The stories behind the Biden administration baby formula shortage

Thus far, the reporting on the Biden administration's lackluster response to the baby food shortage has been, at a minimum, disappointing. Actually, there are multiple stories worthy of reporting. This Yahoo article focuses on what the federal government will finally do now that there's a crisis.

The reason why this administration's polling is in the toilet is because this administration doesn't notice problems until a real-life problem turns into a political problem. At that point, this administration jumps into action with an all-hands-on-deck half-the-hands-on-deck approach.

Like with the Russian invasion into Ukraine, the Biden administration is a month late. This administration gives procrastination look good. This administration moves so slow that procrastinators look fast. This paragraph illustrates the problem perfectly:

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf provided no details, but President Joe Biden said last week he was working to allow more formula to come in from other countries.

Califf told NBC News he does not expect the shortage of the critical baby product to last until the end of year, adding on CNN that he expects the situation to gradually improve.

The White House separately said it was continuing talks with the major formula manufacturers to identify logistical hurdles and provide any transportation support that could help them and major retailers get formula to where it is needed.

Why didn't this administration address this earlier? The problem was certainly known earlier:

Empty or low-stock shelves stem partly from a February recall of some formulas by one of the nation's main manufacturers, Abbott Laboratories after a Michigan plant was shuttered over bacteria issues. The shortages have also been compounded by supply-chain snags and historic inflation, leaving about 40% of baby formula products out of stock nationwide, data shows.

The administration should've acted immediately. They should've started asking question. Here are some questions I would've asked:

1. How much formula gets consumed daily?
2. How many days worth of formula do companies have in stock?
3. Do some babies need special types of formula? If yes, how much formula do we have for the special needs babies in stock?
4. Can we import formula from other countries, especially from Canada and Europe?
5. Is there any red tape that we need to cut through to import formula?

Biden also should've assigned a point person to make sure this crisis didn't get worse. Biden should've insisted on weekly, if not daily, updates on the situation. He also should've instructed the FDA to get Abbott re-opened as quickly as possible as long as it's safe. Biden should've also told the FDA to replace formula production with other plants until the Abbott plant got up-and-running.

That would've required an understanding of capitalism and industry. Those aren't strong suits for Biden. It's a shame that we've got a socialist-leaning idiot in the White House who's never made correct decision under stress.

It's worth noting that the House and Senate committees with jurisdiction over HHS haven't held a hearing on this issue. Since Democrats have the committee chairmanships in both the House and Senate, the blame falls entirely on Democrats for not getting to the bottom of this before it became a crisis.