Marc E. Elias

This is nuts.👇

Supply chain issues could lead to shortages in paper used for everything from ballots to “I voted” stickers for years to come.

https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-politics-wisconsin-fcbdc502c5095985dbc5839f571a161d

Commenter

Kim Palismo

Due to paper mills closing & others converting to make packaging instead of fine papers during pandemic, there's a paper shortage. Worst I've seen in my 38 yrs in print industry. What took 2 weeks now takes 4 - 12 depending on the product.

@Jezibaba

The two major things responsible for this, are consolidation in the industry, and offshoring production.... been going on for years and years. Sound familiar?

Many fine paper, used for high end reproduction, doesn't even exist today.

@corlin There was a post under that that read, "Don't you see? It was capitalism all along?"

All diversity suffers for it.

@Jezibaba

Yep.
Financialization hit the paper industry very hard. In the gogo 80s America went from having approximately 1,500 papermills, down to about 45 in 10 years. Now we have three conglomerate that own all the paper mills.

All Thanks to Wall Street hedge funds.

@corlin I'm absolutely stunned by those numbers. How is this not a monopoly? Why haven't they been hit with anti-trust suits? This is so messed up.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/46445765_Antitrust_and_the_competitive_structure_of_the_US_pulp_and_paper_industry_1950-1990

https://nwlaborpress.org/2018/12/so-much-for-antitrust-government-approves-merger-of-paper-mill-giants/