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Re: Are you ready for the next shipping strike?
Just to jogged your memories a bit on the different views regarding the Jones Act when Case and Akaka ran against each other. Akaka won.
Taken from our Sister Site at HawaiiNews.com
http://www.hawaiinews.com/archives/p...s/000414.shtml
MODERATOR: Congressman Case, you and your opponent differ on the Jones Act, which requires that cargo ships between U.S. ports can only travel in ships built, owned, and crewed by Americans. Should Hawaii be exempt from the Jones Act?
CASE: Is it fair that our federal government creates a monopoly over any key aspect of life in Hawaii? Is it fair that our federal government provides one company, effectively, with the ability to control, to dominate, the lifeline that we have between here and the Mainland for all of our goods? Because that's exactly what the Jones Act does. Yes there's another company, but between them they're a duopoly and frankly Matson dominates that other company, they cross-ship cargo, as an example. 97, 98 percent of our goods come down here from the Mainland. They all come by shipping. We don't have the ability to go to rail, to buses, to trucks, even to air cargo -- that doesn't work, it's too expensive. So when somebody gets a hold of our lifeline, that's a dangerous sign for us. And we're paying for it in spades, thousands of dollars for each and every citizen of this country and this state, far more money for businesses that employ people and have to deal with those goods and services. That's not fair, and that's not the way it should be. We have laws in this country against the creation of monopolies, we believe monopolies are bad. Yet in this case, a federal law creates a monopoly. By the way, it's not just goods and services coming down from the mainland, it's also getting our products to the markets on the mainland. Let's take the cattle industry on the Big Island, or any of the other neighbor islands that I represent. That cattle industry wants to get its products to market as fast as possible. To ship from Kawaihae, in the case of the Big Island, to Stockton, California. They can't do that. Why? Because there's no shipping that can come in because Matson won't do it. Instead, they have to ship it to Honolulu, sit around Honolulu Harbor for a while, waiting for a ship. Consequence? Time is money. That's not the right thing, that's not the right business for our federal government to be in. I do believe in the repeal of the Jones Act, at least with respect to insular parts of our country like Hawaii.
MODERATOR: Senator Akaka, your response?
AKAKA: Yes. The Jones Act is a critical component to protecting local jobs and national security. There has been bipartisan support of that bill by all of the presidents. These leaders recognize as I do, the strategic importance of our ports and our high quality labor force working in the maritime industry. And the Jones Act protects all of these. The Navy League of the U.S. says that the Jones Act is critical to U.S. national security, and it also helps our economy. The domestic shippers and ship builders that come under the Jones Act do contribute in terms of federal taxes. Hawaii receives $232 million in taxes every year on this.
Auntie Lynn
Originally posted by joshuatree
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Taken from our Sister Site at HawaiiNews.com
http://www.hawaiinews.com/archives/p...s/000414.shtml
MODERATOR: Congressman Case, you and your opponent differ on the Jones Act, which requires that cargo ships between U.S. ports can only travel in ships built, owned, and crewed by Americans. Should Hawaii be exempt from the Jones Act?
CASE: Is it fair that our federal government creates a monopoly over any key aspect of life in Hawaii? Is it fair that our federal government provides one company, effectively, with the ability to control, to dominate, the lifeline that we have between here and the Mainland for all of our goods? Because that's exactly what the Jones Act does. Yes there's another company, but between them they're a duopoly and frankly Matson dominates that other company, they cross-ship cargo, as an example. 97, 98 percent of our goods come down here from the Mainland. They all come by shipping. We don't have the ability to go to rail, to buses, to trucks, even to air cargo -- that doesn't work, it's too expensive. So when somebody gets a hold of our lifeline, that's a dangerous sign for us. And we're paying for it in spades, thousands of dollars for each and every citizen of this country and this state, far more money for businesses that employ people and have to deal with those goods and services. That's not fair, and that's not the way it should be. We have laws in this country against the creation of monopolies, we believe monopolies are bad. Yet in this case, a federal law creates a monopoly. By the way, it's not just goods and services coming down from the mainland, it's also getting our products to the markets on the mainland. Let's take the cattle industry on the Big Island, or any of the other neighbor islands that I represent. That cattle industry wants to get its products to market as fast as possible. To ship from Kawaihae, in the case of the Big Island, to Stockton, California. They can't do that. Why? Because there's no shipping that can come in because Matson won't do it. Instead, they have to ship it to Honolulu, sit around Honolulu Harbor for a while, waiting for a ship. Consequence? Time is money. That's not the right thing, that's not the right business for our federal government to be in. I do believe in the repeal of the Jones Act, at least with respect to insular parts of our country like Hawaii.
MODERATOR: Senator Akaka, your response?
AKAKA: Yes. The Jones Act is a critical component to protecting local jobs and national security. There has been bipartisan support of that bill by all of the presidents. These leaders recognize as I do, the strategic importance of our ports and our high quality labor force working in the maritime industry. And the Jones Act protects all of these. The Navy League of the U.S. says that the Jones Act is critical to U.S. national security, and it also helps our economy. The domestic shippers and ship builders that come under the Jones Act do contribute in terms of federal taxes. Hawaii receives $232 million in taxes every year on this.
Auntie Lynn
I scared. NOT!!!
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