For context:
I saw the rhetoric and thought it was assinine. I can argue with every industry in these United States needs some sort of protection. What should be protected and at what cost? I can understand protecting American labor, the emotion it elicits. How could another, fellow American not want to protect American jobs?! It is disingenuous of you to want to force on the American people your, our, industry at their expense?
Everyone here recognizes that US shipbuilding is down. Is it 100% because of the Jones Act? Probably not. Can you lay any blame at the Jones Act? Absolutely. I’ll give it more blame than not. But you cry of some doom and gloom scenario where more Americans would be on the street if the American shipyards hold a monopoly on US shipbuilding. This will not happen, it is sensationalist at best and dishonest at worst.
Repealing the US shipbuilding requirement wouldn’t mean the evaporation of American jobs, it would stretch the building and supplying of American ships across the globe. I have beaten this horse dead above.
In 2020 the US shipbuilding requirement only benefits the few at the expense of the many.
One of the best videos I viewed on the topics addressed something similar, here. Watch this as well.
What else can we do to protect or create American jobs? Follow the lead of Oregon and New Jersey and require that only gas station attendants can pump gas? Give the guys working the excivators spoons?
Applying this to ships, should the new Panama Canal be destroyed because smaller ships mean more crews which mean more jobs. Should ships in American service only carry 20000mt of bulk cargo at a pop? American service roros only carry 500 cars? We recognize this as ridiculous. Should we force all non-American cars out of the United States? Will you only ride
It is actually a good enough reason right now. It will now and always be a good enough reason in an actual free market.