In A Move That Would Add to Record Inflation, Joe Biden Fines Cargo Ships That He Shut Out Amid Supply Chain Crisis

People who work in the freight-hauling industry continue to mock Joe Biden’s absurd attempts to restore the bottlenecked California ports.

This unforced disaster — in reality, this was all designed — proves that when you put Washington, D.C. insiders in charge of America’s economy, you get failure and double-talk.

After Sleepy Joe assured consumers of his plan to open the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach 24-7, the dishonest left-wing mainstream media failed to mention logistics experts already declared that idea foolhardy.

The Port of Long Beach extended hours of operations weeks before Biden’s announcement, and zero trucks showed up in the wee hours. The Port of L.A. also had almost no take rs, and the debacle proved the White House has no solutions.

In a move that follows the typical Washington, D.C., finger-pointing dysfunction, Joe Biden’s handlers had him announce cargo ships stuck in the logjam would incur fines upwards of $100 for a container per day.

“The two Southern California ports said they will begin charging ocean carriers $100 per container, compounding in $100 increments each day, for containers scheduled to move by truck that sit for nine days or more,” Eric Kulisch wrote in Freightwaves. “For containers moving by rail, shipping lines will be charged if the container has dwelled for six days or more. For example, a box that sits longer than the allotted time would cost a carrier $100 on the first day after storage time for truck moves expires, $200 on the second day, $300 on the third day, $400 on day four, and $500 on the fifth day for a grand total of $1,500.”

California Democrats quickly adopted the punitive “solution” coming out of the White House. The so-called “Golden State” has descended into a hostile place for independent truckers to operate. The high cost of living and doing business resulted in the people who haul the containers away working in other markets.

“I don’t know how they can pick out one part of the supply chain and charge them when in fact the issue is caused by many parts of the chain, not just carriers, but the terminals, truckers, chassis providers, railroads, warehouses, and shippers,” one freight management expert said on condition of anonymity. “The ocean carriers are not going to just eat this. There’s no way they’re going to do that.”

With the combination of high fuel costs, government intrusion, and the fact owner-operators have been effectively banned in California, there are simply not enough CDL holders in the region to expedite freight movement. That’s the frightening reality the White House and Democrats don’t want people to know.

The shortages and inflation everyday families are experiencing are largely self-inflicted wounds caused by left-wing policies.

Leveling exorbitant fines on each and every container company that cannot move supply because of a lack of truck drivers won’t impact the bottom lines of major corporations. Instead, those fines will be passed along and add insult to the 30-year-high inflation that erased wage gains.

“So clearly, they are not just absorbing these costs as a part of doing business to get this cargo out. They are passing these costs on to the beneficial cargo owner, which as we all know goes right into the American consumer’s bottom line,” Harbor Trucking Association CEO Matt Schrap said.

Other freight carriers and logistics experts have weighed in, calling the fines “ill-conceived” and “ironic,” among other criticisms.

The dishonest media can run all the headlines they want supporting Joe Biden’s efforts to blame others.

But truth be told, the business-minded people in the previous administration never would have allowed this disastrous situation to happen in the first place.

And that’s just how the cookie crumbles.

Or in this case, the supply chain.