Posted on 01/17/2015 5:19:21 AM PST by outofsalt
A proposal from Sen. John McCain has sparked a furious backlash from shipbuilding and ship repair executives who say the plan would cripple their industry and compromise coastal security..
The Arizona senator wants to repeal a key provision of a 95-year-old law that governs shipping in America's coastal waters and between domestic ports. It would strike the requirement that vessels engaging in port-to-port, domestic waterborne trade be built in the U.S. .............. In a news release, the Arizona senator said, "It costs six dollars per barrel to move crude from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast United States on a Jones Act tanker, while a foreign-flag tanker can take that same crude to a refinery in Canada for two dollars per barrel — taking money directly out of the pockets of American consumers."
The backlash across the maritime industry hits home in Virginia, where there are more than 63,000 shipbuilding jobs. Shipbuilding and ship repair are major pillars of the Hampton Roads economy. ....
(Excerpt) Read more at dailypress.com ...
and you just know that some crony capitalist lobbyist came up with this
The American manufacturer has shipped every job possible overseas, thus throwing hundreds of thousands of U.S. employees out of work. And you want to do that to yet another industry?
http://www.eonline.com/news/615782/john-mccain-looks-like-lord-voldemort-in-this-magical-pic
Fri., Jan. 16, 2015
No, this is not a picture of Lord Voldemort—it’s actually Sen. John McCain! This all-American muggle was joking around with his colleagues at a news conference in Washington earlier this week when this magical photo was taken of him with his face pressed up against the glass.
Outstanding post, and it is why I Luv FR. When we get beyond the Press, the $ Money and Interest behind the politician's we get the real story. You lay out an embarrassment of riches problems (oil) that as a an industry has a transportation / logistical issue.
You bring up a good point about NAFTA and not being to Export Oil. Every-time I hear now Senator Maaaarrrrkey ( Eastern Mass. accent for effect) pontificate how it is wrong to do to even think about exporting, I need duct tape to keep my head from liberating itself as if it was in zero gravity.
Imagine a world where we can "Frack" or "Enhanced Oil Recovery" all our resources, specifically Federal Lands vs. the handful of States that are carrying our economy via Fracking?
Specifically, you imagine how much safer the world would be if they could buy Oil and Natural Gas from us ( or soon from Israel ) rather than the neerdowells they are doing business with now?
Can you imagine Europe / Eastern Europe buying from us rather the characters they are buying from now?
IMHO it would be a new generation of stability and perhaps a new era "Paux-Americana" that would drive the John Kerry apologist types batty. Reagan and Thatcher would be smilin' from heaven...
First, how many ship ports exist in Arizona?
Second, is the Jones Act protecting bloated, union jobs that contribute to Democrats?
Third, we should not protect industries with mandates like this. If foreign competition has an unfair advantage, their goods should have a tariff imposed. Anything else is unconstitutional nonsense.
Something else to consider here is that some of the strongest lobbying pressure in Washington to keep the Jones Act in place comes from the U.S. railroad industry. Nothing pleases them more than a Federal statute that makes a competing industry prohibitively expensive.
No. The Jones act has been around for almost 100 years. The steady offshoring of U.S. jobs is a lot more recent than that.
Something else to consider here is that some of the strongest lobbying pressure in Washington to keep the Jones Act in place comes from the U.S. railroad industry. Nothing pleases them more than a Federal statute that makes a competing industry prohibitively expensive.
You're kidding, right?
The Jones Act is a stupid piece of government control and I agree with McCain for trying to get rid of it. According to my travel agent, cruise ships that go from Seattle to Alaska must stop in a foreign port, (Canada), unless they are made in the USA. This means that I have to get 4 passports to take my family. NCL has a ship that just cruises Hawaiian islands but is made in America. This is just useless government control. Cruise lines and other companies should be free to use whatever ship they want, and be able to take foreign made big cruise ships on American only stops.
It wasn't feasible for the offshoring of U.S. jobs to occur until the mid-1950s, for a number of reasons. The Jones Act isn't the only factor, but it's one of many.
You're kidding, right?
No, I'm not. I happen to work in a field where it's helpful to know these things.
Then, it is STILL an issue with GOV’T; too high taxes/regulations/Laws/etc.
Biz has every obligation to their shareholders to build their bottom line, not ensure that U.S. cronies, I mean other biz w/ deep pockets to contribute to gov’t, reap the windfall of gov’t intrusion and ineptness.
Course, who could have seen the problems we’re facing today when ol’ Tricky Dick started opening up China (yes, for those that can’t read between the lines, that is sarcasm).
Again, blame where blame is due...gov’t.
The so called “free trade” agreements are anything but free trade.
It’s a rigged poker game that we cannot win because not everyone is playing by the same rules.
Why is that so hard to understand.
For instance,
1) We pay Tariffs and China does not.
Do you really think that is fair that does not have to pay tariffs but we do?
2) China uses Slave labor. U.S. workers cannot equally compete, wage wise, with slave labor.
How can U.S. workers compete with Chinese slave labor?
3) China is NOTORIOUS for currency manipulation. So it’s always cheaper to do business there.
How is currency manipulation fair?
4) Now you have foreign governments that are bribing our Federal officials to tax and regulate business here in order to move it out of America.
I don’t understand why you would think corruption of our so called leaders is good for America?
There is no debate we were really the loan Super Power in the world after World War II. The Soviets were consider a Super Power because of their Nukes, and nothing else. There is no debate we led the world in most things. One of the things that made us great was that we had the largest middle class in the world. We led the world in jobs ans prosperity. How could you NOT want that back? Anyhow, this was before all that so called free trade.
Do you really think our country is heading in the right direction economically speaking? Do you REALLY THINK we are on the right path? If so, then you are very bleak minority of people. Almost everyone I know (regardless of political affiliation) ALL OF THEM say we are heading in the wrong direction economically speaking. Most people I know want the America which was the land of opportunity back. They hate the banana republic is turning in to. Don’t believe me then poll your family, your friends, your neighbors and your coworkers about our economy. I can promise you, regardless of affiliation, they will say America is heading in the wrong direction.
The only body of people that think we are heading in the right direction economically are the Feds. I guess you are in the Fed camp that think economically speaking life has never been better and we are heading to Utopia in the future. LOL!
You know the same feds that quote the Unemployment rate, but at the very same time ignore the face that 93 million people working less today, than when Obama took office in Jan 2009. That most new jobs are minimum wage that are being filled by all the illegals that will work below minimum wage since $1 will go a long way in their home country.
Do you really think it’s good to have no one employees and send all jobs overseas? I don’t understand your thinking? How are you going to sell anything if no one can buy it???
Do you REALLY THINK it’s good to send jobs overseas because of a rigged trade deal?
Our country economically speaking was doing great until they signed the free trade agreement. It’s been a disaster ever since.
Secondly, this idea that we can somehow go back to the post-WW2 period when the U.S. middle class was at its peak and "get that back" is delusional. The affluence of the U.S. middle class in the post-WW2 period was a historical anomaly, not the norm. The U.S. was the only industrial power that emerged from WW2 with its infrastructure unscathed, and it had something like 40% of the world's total GDP in 1950. There is no way that can ever be sustained over time, unless part of your plan to "get that back" involves bombing the cities of all the other industrial powers to the ground every 40-50 years.
I laughed at your comment about go see your congress man or Senator. LOL!
You would get more loyalty from Boss Hog then those corrupt bums. They are only loyal to foreign countries and the h*ll with the American people seems to what drives them internally. Their actions tell us everything we need to know about them.
Oh and the so called “Free Trade” and overturning Glass Steagall Act Was a colossal mistake.
I love this country and don’t want to see it go down the $hit hole because of some corrupt officials. It’s horrible what they have done. They are really going to bankrupt future generations if they do not change the course.
Many years ago the frauds, cons, superwealthy fatcorps and corruptgov attempted to convince all global free trade would benefit America...Create more jobs, get us up to speed...It would be good for you and me.
Like today, everything they say is a tainted self serving lie.
thanks for the link,
no less a scary pic, hillarys pal is looking dead old these days,
Some years ago I took an Alaska cruise. The cruise ship was a foreign one (there are no American ones). I traveled to Vancouver to meet the ship, since it couldn't travel between any port in the lower 48 and Alaska (Jones Act).
That meant that my plane paid fees and refueled at a Canadian airport. I stayed overnight in a Canadian hotel. The ship purchased supplies for the voyage from Canadian suppliers. Canadian rather than American dock workers got paid for handling the ship in port. Instead of saving American jobs, the Jones Act resulted in transferring a lot of economic activity from an American port like Seattle to Vancouver.
Protectionism of any kind, whether it's tariffs, import quotas, or restrictions like the Jones Act, ultimately end up hurting Americans. As for John McCain, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. He's right on this issue.
I would laugh, too. I think Santa Claus may be your best bet on that one. LOL.
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