Holy fuck, I hope that was sarcasm. With such a shit attitude it’s no wonder they don’t like you.
Hawaii is also the only state with a statewide native sovereignty movement which seeks to succeed from the US and become an independent country again.
Hawaiians are the only Native American population that are denied, on a federal level, the right to nationalize. Even then it’s a minority of native Hawaiians who want succession. Most who want it do for business reasons - casinos, taxes. (There are secessionists in Texas, too. White folk.)
Who are the consumers in Hawaii? Mostly US and Asian tourists, the military, other federal agencies, and retirees from the US Mainland.
Most consumers in Hawaii are Hawaii residents. Tourists and military are a small minority of the population.
Back on topic: It’s expensive in Hawaii because there’s too many people, too much investment money, and not enough land. Abolishing the Jones Act won’t change a thing there.
Normal every day people in Puerto Rice were doggedly determined to tell me that every single piece of cargo that came to PR “had to go to Florida first due to the Jones Act”. I told them this was incorrect and foreign ships were allowed to and did call at San Juan. They flatly denied this and told me I was misinformed.
Personally, I really enjoyed my time working as a Mariner in Hawaii. I’d be glad go back for much better pay.
I’m not sure about now, but back when I was in Hawaii there were very few Hawaiian mariners. Probably because boat jobs in Hawaii did not pay well enough for them to afford the very high cost of living in Hawaii. Based on the few Hawaii job opportunities I sometimes hear about, Mariner wages are still far too low to afford living in Hawaii.
I have a feeling that if the Matson and Pasha ships were crewed up with mostly local Hawaiians at good wages, that Hawaii would suddenly be in love with the Jones Act.
I have talked to people in Puerto Rico that are similarly misinformed. They get a great deal of their information over social media and from politicians, which explains a lot.
The challenge for “Hawaiians” entering the maritime industry is being qualified for jobs available here. Training and education for even entry level is a big problem here.
Hawaiians have a natural affinity for the ocean, they are the best watermen out there. But with no place to properly prepare them here in Honolulu, they must accept the added expense of traveling to the mainland to learn their jobs. That gets expensive.
I personally have been involved in trying to change that situation for over a decade. I’ve rec’d a lot of support from local maritime companies over the years. But it remains challenging, still. It’s NOT a case of lack of desire to be in our industry. It’s the process of entry with basic minimum standards that make it so hard for young people starting out.
I’m sure that Hawaiians can and do go to CMA just like anyone else.
They can also go to union schools, such as SIU, just like anyone else.
There are no entry level requirements for vessels under 100 tons, which by far is most vessels in Hawaii. Time on those vessels counts toward AB.
I don’t know what there is for maritime schools in Hawaii, but there must be some schools providing 100 ton license training. There isn’t much difference between 100 ton and AB training. Maybe the schools need some state or federal grants to expand training opportunities.
I think Young Brothers was an old Hawaii company until it was sold to Saltchuk a few years ago. Last I heard, they employed a lot of Hawaiians.
The Jones Act companies serving Hawaii, and their unions, should make a point of recruiting and employing some Hawaiians. They should be bragging about all the Hawaiians they employ and all the state tax revenue that results.
That is correct & luckily for them Hawaiians get in state tuition for Cal Maritime. Also, a couple of years ago a recent Texas maritime grad said Texas Maritime gives in state tuition rates to students who don’t have a maritime academy in their home state.
I’ve mentally prepared myself to see the Jones Act get a beating in the next couple of years, maybe abolished altogether. The days of the “Put America 1st” rhetoric is over with. Get whatever you can while the getting is still possible IMO.
I don’t expect to see any changes to the Jones Act.
There are not enough deep draft vessels, shipyards, votes, or campaign contributions to preserve the Jones Act.
But there are tens of thousands of small Jones Act vessels, hundreds of small yards, and a lot more votes and campaign contributions that will preserve the Jones Act.
Nobody gives a fig about the squeaky little voices whining from Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Every state gets a minimum number of ‘appointees’ targeted for Federal Academies/military. So it is not unique to Hawaii.
That’s a local headline, so it’s a feel good piece for Hawaiians. Rightfully so. But in context to whole nation it’s not an outstanding achievement, relatively speaking.
We get that all the time on the Great Lakes. So the argument is if we didn’t have those expensive American workers we could get stuff cheaper. So in the Lakes case what they want to do is have labor that makes 10% of American’s fair wage compete against the truckers and the railroads who would haul the stuff the ships don’t. So who does that hurt but American workers in their own country. They would allow foreigners to compete against Americans in their own country. Is that fair? Can you go to China and compete against them there, No, how about India, No, no where in the world can you go there and run a truck line using foreign labor and not meeting that country’s labor, TAX or wage laws. But somehow the people who would make big money make big contributions to the politicians willing to carry the water to somehow convince the voters that getting rid of American labor, that is meeting legislated, yes, those same politicians voted for all those laws that cost money, regulations and paying US taxes, will save money hiring the foreign crews and ships. So it costs what, pennies to ship stuff anywhere and they say they will cut the cost of milk by 50%, really, how, do the math. The shipping costs are so low per pound or gallon that they are about invisible and who on a $5 dollar item that costs even 50 cents total to ship are you going to save half, and that is the total cost to ship, first to the dock, then on the ship and then from the dock to the store, and the on land components generally are the far higher cost components, which whoever the ocean carrier is has to pay. Ocean shipping is pennies or a penny per pound, you save, NOTHING. But hey, political contributions are the real lifeblood of useless dummies posing as “for the people” so they’ll push anything that get them bucks. So much for all our safety, labor, pollution and registry laws, so much for paying taxes or hiring Americans, we can save a penny on that package of hot dogs. Don’t bet on it, you’ll never see it but you will screw up YOUR control over the ships and shipper.
That’s not terrible. It’s only roughly $3,000 per year additional if in that program. And certainly not some outrageous amount that wouldn’t be covered in student loans/scholarships/grants.