For Puerto Ricans and Their Allies, the Jones Act is Not Inside Baseball

For Puerto Ricans and their allies, the jones act is not "inside baseball"

By SOS Puerto Rico

Since Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico in 2017, Puerto Rico’s economic and political status has received increased news coverage, addressing questions like: Why does the island have so much debt? If Puerto Rico isn’t a state, what is it? Most recently, questions surrounding President Donald Trump’s temporary Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico have resurfaced in the news, specifically highlighting the power of the Shipping Lobby over the President’s ability to give Puerto Rico the Jones Act relief it so desperately needs.

More: What is the Jones Act?

Even still, compared to the news coverage of other issues facing Puerto Rico (including political corruption on the island), the Jones Act doesn’t get much play in the mainstream media of the United States. John Dunham of John Dunham & Associates had this to say at CATO’s 2019 forum “Unnatural Disaster: Assessing the Jones Act’s Impact on Puerto Rico”:

“The Jones Act is one of those inside baseball things. Nobody knows anything about this law. Nobody. Unless you like to take cruises to nowhere or something like that and you can’t do it now because of the Jones Act, by the way. You don’t know about this thing. This is total inside baseball, and it’s something that is going to have to be done by—if you’re going to change it,you’ve got to get Congressmen and Congress-ladies to care about it.”(Full transcript here)

It’s easy to agree with Dunham’s assessment, especially for those who live and work in the mainland of the United States. After all, this is the case for many lesser-known pieces of legislation: Unless you know you will make money or lose money from it, there’s hardly a reason for you to be aware of it. How many people were ever taught about the Jones Act? How many people receive inflated executive level salaries due to the shipping monopoly created by the Jones Act? How many people decide how to cast their vote based on a politician’s support of the Jones Act? Very, very few individuals in the mainland of the U.S. meet this criteria. Thus, as Dunham states, only those barred from “cruises to nowhere” know the impact of the Jones Act on their lives, and it remains a game of inside baseball played by lobbyists and a few vocal union members (with Jones Act Twitter serving as an honorable mention).

I do this (too) often. “The boys” have dwindled a bit in number since I began this practice in Dec 2018, but some have stuck it out. Oh yeah, and some of “the boys” are girls.. cc: @KaamiyaHargis @jackiemclemence @wshirleyIV @whwbaird @JonathanFeld https://t.co/8zIRs0EiCQ
— Philip Hoxie (@phoxie58) August 14, 2020

However, conditions are very different in Puerto Rico. Unlike the mainland of the United States, where voters generally have an ability to affect the economic conditions of the country, Puerto Ricans are subject to the whims of the U.S. congress without a deciding vote in either chamber and without a vote for president. Unlike the mainland of the United States, Puerto Ricans are taught about the Jones Act as one of the organic laws of the colony (the original set of laws imposed on the island when the United States gained control). Unlike the mainland of the United States, Puerto Ricans bear the economic burden of the Jones Act, subsidizing the United States shipping industry in the form of inflated prices for just about everything like food, water, and energy. For Puerto Ricans, the Jones Act is not a niche issue or ideological football: It is a constant, violent act of economic and colonial subjugation.

More: Will Puerto Ricans lose their U.S. citizenship if the Jones Act is repealed?

This isn’t a dig at Dunham nor is it suggesting any ignorance on his part about the impact of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico. In fact, Dunham & Associates recently published the study “The Jones Act: A Legacy of Economic Ruin for Puerto Rico” which details the effects of the Jones Act on Puerto Rico’s wages, job market, and overall economic activity. And what he says is true- Congresspeople must act in order to see any changes in the Jones Act. But we believe it is important to counter the narrative that there is no grassroots support for ending the Jones Act (or, as Advantage Business Consulting phrased it, “Consumers (i.e. voters) have weak incentives to mobilize against the Act, even though it is wasteful for the general population”). Indeed there is grassroots support. SOS Puerto Rico, which was formed out of a desire to raise awareness about the effect of the Jones Act of Puerto Rico, quickly gained a Facebook following of over 14,000 people from a wide span of political ideologies. Artists have been moved to use their platforms to take a stance on the Jones Act. Candidates for political office in Puerto Rico and the U.S. have campaigned on Jones Act reforms. What is missing is a legitimate, sustained investment in the kind of education and organized grassroots lobbying efforts for Jones Act reform that exist for other economic issues like the sales tax, soda tax, or the island’s debt.

Due to the repeated disasters and austerity measures placed on Puerto Rico, many Puerto Ricans from the island who believe in change to the Jones Act now live all over the United States- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Texas, Florida- and have the ability to organize around this issue. We’d like to consider this a call to action for all parties interested in the reform or repeal of the Jones Act of 1920 to look beyond boardrooms and into the grassroots of the Puerto Rican community and their allies. We need legitimate investment in education around the Jones Act and a commitment to see this work through to the end for our island, for our economy, and for justice. For Puerto Ricans and their allies, the Jones Act is not inside baseball.

More links:
Jones Act Studies
Jones Act FAQ
SOSPuertoRico.com