Stop Depending on China for Everything [PHIL-OSOPHY]

The stock market suffered its third most calamitous fall in recent times, because of the coronavirus. Factories in China have slowed production; that impacts other markets, and some are projecting that the global negative hit could be a trillion-dollar loss.

We have to understand that Americans depend on China for too much of what we use here. China even makes our penicillin and other drugs. It makes me wonder what Washington was thinking over the decades.

Politically, a slowdown would benefit a candidate like Bernie Sanders. President Trump will run on the fact that the economy is humming along, but a coronavirus pandemic would hurt the economy a lot and has the potential to play into the hands of Trump's critics.

ICE agents say travelers are flat out lying about where they've been because they don't want to be quarantined. That's a recipe prime for spreading the virus, and then the dominoes start to fall in succession. Speaking of recipes, authorities here are speculating that some of the animals tested in China that survived ended up at a neighborhood market for human consumption.

While Americans can't do anything about another people's culture, we can start making more of what we use here and stop depending on China for most everything we use.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.