> Jones Act didn't kill American Shipbuilding, cost of American worker did

This has been studied to death. European shipyards have similar labor costs to a lot of America. They still build cheaper ships faster than we do. Same for Korea.

> If you can't move things via water in wartime, you don't have an empire

And yet here we are, entirely dependent on foreign shipyards for basically any meaningful production.

The Jones Act killed American shipping. It makes our shipyards uncompetitive. And it makes our waterways too expensive to ply because the only things one can legally float on them are uncompetitive, expensive ships.

> If you can't move things via water in wartime, you don't have an empire.

Exactly, the feeble American shipbuilding industry has been an existential risk waiting to explode for a generation. But corruption and profits speak louder than national security here.