4 ms·

> This is why "they are just trying to scare people!" is not a valid criticism in this context. It absolutely is. Fear is not conducive to prudent decision-ma

by dvt 6y ago

> This is why "they are just trying to scare people!" is not a valid criticism in this context. It absolutely is. Fear is not conducive to prudent decision-making. Fear is what brought us the inane toilet paper shortage a few months ago. No news outlet is being level-headed with its reporting -- whether on the left or on the right. This, combined with zero accountability for needless flame-fanning by pieces like the one linked, creates an environment where it's hard to discern what's true and what's not.

isthispermanent 6y ago
I agree, both sides are negligent. The only place you can go for real news is first and foremost the raw data. And second, Twitter.
Kye 6y ago
A rapid shift from a toilet paper supply chain optimized for workplaces and retail to a sudden spike in demand on the home-focused supply chain caused the shortage. People actually needed that toilet paper because what they normally used was locked up at their workplace and they didn't have enough supply at home.
- dvt 6y ago
  This is categorically untrue. It's well documented that people were hoarding[1] due to (and I quote) the "influence of perceived threat." [1] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234232 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
  - Kye 6y ago
    Two things can be true: 1: People were hoarding because of the media hype 2: The supply chain was strained from a sudden and completely reasonable shift given the circumstances Does your link address 2 or compare the impact?
nostrademons 6y ago
> Fear is what brought us the inane toilet paper shortage a few months ago. FWIW, evidence is that the toilet paper shortage wasn't caused by hoarding. Rather, it was a combination of two supply-chain quirks: 1.) Toilet paper is bulky and low-margin, which means that supermarkets largely stock it just-in-time and keep low inventories of it in storerooms. This exacerbates any problems in the supply chain because existing inventories run out quickly and there's no buffer. 2.) The supply chains for consumer toilet paper (used in homes) and commercial toilet paper (used in businesses & public places) are almost completely different. They use different raw materials (commercial has higher recycled paper content), different manufacturing processes (commercial is usually single-ply), and of course different warehouses, transportation infrastructure, and procurement processes. When everybody stays home for 8+ hours that were previously spent at work and in public places, that causes a dramatic shift in demand from commercial to consumer toilet paper. The commercial stuff can't really be sold in supermarkets; even if you could fix the procurement and distribution processes, it's packaged in ways that won't fit on (or sell from) a retail rack. Taken together, that resulted in large shortages of consumer toilet paper and large oversupplies of commercial toilet paper, all of which get exacerbated by the small inventories kept by supermarkets. There may have been some hoarding too, but there's no good evidence for it, and a lot of reasons (eg. purchase maximums, inability to carry more than 1 48-pack) to believe it wasn't a major factor.
enraged_camel 6y ago
>> Fear is what brought us the inane toilet paper shortage a few months ago. That is not fear. That is panic. Relevant concept, but also very different. Unless of course you believe reading this article you are criticizing will lead to people rushing to buy toilet paper again...

by dvt 6y ago

isthispermanent 6y ago

I agree, both sides are negligent. The only place you can go for real news is first and foremost the raw data. And second, Twitter.

Kye 6y ago

A rapid shift from a toilet paper supply chain optimized for workplaces and retail to a sudden spike in demand on the home-focused supply chain caused the shortage. People actually needed that toilet paper because what they normally used was locked up at their workplace and they didn't have enough supply at home.

dvt 6y ago
This is categorically untrue. It's well documented that people were hoarding[1] due to (and I quote) the "influence of perceived threat." [1] https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234232 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal...
- Kye 6y ago
  Two things can be true: 1: People were hoarding because of the media hype 2: The supply chain was strained from a sudden and completely reasonable shift given the circumstances Does your link address 2 or compare the impact?

nostrademons 6y ago

> Fear is what brought us the inane toilet paper shortage a few months ago. FWIW, evidence is that the toilet paper shortage wasn't caused by hoarding. Rather, it was a combination of two supply-chain quirks: 1.) Toilet paper is bulky and low-margin, which means that supermarkets largely stock it just-in-time and keep low inventories of it in storerooms. This exacerbates any problems in the supply chain because existing inventories run out quickly and there's no buffer. 2.) The supply chains for consumer toilet paper (used in homes) and commercial toilet paper (used in businesses & public places) are almost completely different. They use different raw materials (commercial has higher recycled paper content), different manufacturing processes (commercial is usually single-ply), and of course different warehouses, transportation infrastructure, and procurement processes. When everybody stays home for 8+ hours that were previously spent at work and in public places, that causes a dramatic shift in demand from commercial to consumer toilet paper. The commercial stuff can't really be sold in supermarkets; even if you could fix the procurement and distribution processes, it's packaged in ways that won't fit on (or sell from) a retail rack. Taken together, that resulted in large shortages of consumer toilet paper and large oversupplies of commercial toilet paper, all of which get exacerbated by the small inventories kept by supermarkets. There may have been some hoarding too, but there's no good evidence for it, and a lot of reasons (eg. purchase maximums, inability to carry more than 1 48-pack) to believe it wasn't a major factor.

enraged_camel 6y ago

>> Fear is what brought us the inane toilet paper shortage a few months ago. That is not fear. That is panic. Relevant concept, but also very different. Unless of course you believe reading this article you are criticizing will lead to people rushing to buy toilet paper again...