Kill the Jones Act; Kill It with Fire; Kill It Now

My latest in The Federalist (with help from an anonymous friend in the shipping industry):

Lost in the never-ending debate about the KeystoneXL pipeline is great news for anyone who opposes cronyism and supports free markets and lower prices for essential goods like food and energy. Sen. John McCain has offered an amendment to repeal the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act, which requires, among other things, that all goods shipped between U.S. ports be transported by American-built, owned, flagged, and crewed vessels....  

The Jones Act and its related statutes raise the cost of essential goods for American families and businesses; strangle the life from the industries they were designed to protect; jeopardize U.S. maritime security; and exacerbate the pain of major national emergencies. (They also are major irritant in foreign trade relations.) So why hasn’t Congress repealed these laws? Maybe we should ask the politicians and well-connected cronies who benefit from the current arrangement. I’m sure they’d be happy to explain.  

McCain’s amendment to repeal the Jones Act is a common-sense solution to the problems facing a key American industry and the pain of the U.S. economy. The amendment, as well as any broader proposal to kill off the Act, deserves widespread support from conservatives and liberals alike. Efforts to dispense with this archaic protectionist boondoggle will no doubt meet fierce resistance from entrenched interests, labor unions, and opponents of free trade. However, those same groups stand only to benefit from efforts to make the U.S. fleet more competitive and less costly. American mariners have what it takes to compete on a global scale, and they should be given the chance. More competition translates to more opportunity, and perhaps the expansion and revitalization of a crucial sector of our economy. Where artificial monopolies and ancient restrictions can be removed, American labor, American business, and American consumers will have a chance to thrive.

Be sure to read the whole thing.

Senator McCain took to the Senate floor today to support his amendment and oppose the Jones Act. The text of his rousing speech is here, and video's below - definitely worth your time, and not just because the Senator entered my piece into the Congressional Record at the right at the end (sadly, not on video):

So, um, @SenJohnMcCain just put my @FDRLST piece on #JonesAct ("one of [his] favorites") in the Congressional Record pic.twitter.com/t4bE0PF2gu
— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) January 22, 2015

Fun.