Comments on: Regulation Wrecking Ball: The Gulf & The Jones Act

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:22:56 +0000

Don’t worry folks! Henry Waxman is on the job. He will grill “Big Oil” ceo’s about the disaster in the Gulf. He will question BP CEO Tony Hayward to explain decisions made by the company days before the rig explosion. Shouldn’t Waxman at least know something about drilling rigs and valves so he can understand what he is talking about?
We all know this is a political play by a disgusting little man from that bankrupt state called California.

By: Barbara Grant

Barbara Grant — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:45:50 +0000

I’ve heard Anderson Cooper’s “reporting” on the spill on CNN and he continues to make me sick with his over-emotional responses. Yes, the Gulf is a tragedy, but even reporters like Cooper should know how to exercise some emotional restraint. Here’s how to do that, from a tragedy I still remember, although I was a youngster at the time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8Q3cqGs7I&feature=related

By: Gringo Malo

Gringo Malo — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:31:31 +0000

Greed is the primary reason that most of the world's ships fly flags of convenience. The Jones Act seems to have been an attempt to force some of the world's ships to comply with U.S. maritime laws and safety regulations. (I'm now puzzled as to why cruise ships registered in Liberia are allowed to sail from U.S. ports.) Oddly enough, regulating seaborne international commerce is one of the few things that the Constitution actually empowers Congress to do. On the subject of limited liability, I'd be careful what I wished for. Were you to take away limited liability, the oil companies would quadruple the price of gasoline to finance insurance polices for astronomical sums. The insurance executives would spend a large part of their windfall on whiskey and harlots, waste the rest on some Wall Street Ponzi scheme, and file bankruptcy upon receipt of the first claim.

By: Myron Pauli

Myron Pauli — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:11:23 +0000

I have no idea of any justification for this (Jones Act) limitation on freedom of the seas and commerce other than selfish, monopolistic greed. I am sure Sistah Sarah will blame this all on the evil Democrats although it was the Republican Congress of 1920 that passed it and a Republican Congress of 1954 that passed the Cargo Preference Act (never let facts stand in the way of a good finger-pointing!). The act might not be playing the primary role in the mess in the Gulf – but its existance (like the Davis-Bacon pro-Union act on federal construction projects) is an embarrassment.

By: james huggins

james huggins — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:51:37 +0000

This is a perfect example of federal government’s myopic bungling. And, these are the people who are going to handle health care for 300 million people.

By: George Pal

George Pal — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:51:04 +0000

Anyone worthy of the title ‘President’ would have ignored the law with the public statement ‘the law is an ass – I am not’. As it stands now, they’re both full of shit.

By: Vrye Denker

Vrye Denker — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:59:34 +0000

Was this really an accident?

By: Mike Marks

Mike Marks — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:11:37 +0000

The leak in the gulf is a classic systems engineering problem. If we had a good systems engineer who had some authority he would have to do the following 1) work the WHOLE problem, 2) the leak solution must be worked in parallel with the clean-up problem, 3) provide the necessary resources do to the job (foreign or American now is not a good time for “pride of authorship”), 4) prioritize when there is competition for resources, and 5) work the legal problems ahead of time.

This phantom engineer must stop the finger pointing as it wastes time and demoralizes those who are really working the problems. Finally this individual must have the strength of his convictions to go toe to toe with whoever is standing in his way. The phrase that comes to mind is “politics be damned” let’s get the job done. Personally I think more than a few politicians need to be told to either help or get the h— out of the way!

Also this individual must not bow to the “golden calf”! And by all means get the Jones Act waivers in place!

By: Greg

Greg — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:42:10 +0000

Interesting post. I had heard that the main obstacle was that many of the workers would not be union. If that were the case then Obama would absolutely not sign a waiver because he is bought and paid for by the unions. If the reason is what is posted above, then whoever is impeding a cleanup should be put in jail for negligence. This certainly sounds like an out of date law. Let’s not forget that the left loves this disaster and will milk it for as much government control as they can get.

By: Barbara Grant

Barbara Grant — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 20:48:38 +0000

This is horrifying; remember that it is not just technology that gets the job done, but technical expertise is important as well. By that I mean high-level engineering skills, not merely operational facility with equipment. If we are not making use of the expertise accompanying the technology that foreign companies provide we aren’t doing nearly enough. National pride should have no place in this effort.