Toilet Paper Panic Buying Hits Las Vegas Amid Supply Concerns
People are panic buying toilet paper in Las Vegas. . . again.
According to Fox 5, videos on social media capture people buying toilet paper and other items like water bottles in bulk. Further reports say that due to the port strikes in California, many people are buying items like toilet paper in fear of possible supply shortages.
What Does The Port Strikes Have To Do With Toilet Paper?
Well, in a short story: the port strikes will not affect the supply of toilet paper. CNN reports that toilet paper shortages are happening due to panic buying.
The port strikes will affect imports like bananas and other perishable goods.
“If anything, the strike could result in a glut of toilet paper. Not a shortage,” CNN states.
The American Forest and Paper Association also said to CNN there were risks to supply due to the port strikes. However, the supply would affect foreign markers that import toilet paper products.
Related: What To Expect With The Opening Of Norms Diner In Las Vegas
Along with toilet paper, people seem to be panic buying water bottles, which is further causing shortages in major stores.
Mob mentality is usually a factor when people panic buy goods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were panic buying toilet paper, as well.
A study from the National Library of Medicine states, “In the end, people’s irrational behaviors can result in a herding effect. For people under the condition of collective anxiety, risk perception might play an important role in affecting their behavior.”
So essentially, irrationality can be connected to a herding effect when there’s societal anxiety about shortages, public health, the economy, etc.
Port Strikes Seem To Come To An End On Friday
On Thursday, the port strikes were suspended and a tentative agreement was reached on wages. On Tuesday, tens of thousands of longshoremen and dock workers walked off the job on the East and Gulf coasts. The International Longshoremen’s Association strikes against the United States Maritime Alliance for three days, the union said on its website.
“A silver lining to the three-day strike by the ILA in New York and New Jersey was the close bond that developed between the striking ILA members and the Port Authority Police,” the International Longshoremen’s Association’s website states.
