Hey Cawacko!

[Mott the Hoople]

Hey man, you’re a strong believer in Free Trade. Do you think it’s time for The Jones Act to be abolished?

In my opinion o think it should. Currently it protects maritime trade on the Pacific and Atlantic Coast but it has been a complete disaster for the Great Lakes States and States depending on our inland navigable waterways, such as, the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers.

I was just wondering about your thoughts. The Jones Act is certainly very unpopular here in Ohio as it played no small roll in the region’s manufacturing decline.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Wacko

 

[cawacko]

Hey man, you’re a strong believer in Free Trade. Do you think it’s time for The Jones Act to be abolished?

In my opinion o think it should. Currently it protects maritime trade on the Pacific and Atlantic Coast but it has been a complete disaster for the Great Lakes States and States depending on our inland navigable waterways, such as, the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers.

I was just wondering about your thoughts. The Jones Act is certainly very unpopular here in Ohio as it played no small roll in the region’s manufacturing decline.

Hey. Sorry, just seeing this. To be totally honest I've never heard of the Jones Act. But since you brought it up I went and briefly researched its history.

My very high level understanding is this law was passed 100 years ago to make sure we had domestic ship building during times of war and any national emergency. To do so we put a bunch of restrictions on what/how ships could be built. The end result ultimately being higher costs and a less competitive market (some of the reading I did got into the weeds on that but I'm not including it here). Of course the small group that benefit the most from the Jones Act are the most vocal about it and they in turn get the attention of the politicians. I'm sure many of these politicians know on the whole the Act is not beneficial to the country but self preservation almost always trumps everything else so they do the bidding of the vocal small minority.

Has there been a push for repeal? What does Sherrod Brown think of it?

 

[Mott the Hoople]

I don’t know. I haven’t asked him. LOL

What I do know is that it harms the Great Lakes States the most. Particularly since they also border the Ohio or Mississippi rivers. I also know that the Jones act was a significant contributor to the decline of manufacturing in these States though obviously not the only or biggest contributor.

My interest in it is with the COVID era has mostly ended the globalization era particularly in regards to China. My understanding with that decline and the rise of the shale oil/natural gas boom in the U.S. and the long term disruption disruption of trade that the U.S. will need to double its current manufacturing base.

From my reading the two States that will probably gain the most would be Texas and Ohio. Ohio is an obvious choice because of its geography on the Great Lakes and the Ohio river, and this where the Jones act comes in, as Ohio’s central location, its large number of skilled labor, its abundance of energy sources from coal, oil and natural gas plus a relatively flat geography making the construction of infrastructure cheaper. That by abolishing the Jones act more shipping for trade on our rivers and coastal regions would make shipping a significantly cheaper form of transportation than rail and certainly by truck.

I think we’re in for some very strong economic growth in the Great Lakes region and Ohio is taking the lead with the construction of the Intel plant which alone is expected to generate $30 billion in direct economic impact and upwards of $100 billion spinoff economic impact over the next 5 years.

My understanding is that the post COVID deglobilzation is going to mean some very good things for working class people in this country if the assumptions are correct.

 

[cawacko]

I don’t know. I haven’t asked him. LOL

What I do know is that it harms the Great Lakes States the most. Particularly since they also border the Ohio or Mississippi rivers. I also know that the Jones act was a significant contributor to the decline of manufacturing in these States though obviously not the only or biggest contributor.

My interest in it is with the COVID era has mostly ended the globalization era particularly in regards to China. My understanding with that decline and the rise of the shale oil/natural gas boom in the U.S. and the long term disruption disruption of trade that the U.S. will need to double its current manufacturing base.

From my reading the two States that will probably gain the most would be Texas and Ohio. Ohio is an obvious choice because of its geography on the Great Lakes and the Ohio river, and this where the Jones act comes in, as Ohio’s central location, its large number of skilled labor, its abundance of energy sources from coal, oil and natural gas plus a relatively flat geography making the construction of infrastructure cheaper. That by abolishing the Jones act more shipping for trade on our rivers and coastal regions would make shipping a significantly cheaper form of transportation than rail and certainly by truck.

I think we’re in for some very strong economic growth in the Great Lakes region and Ohio is taking the lead with the construction of the Intel plant which alone is expected to generate $30 billion in direct economic impact and upwards of $100 billion spinoff economic impact over the next 5 years.

My understanding is that the post COVID deglobilzation is going to mean some very good things for working class people in this country if the assumptions are correct.

This is good insight, thanks. I'm more familiar with the national trade deals and in California this doesn't really make the local news. But I'll keep researching it.