Nothing screams peak American efficiency like a century-old law that treats modern supply chains like a game of hopscotch played on a sinking ship. The Jones Act, signed into law in 1920, exists primarily to ensure that anyone moving goods between U. S.

ports is doing so on a ship that is American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed. In practice, this means we have effectively banned the global economy from our own coastlines, forcing us to pay a massive premium just to keep a few decrepit vessels in business. Politicians love to wrap this economic anchor in the flag, calling it a vital protection for national security and domestic jobs.

The reality is that the U. S. shipbuilding industry has dwindled into a niche market that produces expensive, inefficient tubs while the rest of the world has moved on to actual innovation.

Puerto Rico, in particular, gets to experience the brunt of this protectionism, where residents pay exorbitant prices for basic goods because the law makes shipping to the island a logistical nightmare. - The Act mandates that vessels transporting goods between U. S.

ports must be registered, built, and manned by U. S. citizens.

- It prohibits the use of cheaper, more efficient international shipping options for domestic trade. - Exemptions are occasionally granted during crises, but they are treated like precious gems instead of common sense policy. While the maritime lobby keeps their checkbooks open, the rest of the country is forced to subsidize a fleet that would have been scrapped decades ago in any other industry.

It is a masterclass in how to turn a logistical requirement into a national embarrassment. We have essentially convinced ourselves that paying double for a gallon of milk is just the price of patriotism. How much longer can we pretend that an arbitrary rule from the era of prohibition is the only thing keeping our maritime industry from drifting into the abyss?

Is it finally time to retire this relic, or are we destined to keep paying a protectionist tax until the last American-built ship finally sinks under the weight of its own administrative costs?