Because of the century-old Jones Act, U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico must use overpriced, outdated ships to import American LNG—while the Dominican Republic enjoys cheaper energy from the same source.
An important new article explains why the Supreme Court's precedents denying many constitutional rights to residents of America's overseas territories are wrong.
For decades, the Jones Act has increased costs and hurt grid reliability in Puerto Rico.
Season 1, Episode 3 Free Trade
"It's just a very classic case of everything wrong with Washington."
The legislation, which forbids shipping anything between American ports in ships that are not U.S. built and crewed, is just another a special deal that one industry has scammed out of Congress.
The justices heard oral arguments in Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Centro de Periodismo Investigativo.
The maritime industry inserted some protectionism into the National Defense Authorization Act.
"At this point, it is pretty much a fact that Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States," says one observer.
That's in addition to advocating for opponents of the law to be charged with treason.
It’s only one vessel, but the U.S. domestic shipping cartel, protected by the awful Jones Act, is screaming about it.
The island is begging the Biden administration to allow foreign ships to bring fuel to help restore power. But entrenched maritime interests balk at competition.
After a Category 1 hurricane made landfall Sunday, a million Puerto Rican households are still without power.
Wanda Vázquez, the latest in a string of Puerto Rican officials to face criminal corruption charges, is accused of bribery and mail fraud charges during her failed 2020 reelection campaign.
Wherever markets are free, new wealth gets created. Then almost everyone wins.
In a forceful concurring opinion, he argues the Supreme Court should overrule longstanding precedents denying many constitutional rights to residents of Puerto Rico and other "unincorporated" US territories. Gorsuch is absolutely right. But he would do well to cast the same critical gaze on the very similar precedents that exempt immigration restrictions from normal constitutional scrutiny.
Habitual debt busts are one Latin American export that is better left on the dock.
More Puerto Ricans live in the 50 states than on the island, and it’s not hard to see why.
The Jones Act shields the American shipping industry from foreign competition and harms both the environment and disadvantaged communities.
America's general election is facing both logistical and political hurdles, creating a feedback loop that threatens to derail the legitimacy of the results.
Puerto Rico is temporarily free from Buy American restrictions on crucial protective medical gear thanks to FEMA.
The Jones Act isn't saving American shipbuilders, but it's driving up prices for Americans.
The island's residents have had enough of a territorial government tainted by corruption and that is seemingly contemptuous of their daily struggles.
Unclear and contradictory procedure guidelines slowed down relief efforts in Puerto Rico in 2017. Will it happen again this year? Probably.
The squabbling over federal disaster assistance reveals the bipartisan nature of wasteful spending.
The Utah senator wants a world where "Alaskans, Hawaiians, and Puerto Ricans aren't forced to pay higher prices for imported goods."
A few thoughts on the First Circuit's separation of powers ruling on the Puerto Rico bankruptcy board
At the height of the agency's deployments in the summer of 2017, 54 percent of staff were serving in a capacity for which they were not fully qualified.
Naomi Klein misses the meaning of "the miracles Puerto Ricans have been quietly pulling off while their government fails them."
Puerto Ricans are considered U.S. citizens, but many in the country argue that they lack adequate representation.
The island's population has fallen dramatically even as Spanish speakers from other nations are desperate for a new home.
Disasters result from policies adopted and choices made before and after a natural hazard strikes.
Blocked from jobs because they lack occupational licenses, they're turning to welfare instead.
Special economic zones can be anything from tools of crony capitalism to seeds of a freer world order.
The Jones Act drives up consumer prices by protecting U.S. companies from competition. Guess who insists it must be kept intact?
Free money and poor oversight sap the incentive of localities to prepare for disasters or respond to them effectively.
The government set the stage for a post-hurricane catastrophe.
Is rebuilding after disasters the government's responsibility?
DHS ends waiver of protectionist shipping law that drives up costs.
Reason's Nick Gillespie, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Matt Welch on the Las Vegas shooting, Trump's Twitter rage at Puerto Rico, and the Jones Act.
Governor's decree makes recovery even harder for bar owners.
Congress needs to vote to stop protecting shipping cartel from market competition.
If you can't change a single lousy law in the face of humanitarian crisis, how are you going to take on the tax code's thousands of special-interest blocs?
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