping to preempt a drop in demand for their barrels from a sharp economic slowdown in China, the United States and Europe.
Western sanctions on Russian oil are also muddying the waters. Russia’s production has held up better than predicted, with supply being diverted to China and India. But the United States and Europe are now working on ways to implement a G7 agreement to cap the price of Russian crude exports to third countries.
The oil cartel came under intense pressure from the White House ahead of its meeting in Vienna as President Biden tried to secure lower energy prices for US consumers. Senior Biden administration officials were lobbying their counterparts in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to vote against cutting oil production, according to officials.
The prospect of a production cut was framed as a “total disaster” in draft talking points circulated by the White House to the Treasury Department on Monday, which CNN obtained. “It’s important everyone is aware of just how high the stakes are,” one US official said.
With just a month to go before the critical midterm elections, US gasoline prices have begun to creep up again, posing a political risk the White House is desperately trying to avoid.
Rising oil prices could mean inflation remains higher for longer, and add to pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates even more aggressively.
But the impact of Wednesday’s cut, while a bullish signal for oil prices, may be limited as many smaller OPEC producers were struggling to meet previous production targets.
“An announced cut of any volume is unlikely to be fully implemented by all countries, as the group already lags 3 million barrels per day behind its stated production ceiling,” Rystad Energy analyst Jorge Leon said in a note.
Rystad Energy estimates that the global oil market will be oversupplied between now and the end of the year, dampening the effect of production cuts on prices.
Mexican workers could be getting more time off soon while being compensated if Senators will consider it.
At present, Mexican employees are given paid leave that is less than the one recommended by the United Nations.
However, if the bill gets the nod of senators, the paid leave of employees, particularly the ones who have completed one year of service would increase from the current 6 days to 12 days a week. This was part of the proposal raised by Citizens Movement party Senator Patricia Mercado, Mexico News Daily reported.
Moreover, workers would get an additional two days of vacation time for each additional year of service that they complete during their first five years of employment.
But after that, they would have to work for another five years for them to qualify for an additional two days of paid leave.
The proposal was presented to the Senate’s Labor and Social Welfare committee, whose members are set to debate. They are scheduled to vote next Tuesday.
If the “decent vacations” are approved, this will progress to the Senate for consideration by all 128 senators.
However, it should be noted that this is not the first time that such a proposal has been passed. Similar ones were previously introduced to congress but were not approved. Hence, it will be interesting if the bill from Mercado will be able to pull through and become law.
Established in 1970, the (International Labor Organization) ILO’s “Holidays with Pay Convention” states that “every person to whom this Convention applies shall be entitled to an annual paid holiday” of at least “three working weeks for one year of service.”
The standard working week in Mexico is six days, so Mexican workers would be entitled to 18 days of paid leave per year.
On the employer’s side, labor lawyer Jorge Sales bats that increasing paid vacations would be a huge burden. He adds that the government wouldn’t cover any of the additional costs incurred by employers.
USMCA has shifted into fifth gear as it races to address the fifth Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRLM) case.
On June 21, 2022, the Interagency Labor Committee received a petition filed under the USMCA by Mexican labor union La Liga Sindical Obrera Mexicana and worker advocacy group Comité Fronterizo de Obreras. In the petition, the groups claim that the workers’ ability to organize with a union of their choosing was infringed upon, a direct violation of workers’ rights to free association and collective bargaining as protected by the USMCA Labor Chapter.
One month after the petition was filed, USTR officially requested for Mexico to review whether the denial of rights occurred at the automotive components supplier facility, and Mexico agreed. The U.S. further requested that Mexico attempt to remediate the issue by September 4, 2022 — 45 days from the initial request.
This is the fifth time the RRLM has been triggered in response to a labor complaint.
More recently, USTR announced the resolution of a prior labor complaint that originated at the Teksid facility in Frontera, Mexico. As part of the remediation plan, Teksid has agreed to the following actions:
USTR has since directed the U.S. Treasury to resume the liquidation of unliquidated goods entering the U.S. from the Teksid facility. In simple terms, liquidation is an administrative process in which the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) formally closes out a customs entry. When the liquidation of goods is suspended, CBP keeps the entry log “open,” allowing for later action against those entries. If a Denial of Rights is found by a panel, remedies can be imposed, including the suspension of preferential tariff treatment.
While the suspension of liquidation does not necessarily impede the importation of goods, it certainly has the potential to make trade more expensive for facilities under review. Auto manufacturers operating in Mexico should continuously review their labor practices to ensure compliance with the USMCA labor provisions and Mexico’s labor laws.
SAN DIEGO (September 2, 2020) — Today, at an event with U.S. Ambassador to Mexico T.H. Christopher Landau, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott and Commissioner of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) Jayne Harkins at the U.S. Coast Guard San Diego Station, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler highlighted past, present, and future investments to help reduce transboundary Tijuana River pollution.
“EPA and its partners have laid the groundwork and made significant investments improving water quality in the Tijuana River basin to benefit public health and the environment, but there is more work to be done,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Today, we are pleased to announce two near-term projects that continues this momentum—and as we look forward to major investments under President Trump’s United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Trade Agreement.”
“San Diego got two historic wins in the USMCA – a trade deal built for the 21st century and a fix for the environmental crisis in the Tijuana River Valley,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer. “We’ve advocated long and hard for this across party lines and this $300 million investment by the EPA marks a new chapter for the San Diego-Tijuana megaregion with improved quality of life for so many residents on both sides of the border.”
“EPA is delivering in concrete ways for the citizens of the San Diego area, who have faced complex water pollution issues for years,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “In close collaboration with our partners at the IBWC and the City of San Diego, we will make progress on short-term solutions for the communities of this region.”
To expeditiously increase treatment of Tijuana river flows by 10 million gallons per day, EPA will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IBWC to divert additional water for treatment at the IBWC International Treatment Plant. EPA will fund the design and construction of the diversion. Additionally, EPA is partnering with the City of San Diego to rapidly develop and deploy a permanent solution to better control sediment and trash in Smuggler’s Gulch—just north of the U.S. – Mexico border. In addition to capturing sediment and trash that would otherwise flow into the Pacific Ocean, this project will help reducing flooding risk for the community. Funding for these near-term projects will be provided by the agency’s Border Water Infrastructure Program.
Through these actions, EPA and its partners are working to better protect public health and the environment from poor water quality that has negatively affected southern California communities.
“Today, we begin to turn the tide in our battle against sewage pollution. The time for talk is over. The time for action is here. I am happy to see that we are now moving forward with actual solutions and projects to address this problem,” said San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Greg Cox.
“The City of Imperial Beach is grateful to the EPA, especially Administrator Andrew Wheeler, as well as all of our federal, state and local partners for working collaboratively to identify short and long-term fixes that will help to make sure that our kids and families can enjoy our beautiful beaches year-round,” said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina.
“This announcement is a major milestone that will greatly benefit the San Diego area. We appreciate the ongoing regional collaboration and leadership from the EPA,” said City of Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey.
These near-term projects make important progress and build on the groundwork and investments that EPA and its partners have already made to improve water quality near the border. For example, this month, the Poniente Collector project was completed, using $3.9 million in EPA funding to keep 4.5 million gallons of sewage per day from entering the Tijuana River. EPA has also allocated $6 million to co-fund improvements to an existing Tijuana River diversion to reduce the flow of transboundary pollution.
For more information on U.S.-Mexico Border water quality, visit https://www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder.
Background
In 2019, the U.S.–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) was finalized to update and replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). With entry into force on July 1, 2020, and with combined trilateral trade flows of over $1.2 trillion, USMCA creates the largest free trade area in the world outside of the European Union. The USMCA implementing legislation Section 821 directs EPA to address polluted transboundary flows in the Tijuana River Watershed and the legislation included an appropriation of $300 million for infrastructure projects in connection with wastewater facilities in the area of the United States–Mexico Border. To implement the provisions of the USMCA, EPA will convene an Interagency Consultation Group comprised of senior-level members from key U.S. federal, state, and local agencies, as listed in the USMCA legislation. EPA will also manage a binational technical expert consultation process to ensure infrastructure options are informed by the best available technical and scientific information.
MEXICO CITY, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A Mexican union on Tuesday said it will request a U.S. labor complaint over alleged worker rights violations at a BBB Industries auto-parts plant in northern Mexico, the latest effort to leverage terms of a regional trade deal.
U.S. labor authorities have filed five complaints since last year, all in the autos sector. The Mexican government has complained the mechanism is being applied before states have time to reform their workplaces.
Under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which has tougher worker rights rules than its 1994 predecessor free-trade agreement, activists have increasingly flagged alleged misconduct around union representation and demanded higher wages after years of stagnate pay.
In a petition to U.S. labor officials, Mexican union SNITIS said workers were intimidated and threatened among other irregularities during a contract vote by union members last month at BBB Industries in the border city of Reynosa.
BBB, a privately held Alabama-based company which refurbishes car parts, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
A representative for CTM, a powerful union that holds the BBB contract and many more across Mexico's autos sector, said the group follows strict voting protocols and was not formally informed of worker complaints at BBB.
Such contract votes by union members are required under a labor reform that underpins the USMCA, and are geared at wiping out the once widespread practice of deals struck behind workers' backs between companies and business-friendly unions.
The petition, co-signed by the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project, a U.S. non-profit, noted various procedural flaws: The vote tally exceeded the number of workers; the ballots were not numbered; neutral observers were absent; workers were not given copies of their contract until voting day.
Workers also alleged that company representatives inside the plant and on the production lines pressured them to vote in favor of the contract at risk of losing their benefits, the type of intimidation tactic long prevalent in Mexican workplaces.
More labor union unrest is threatening to further disrupt supply chains – concerning news for the promotional products market and other industries that rely on moving goods into, out of, and around the United States.
About 115,000 U.S.-based railroad workers who are essential to transporting everything from food and automobiles to promo products to destinations throughout the nation are reportedly poised to strike.
The threat comes as negotiations over a new contract for the workers between their unions and large freight railroads, like Union Pacific and BNSF, have hit an impasse after more than two years of talks.
Still, President Joe Biden has the potential to prevent a work stoppage if, before Monday 12:01 a.m. EDT, he appoints a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB).
Should the board be enacted, a strike or lockout would be prohibited for 60 days per the federal law that governs railroad contracts. The board would offer suggestions that could serve as the foundation for a contract settlement.
Industry groups have urged Biden to appoint the board to stave off the likely repercussions of a work stoppage, which could include everything from higher inflation (already at 40-year highs) and an inability for companies to re-inventory adequately.
Heading into the weekend of July 16/17th, Biden was still reportedly considering whether or not to appoint the PEB. He was widely expected to do so, but the official move had not yet been made as of this July 15th writing.
If the PEB’s potential recommendations fail to lead to an agreement after the 60 days, federal authorities would still have leverage to prevent a strike or lockout. Congress, for instance, could impose terms on railroads and unions to ensure they keep moving freight.
Still, how things actually play out remains to be seen, and the unions feel pushed to the brink.
The week of July 10, for instance, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen stated that more than 99% of its members voted to authorize a strike if a deal can’t be reached.
Workers say they haven’t had a raise since 2019. Pay rates amid soaring inflation, health insurance costs, working hours, reported large staffing cutbacks by railroads, and railroad proposals to reduce train crews from two people to one are all contentious issues in the negotiations.
The railroad consternation comes amid continuing rocky negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), representing 22,000 workers at 29 essential West Coast ports, and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), representing employers.
A contract for the port workers expired July 1st, but both sides have pledged to keep import and export cargo moving. A strike, lockout or slowdown at the ports could also fuel inflation and make it much more difficult for retailers, promo product suppliers and others to receive and stock their products for sale. The ports rely on railroads – as well as truckers – to move goods to their domestic destinations.
Speaking of those truckers: About 70,000 truck owner-operators in California are facing uncertainty after the Golden State’s Assembly Bill 5 has started applying to them. The bill requires workers to be considered employees, entitled to benefits, unless they can satisfy a three-part test to be considered independent contractors.
Trucker owner-operators overwhelmingly oppose the law and feel it can hurt their businesses. There were demonstrations against it this week at the pivotal California ports of Los Angeles, Oakland and Long Beach.
A trucker strike is crippling operations at the ninth-busiest container port in the United States, another stick in the spokes of the already disrupted global supply chain and one with potential to impact importers in the promotional products industry and beyond.
Independent owner-operator truck drivers began protesting at the Port of Oakland on July 19 in opposition to a court ruling that cleared the way for the transport professionals to be subject to Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), a California law the strikers believe could detrimentally affect their livelihoods and way of life.
The protests have made it difficult for dockworkers to get to work and perform their jobs. The demonstrations are also preventing trucks from carrying cargo into and out of the Port of Oakland, the West Coast’s third-busiest container port behind Los Angeles and Long Beach.
The challenges are compelling some cargo ships that were waiting to unload at Oakland to re-route to other ports or to avoid the Northern California dock altogether – a phenomenon that, should it go on, could exacerbate ship congestion at other ports. The truckers have indicated they do not intend to stop protesting.
The end-result of such congestion, from a promo perspective, is that it can take longer for industry companies to get their imported product, thereby delaying restocking and potentially worsening inventory shortfalls as the holiday branded merch selling season nears.
Some analysts are worried the protests could reach other ports, including Los Angeles and Long Beach.
“If this kind of activity spreads to southern California, it is extremely significant from a supply chain standpoint,” Larry Gross, president and founder of Gross Transportation Consulting, told ABC. A continued strike could “break at least the Port of Oakland,” Gross said.
Legislators behind AB5 intended the law to protect workers in the so-called “gig-economy” from exploitation by essentially obligating employers to extend employee status to gig workers unless a three-pronged test could be passed to establish the person is truly an independent contractor.
California intended to begin implementing that law in 2020, but that was delayed in part by a lawsuit filed by the California Trucking Association. On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, enabling the Golden State’s government to begin enforcing AB5 as the legal battle continues.
There are about 70,000 independent owner-operator truckers in California, and the law now applies to them. Many are upset about that – hence the protests. They feel the law twists their arms into seeking work as employees, whereas they’d rather remain independent. It also, opponents claim, makes it more difficult to do business and increases the cost of doing business, among other ills.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has indicated he’s not about to exempt truckers from AB5. “Although it has been the subject of litigation, AB5 was enacted in 2019, so no one should be caught by surprise by the law’s requirements at this time,” a spokesperson for the Governor’s office told The Wall Street Journal.
The trucker protests come as U.S. importers and exporters are also keeping nervous eyes on two contentious union contract negotiations that have potential to greatly affect supply chains should they go awry.
One involves unionized West Coast port workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association. The contract for ILWU workers expired on July 1. Though talks are continuing and both sides have pledged to avoid a work stoppage, the sides are at odds on key points that include automation at ports.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden recently intervened to prevent a possible strike by railroad workers whose unions are embroiled in difficult negotiations with large freight railroads for a new contract for the workers. On July 17, Biden appointed a special board to help move the stalled negotiations along – a move that, by law, prevents a strike for 60 days. Should no contract be reached and workers want to strike, Congress could potentially intervene.
The International Boundary and Water Commission, United States and Mexico (IBWC), today held a ceremony to announce that IBWC Minute No. 328, “Sanitation Infrastructure Projects in San Diego, California – Tijuana, Baja California for Immediate Implementation and for Future Development,” has entered into force. The agreement outlines sanitation projects to be constructed in San Diego and Tijuana using $330 million dollars from the U.S. government and $144 million dollars from the Mexican government. With this funding, projects are expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2027 that would result in a 50% reduction in the number of days of transboundary wastewater flow in the Tijuana River and an 80% reduction in the volume of untreated wastewater discharged to the Pacific Ocean six miles (10 kilometers) south of the border.
U.S. Commissioner Maria-Elena Giner and Mexican Commissioner Adriana Resendez announced the Minute’s entry into force at a ceremony at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve in Imperial Beach, California. They were joined by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water Bruno Pigott, EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman, and Director of Engineering and Binational Water Issues for Mexico’s National Water Commission (CONAGUA) Jose Gutierrez, who marked the signing of a Statement of Intent between their two agencies to advance priority wastewater projects in the San Diego-Tijuana Region.
The Minute highlights a list of projects for implementation, including doubling the capacity of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP) in the United States and constructing a new treatment plant in Mexico at San Antonio de los Buenos. With these two projects, the amount of Mexican sewage undergoing treatment in the region will increase by 43 million gallons per day (2,991 liters per second), reducing sewage in both the Tijuana River and the Pacific Ocean. Other projects include rehabilitation or replacement of deteriorated sewer lines and pump stations in Tijuana to reduce line breaks and pump failures that result in sewage spills.
“Minute 328 marks a key milestone in our effort to improve conditions in the Tijuana River Valley in partnership with EPA,” said Commissioner Giner. “Their Statement of Intent coupled with this Minute will provide continuity over time. Once these projects are completed, residents on both sides of the border will have a healthier, cleaner environment for years to come.”
Mexican Commissioner Adriana Resendez noted, “These efforts are expected to address a need that has prevailed for many years in the communities of San Diego-Tijuana, to solve the problem of transboundary wastewater that impacts the water quality of the region’s beaches and that also constitutes a threat to the public health of residents in the area.” She emphasized the IBWC’s efforts over the years to address this problem in accordance with the provisions of the 1944 Water Treaty.
“We have more urgency than ever to upgrade the infrastructure needed to stop the cross-border pollution that burdens communities in the region,” said EPA Regional Administrator Guzman. “Today’s commitments finalize the binational agreement to fund the comprehensive set of projects that will thwart the pollution harming these communities and Tijuana River Valley ecosystems.”
CONAGUA’s Director of Engineering and Binational Water Issues, Jose Gutierrez, expressed that these efforts reflect the Government of Mexico’s interest in addressing problems that have afflicted the region for many years, such as sanitation and comprehensive water management in the Tijuana River Basin. “These projects will undoubtedly improve the quality of life of residents on both sides of the border.” He added that they will also contribute to compliance with IBWC Minute 320, whose fundamental objective is to achieve binational cooperation on border issues in this important basin.
The IBWC is responsible for applying the boundary and water treaties between the two countries and settling differences that arise in the application of the treaties. The U.S. Section of the IBWC operates the SBIWTP.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, the executive vice president of UPS asserted that “regionalization” of the supply chain is critical to economic stability as geopolitcal conflicts expand. The word “regionalization” is basically a code word to describe decentralization, a concept which the UPS representative obviously did not want to dive into directly. Almost every trade expert and industry insider is admitting that supply chain problems are going to persist into the foreseeable future, and some are starting to also admit (in a roundabout way) that localized production and trade models are the key to survival.
This is something that I and many other alternative economists have been talking about for a decade or more. The globalist dynamic of interdependency is a disaster waiting to happen, and now it’s happening. Without decentralized mining of raw materials, local manufacturing, locally sourced goods, local food production and locally integrated trade networks there can be no true stability. All it takes for the system to implode is one or two crisis events and the economy’s ability to meet public demand stagnates. The system doesn’t completely stop, but it does slowly shrivel and degrade.
The war in Ukraine has been the go-to scapegoat the past few months for supply chain disruptions, but these issues started long before that. Years of central bank stimulus and fiat money creation have triggered the inevitable landslide of inflation/stagflation that alternative economists have been warning about.
Price inflation is a direct contributor to production declines and supply chain disruptions because costs continually rise for manufacturers. Also, wages of workers cannot keep up with rising prices, inspiring many employees to quit and look for work elsewhere, or attempt to live off of government welfare. All of this leads to less supply, or slower production and thus, even higher prices.
We were right, the mainstream media was wrong (or they lied).
New York Times contributor Paul Krugman claimed that “no one saw this coming” when he was recently forced to admit that he was wrong on inflation. This is the same thing MSM economists said after the credit crash of 2008. It was a lie back then and it’s a lie now. Plenty of people saw it coming; we’ve been repeating our warnings for years, but they didn’t want to listen or they did not want us to be heard.
Krugman is perhaps the worst and most arrogant economist/propagandist in the US, and though he belatedly acknowledged the inflation and supply chain threat after arguing for the past two years that it was “transitory,” he now claims that the traditionally accepted indicators of recession “don’t matter” anymore and that there is no downturn. How many times can this guy be proven ignorant and still keep his job?
It’s this kind of disinformation that keeps the public in the dark on what is about to happen. Maybe it’s because of stupidity and ego, or maybe it’s a deliberate attempt to keep the population docile (I say it is deliberate), but in either case the American people are being put in great danger when it comes to the false narrative on inflation and the supply chain. The longer they are led to believe the disaster will simply go away on its own, the less time they have to prepare.
The bottom line is this: Things are only going to get worse from here on. Maybe slowly, or maybe quickly depending on a handful of factors.
Most of the world right now is focused on Taiwan and China’s persistent threats to invade. Nancy Pelosi’s widely publicized plan to visit the island nation (yes, CCP, it is a nation) is a bizarre act of non-discretion that is clearly meant to instigate wider tensions between the US and China. Why would Pelosi do this now? Well, she’s not doing it on her own and it’s certainly not the dementia addled Joe Biden’s idea. There are clearly other hands and other interests involved.
The US sources around 20% of its retail goods from China as well as a large portion of it’s medical supplies. More concerning though is China’s near monopoly on Rare Earth metals which are integral to numerous electronic components. Furthermore, there is a pinnacle threat, which is China dumping trillions in US treasuries and dollar holding and virtually ending the dollar’s world reserve status.
This is not to say China is in a great position financially – They are on the verge of debt crisis as well, which indicates to me that they will indeed invade Taiwan (and possibly other regions) as a means to expand their borders and consolidate resources. With billions of people to feed and control, the temptation for the CCP to seek military conquest is high. If they do, it will be soon – within the next couple of months when the weather in the Taiwan Strait is optimal for naval operations.
The supply chain crisis is going to accelerate into winter as stagflation persists. Price inflation will remain high. The US is indeed officially in a recession today. Two consecutive negative GDP prints IS a recession, this is a fact that no one can change, including Joe Biden, Paul Krugman or Wikipedia. Reality does not answer to these people. The system is breaking, and certain people greatly benefit.
A regional conflict with China on top of the Ukraine war could be the perfect smokescreen for a financial and supply chain collapse that was going to happen anyway. But when the mainstream media talks about the triggers and culprits, they’ll never mention central banks and political corruption, they will only talk about Russia and China.
As I have noted in the past, the “Great Reset” agenda of the WEF, IMF, the BIS and other globalist organizations requires an extensive destabilization of the existing order. In other words, they need a controlled demolition of certain pillars of the economy. To frighten the public into accepting new collectivist and authoritarian models like the “Shared Economy” (where you will own nothing and like it), they will need a large and semi-chaotic disaster. People would have to be threatened with the loss of supply certainty and they would have to be unsure every day of where they will be able to get the necessities they need when they need them.
This level of uncertainty drives calls for solutions, and the globalists will be there to offer their pre-planned objectives and “save the day.”
Generally, inflation and shortages lead to price controls, government rationing, government “aid” with strings attached (Universal Basic Income), and eventually nationalization of all production as well as the attempted confiscation of supplies from people that prepared ahead of time. Redistribution will be the name of the game. Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but soon enough.
The limited corporate calls for “regionalization” are too little too late, just as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are too little too late. They all know it, and they don’t care. These actions are only designed to make it appear as if they tried to save the system so they have deniability of their involvement in the crisis.
Stagflation and supply chain shortages are going to become the all encompassing issues of our era. They will be terms that are spoken about daily at every dinner table in America and probably through most of the world. These are dangers that were predicted extensively by the liberty media well ahead of time. They are NOT a surprise. And, there are plenty of institutions, corporate and government, that could have done something about them, but they chose not to. It’s important for people to accept the fact that this crisis is not a product of stupidity; it is a product of malicious motives and intent.
MONTERREY, Mexico, June 20 (Reuters) - Her elderly neighbor is hard of hearing so Maria Luisa Robles, a convenience store worker in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, shouted the question a second time: Have you run out of water?
She had - and it wasn't just her. The taps across this working-class neighborhood of Sierra Ventana dried up over a week ago amid a historic shortage that's gripped the most important industrial city in Mexico.
"We're all struggling because there's no running water," said Robles, 60.
Desperate, Robles and her neighbors have resorted to climbing atop a nearby municipal water tank, filling up jugs, and lugging them back to their homes in order to drink, cook, clean, and wash bedsheets and school uniforms.
More than half of Mexico is currently facing moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the federal water commission CONAGUA, amid extreme heat that scientists blame on climate change.
In the sprawling metropolitan area of Monterrey, home to some 5.3 million people, the drought and years of below-average rainfall have led to citywide water shortages.
"We're in an extreme climate crisis," Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said at a news conference last week. "Today, we're all living it and suffering."
The city in June began limiting water access to six hours a day, forcing schools to adjust class schedules and sparking panic buying of bottled water that emptied supermarket shelves.
Protests and public anger are also growing against soda and beer companies whose federal concessions have allowed them to continue to extract water even as residents go without.
The state government says it is conserving water by repairing pipe leaks and installing pressure valves, while cracking down on farms, companies, and slaughterhouses caught pilfering water from rivers or clandestine wells.
With the hottest months ahead, the crisis is expected to continue. The hope is that summer brings some consistent rainfall to this arid climate.
As early as Tuesday, two of the main dams that supply the metropolitan area, Cerro Prieto and La Boca, could be empty, according to the head of the water and sewage agency, Juan Ignacio Barragan. A third dam, El Cuchillo, stands at 45% capacity.
Running water has stopped flowing in a few neighborhoods, Barragan acknowledged in a news conference last week.
One of them is Sierra Ventana, where Robles lives with her elderly mother, two siblings with disabilities, and a niece with a motor impairment.
Caring for them requires plenty of water, so multiple times a day, in termperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), Robles trods back and forth from the water tank, alongside fellow residents hauling buckets or pushing baby strollers filled with jugs.
One afternoon last week she'd just finished her last trip when she remembered her hard-of-hearing neighbor.
"What else can we do?" she asked, before heading to the tank a final time. "We need water to live."
