The following is an installment in a weekly series of commentary articles by Cameron Arcand, host of the Young Not Stupid interview series and a contributor to The Western Journal.

I was not surprised to be greeted by empty shelves at my local grocery store last weekend. Thankfully, they were few in number.

Still, my stomach turned when I realized this was only the beginning of what will likely be a months-long global supply chain crisis, and it will seep into nearly every aspect of the American consumer economy.

Even as the Biden administration has taken some steps to speed up the shipment process, such as collaborating with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, it has dismissed the concerns of average Americans.

When White House press secretary Jen Psaki was asked about the crisis on Tuesday, she sarcastically lamented supply chain delays.

“The tragedy of the treadmill that’s delayed,” Psaki quipped.

When NYT reporter Michael Shear asks about the ongoing supply chain crisis, Psaki jokes about “the tragedy of the treadmill that’s delayed”

pic.twitter.com/Rw8iugBais

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 19, 2021

And let’s not forget Ronald Klain, President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, agreeing with economist Jason Furman’s comment that the current economic woes are “high class problems.”

“Most of the economic problems we’re facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn’t have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent. We would instead have had a much worse problem,” Furman tweeted last week.

This 👇👇 https://t.co/ymh53nEHAg

— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) October 14, 2021

The fact that this is the mentality of top White House officials shows that they are not interested in addressing the concerns of everyday Americans, who may be struggling to obtain basic necessities like groceries and gas due to lack of inventory and rising prices.

For example, Procter & Gamble, which owns brands such as Crest, Gillette and Downy, announced that it will be increasing prices in order to fight back against inflation.

“We will offset a portion of these higher costs with price increases and with productivity savings,” CFO Andre Schulten said, according to Fox Business.

SHORTAGES PUSH UP PRICES: The nationwide supply shortage is hitting home with Procter & Gamble announcing price hikes on many household staples. @RebeccaJarvis reports as schools also report running low on food and supplies. https://t.co/SyIp05Nwx3 pic.twitter.com/MRkdMko27x

— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) October 20, 2021

The short version of the story is this: Even if you are lucky enough to find everything you need at the store, you might not be able to afford it.

In a poll conducted last week among 1,079 likely 2022 voters, 53.7 percent said they have recently dealt with delays and shortages of common consumer products. The poll had a margin of error of +/- 2.99 percentage points.

The Biden administration is trying to gaslight the American people into believing the supply chain crisis does not really affect them.

That might actually be good news for conservatives. It shows that Biden is terrified of the political consequences of this problem.

The midterm elections are just around the corner, which makes empty grocery store shelves and sky-high gas prices ammunition for Republican strategists.

This is not “building back better.” Biden knows that, and he’s feeling the pressure with 2022 bearing down on him.

The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.