Family members collect belongings after hurricane force winds destroyed their house in Toa Baja, west of San Juan, Puerto Rico, on September 24, 2017 following the passage of Hurricane Maria.
Authorities in Puerto Rico rushed on September 23, 2017 to evacuate people living downriver from a dam said to be in danger of collapsing because of flooding from Hurricane Maria. / AFP PHOTO / Ricardo ARDUENGO (Photo credit should read RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images)
The Jones Act is old, protectionist legislation that requires only US Flag vessels be used to transport between American ports. It raises the costs of getting goods to Puerto Rico possibly by 1000% percent. Tonight 80% of the island is without electricity and 60% is without potable water. That says “humanitarian crisis” and and children’s lives at risk. Where is the massive, warlike flotilla of relief for our dependent territories? Second Timothy 5:8 comes to mind “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
The only explanation for this that I can come up with is that Trump may not actually know that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S.. But he probably does know Puerto Ricans are Hispanic, so he probably thinks a show of indifference to their suffering will appeal to the racist elements of his base. Beyond that, he literally gets pleasure from the suffering of others.
This morning, President Trump finally did the right thing and waived the Jones Act requirements for Puerto Rico.
AmberPaw, I agree 100% with your argument that the Act should be waived here, and in fact the President finally did the right thing. But you describe the Jones Act as “old, protectionist legislation,” which suggests to me that you, like many others, think the Act should be done away with. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Shipbuilding and shipping is a strategic industry that we need to have. Maybe the Jones Act is the most effective way to distort the market to make that happen, and maybe not. Certainly Puerto Rico, even without hurricanes, bears an unfair burden because of the Act. But those who want to get rid of the Act have the burden, I think, to explain how they would protect the shipping and shipbuilding industry. Otherwise we’d be in the same position with ships and shipbuilding as we are with rare earths: entirely dependent in a strategically vital industry on global competitors. I wrote briefly about this yesterday.
This is mercantilist rather than protectionist just since Puerto Rico is part of the US and not a foreign government. The Jones Act is no different from the Sugar and Stamp Acts, in that it’s a duty or tax imposed without the consent of the people it effects and done in a way to restrict and inhibit the export based economy of the colony to artificially limit its growth and enhance its dependence on the mother country. It’s literally the same policy that lead to the initial patriot movement that started our Revolution.
No. International Shipping is a horrible race to the bottom and the Jones Act is the only thing that keeps decent labor conditions for ships that travel between US ports. Repealing it will mean that there will be no more US flagged merchant ships. Liberia, Panama, etc, will always be willing to pay lower wages for worse on board conditions and no protections.
You can’t believe in worker rights and labor protections and say the Jones Act needs to be repealed. Waiving it in a crisis makes sense because foreign flagged ships are in US ports and you may need to have them divert.
Lets use our tax code to strengthen these businesses, not the customers and spread the risk while collectively reaping the benefits. And work at fixing the infrastructure that is rapidly degrading this country into third world status including in our ports.
While Florida and Texas both voted for Trump in the 2016 election, Puerto Rico does not vote in presidential elections but does hold a primary for both parties. Trump lost to Rubio in the Puerto Rico primary. Puerto Rico screwed Trump and as Trump has stated publicly in his book and on stage, it is important that “When someone screws you, get even!”.
Trump is just being Trump, getting even with people he believes screwed him.
Besides, they are all Brown people, whom Trump does not care about or treat as equals. Then, too, he “took” Puerto Rico for over 33 million for one of his many failed businesses [from which he always managed to pocket some benefit but left a trail of screwed contractors, screwed employees, screwed local governments and lies and more lies].