That is like 99th on a list of 100 of PR's problems. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/18/broken-bonds-wall-streets-ro..., poor access to capital/need for capital after Maria, and an apathetic (if not antagonistic) administration are absolutely worse right now.
How much would you really estimate is wasted above what would be paid for non-US flagged ships? How would a race to the bottom in terms of flag-of-convenience destinations be detrimental to the long term interests of the US shipping/shipbuilding industries? Would repealing it have any security impacts? Who would benefit most from it.
I don't expect you to answer those, but they are all complicated questions and worthy of better discussion than this.
> That is like 99th on a list of 100 of PR's problems
Look, I never said that the Jones Act was Puerto Rico's only problem. I said it's a major problem, and that it alone is significant enough to hamper Puerto Rico's economy indefinitely.
As a separate note, it's weird to frame it (as you do) as the aftermath of Maria and the federal government's apathy being worse, when in reality the two are heavily linked. The Jones Act severely hindered the recovery efforts from Maria. (Every other hurricane since Katrina has prompted a temporary waiver from the Jones Act in order to aid relief - including Harvey, which happened just before Maria).
Yes, keeping the residents of Puerto Rico in the dark for a year and without reliable access to shelter and clean water is obviously an immediate problem. I'm saying that even if the lights were turned back on overnight, that still won't fix the long-term problems either.
They waived the Jones Act after Maria, albeit briefly.
I think PR's debt problems are an order of magnitude worse than the excessive cost of shipping. They need to be a full US state, and they need federal aid to fix their balance sheet (beyond PROMESA). I think a Jones Act subsidy would be a reasonable policy to preserve a US shipbuilding industrial base while not doing so on AK, HI, PR, et al's dime.
Ok, like I replied to the sibling comment, the debt crisis (admittedly from a distance) feels like such an overwhelming #1 that the rest are dwarfed. I think PR's situation is entirely unjust, and they deserve full statehood (or independence, based on a referendum).
How much would you really estimate is wasted above what would be paid for non-US flagged ships? How would a race to the bottom in terms of flag-of-convenience destinations be detrimental to the long term interests of the US shipping/shipbuilding industries? Would repealing it have any security impacts? Who would benefit most from it.
I don't expect you to answer those, but they are all complicated questions and worthy of better discussion than this.