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Trump administration denies Puerto Rico's request to waive the Jones Act

O

Oersted

Member
Update


MaulerX said:
Trump, under tremendous pressure, finally saw the light and temporarily waived the Jones Act.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/28/polit...te-house-jones-act-waiver/index.html?adkey=bn
Click to expand...

For 10 days

The Jones Act limits shipping between coasts to U.S. flagged vessels. However, in the wake of brutal storms, the government has occasionally issued temporary waivers to allow the use of cheaper, tax free, or more readily available foreign flagged ships.

The Department of Homeland Security, which waived the act after hurricanes Harvey and Irma, did not agree an exemption would help this time.
Click to expand...

Puerto Rico has long railed against the Jones Act, saying it makes the cost of imported basic commodities, such as food, clothing and fuel, more expensive.

"Our dependence on fossil fuel imports by sea is hampering the restoration of services," said Juan Declet-Barreto, an energy expert at the nonprofit group the Union of Concerned Scientists. The refusal to allow the waiver "is raising fears on the island that they are going to be left behind in this disaster."
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Republicans Senator John McCain and Representative Gary Palmer have supported measures to repeal the Jones Act.
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More here

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1C12UI

Lock if old
 
A

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
I like how almost every legit news outlet has repeatedly called Puerto Ricans "American citizens" almost as if they knew dumbass Trump and his supporters would want to deny them sympathy/aid.

Looks like it hasn't worked.
 
E

elrechazado

Banned
Maybe this wouldn't have even been an issue if Puerto Rico hadn't sailed into the path of that hurricane. Ever think of that? So tired of these countries not taking responsibility for their actions. Sad!
 
DietRob

DietRob

i've been begging for over 5 years.
What a cunt.

Any reason given besides the inferred reason that they are brown and not worth electoral college votes.
 
G

geomon

Member
Goddamned, motherfucking piece of orange shit. Every day that goes by now, more people die from disease, heat, or other. The faster aid gets there, the faster the island can recover. But Agent Orange over there would rather use Puerto Rico and its suffering American citizens as an attention piece to attack other people on fucking Twitter.
 
P

Pyrokai

Member
Puerto Rico either needs to become a state asap or fight for I because fucking hell.....any other way they're treated like second class citizens.
 
H

hamauzu kaito

Member
Trump doesn't want to do this because it doesn't fit into the narrative that will play out when his administration announces its assistance plan.
 
A

Aselith

Member
Pyrokai said:
Puerto Rico either needs to become a state asap or fight for I because fucking hell.....any other way they're treated like second class citizens.
Click to expand...

Absolutely! As it stands they are quite literally second class citizens. No "treated like" necessary.
 
S

SolarPowered

Member
Pyrokai said:
Puerto Rico either needs to become a state asap or fight for I because fucking hell.....any other way they're treated like second class citizens.
Click to expand...
Democrats and pro statehood Puerto Ricans alike need to apply some pressure here next time we have a triple D setup. Statehood and representation for US territories need to be a part of the party's platform going forward. This is a ridiculous state of affairs. This second class citizenship status is an atrocity for a so called "democracy".
geomon said:
Goddamned, motherfucking piece of orange shit. Every day that goes by now, more people die from disease, heat, or other. The faster aid gets there, the faster the island can recover. But Agent Orange over there would rather use Puerto Rico and its suffering American citizens as an attention piece to attack other people on fucking Twitter.
Click to expand...
Puerto Ricans and other peoples in US territories are never going to be considered American citizens until they can vote. Citizenship is a status even Republicans won't be able to revoke no matter how much voter suppression they enact, but Puerto Rico and democrats need to make it happen.
 
V

Vital Tundra

Member
FUCK em all. My people need all the help they can get. Never mind they are Americans. Probably see them as second class citizens because they aren’t a state.
 
F

FZW

Member
elrechazado said:
Maybe this wouldn't have even been an issue if Puerto Rico hadn't sailed into the path of that hurricane. Ever think of that? So tired of these countries not taking responsibility for their actions. Sad!
Click to expand...
This is the best trump tweeting impression i have her seen. LOL
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
Beartruck said:
Theyre a territory, not a state, so in his eyes they're probably 2nd class citizens. Sadly he wouldn't be entirely uncorrect.
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Only when residing there they can't vote for Federal stuff. They can move to any state and then start voting.

I hope once power is restored a bit that Puerto Rico eviscerates Trump.
 
A

Aselith

Member
Kusagari said:
I highly doubt Trump knows enough to even shut this down himself.

Seems like it would be left up to Elaine Duke.
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I don't think that's the implication. I can't imgaine they didn't consult with the White House before shutting it down though.

And regardless, he's still responsible. It's his administration.
 
J

Jenov

Member
What's the GOP reasoning for not waiving or appealing the Jones Act entirely? I thought they liked the idea of cutting burdensome taxes?
 
J

Joezie

Member
Honestly a temporary exception isn't good enough. The Jones act has been a crippling blade in the side of the Puerto Rican economy forever and only makes any attempt for the Island to fix itself that much more difficult.
 
O

Oersted

Member
Bonus about Jones Act

Under the law, any foreign registry vessel that enters Puerto Rico must pay punitive tariffs, fees and taxes, which are passed on to the Puerto Rican consumer.

The foreign vessel has one other option: It can reroute to Jacksonville, Fla., where all the goods will be transferred to an American vessel, then shipped to Puerto Rico where — again — all the rerouting costs are passed through to the consumer.

Thanks to the law, the price of goods from the United States mainland is at least double that in neighboring islands, including the United States Virgin Islands, which are not covered by the Jones Act. Moreover, the cost of living in Puerto Rico is 13 percent higher than in 325 urban areas elsewhere in the United States, even though per capita income in Puerto Rico is about $18,000, close to half that of Mississippi, the poorest of all 50 states.
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A 2012 report by two University of Puerto Rico economists found that the Jones Act caused a $17 billion loss to the island’s economy from 1990 through 2010. Other studies have estimated the Jones Act’s damage to Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska to be $2.8 billion to $9.8 billion per year. According to all these reports, if the Jones Act did not exist, then neither would the public debt of Puerto Rico.
Click to expand...
 
A

Azuran

Banned
It's okay thought. He got praised by the Governor which is all that matters to him.

The island could sink deep into the ocean for all he cares now.
 
Z

Zubz

Banned
I'm losing words here.

Kensation said:
Mueller has his tax returns, so he's taking out his frustrations on Puerto Rico.
Click to expand...

That's my guess. This "deflect so we're angry about something else" strategy is appalling, because no matter how much I want to emphasize how terrible the thing being covered is, the cover up is equally abhorrent!
 
O

old manatee

Banned
Trump is such a fucked up person for real. Just zero human empathy. He's spending 90% of his time trolling black athletes on Twitter, and when he takes a break from that he's exploiting hurricane victims.
 
K

King Tubby

Member
Jones Act is basically neocolonialism. They exploit the land and the people, then they blame the territory for being in debt.
 
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