channelking
Member
companies did respond rapidly where they were able, but i will argue you played a small part in preventing mask production here around march. i will lay it out at the end of the post.
but first you also have to factor international cooperation.
demand for masks far outstripped supply. so governments cooperated. when we where either side of our peak we shipped masks to countries that were in peak. and we were receivers when we were at peak and others had moved past peak. it's likely the reason our supply from china has been so reliable since they came out of their peak - we were a country that helped them at their peak
you were someone that advocated interfering with the price system and criticising price rises on goods like masks, gloves and hand sanitiser when we first went into lock down. i remember you had very strong words for anyone raising prices.
that prevented the price signals being sent to companies that would have retooled their equipment to make masks - as the increase in their price would have made it worth their while. as it was those signals never went out and retooling at time when the economy was likely to tank without the ability to increase prices meant that factory owner would have had to eat a loss at a time when the economy was at its most precarious. hence the price of masks may have well have been 20k a mask as non were available.
I am not going to go back on to prices issue.
My point then were how local shops were blatantly ripping people off at stupid prices to make more profits. While bigger shops didnt do a damn thing with prices.