ACX DC Discussion on the Jones Act - Saturday, January 27th

Join us Saturday, January 27th for a focused topic discussion on how to repeal the Jones Act. Jennifer Chen, Operations Manager of Balsa Research and the organizer of Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario Rationality, will be in town and co-hosting.

Logistics:

This will be at John Bennett's apartment in Arlington, starting at 7pm. As usual, we'll have drinks and refreshments.

• Address is: 2001 Columbia Pike #703, Arlington, VA 22204

  • Use the call box for Apt 703 when you arrive

  • Parking in the building's lot is legal until 10PM; some nearby blocks on 9th St, Veitch St, and 6th St are also unrestricted.

  • It's a short uber ride from Clarendon or Pentagon City, and if the weather improves it’s an easy bikeshare ride from Clarendon.

• Facebook event for discussion and RSVPs (optional but helpful)

Background:

Balsa Research was started by Zvi Mowshowitz as a rationalist(-adjacent?) policy shop focusing on "crafting shovel-ready policies that actually address core underlying human needs." You can see their policy agenda on their website, but the overarching pitch is straightforward. There are policies strewn about the federal code that were enacted at a specific time for a specific purpose, or just seemed like a good idea at the time. Some still make sense. Others don't, lingering on as policies that are no longer achieving their goals yet have outsized costs. Someone should do something about that.

As their first target, they're taking on the Jones Act. This is an unusually broad law that forbids shipping goods between US ports on any ship that isn’t built in the United States. This is analogous to forbidding American Airlines from using Airbuses, or private trucking companies from using Toyotas. As you might expect, this often makes over-ocean shipping within the US substantially more expensive than shipping from Asia and is why advertised prices usually exclude Alaska and Hawaii. This is so wildly distortionary that those who lose out could easily be made whole, yet no one has done this. They're going to try.

This event is hosted by John Bennett, Kayla Gamin, and Jennifer Chen.