By Daily Caller (U.S.) | Created at 2024-10-03 18:47:27 | Updated at 2024-10-06 20:24:53
3 days ago
October 03, 2024 2:28 PM ET
Okay, the longshoremen are getting a lot of flack this week.
It’s not all undeserved. The union boss threatening to “cripple” the U.S. economy recently sold his 76-foot yacht, while the typical ILA worker makes well into the six-figures. But they’re just ankle-biters in the scheme of things. It’s the foreign shipping companies who are the Final Boss.
For once, Republicans and Democrats seem to agree — at least for now.
Harold Daggett, International Longshoremen Association President, Talks Port Strike
International Longshoremen Association President Harold Daggett on the Looming Port Strike
“I will cripple you and you have no idea what that means” pic.twitter.com/QggXBgldQr
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) October 1, 2024
“Foreign-owned shipping companies have made record profits and executive compensation has grown,” Kamala Harris said in a statement that sounded suspiciously similar Donald Trump’s.
“American workers should be able to negotiate for better wages, especially since the shipping companies are mostly foreign flag vessels,” Trump said.
But they’re both right.
Of the 40,000 cargo ships in the world, fewer than 200 — yes, 200! — are based in the United States. Since the 1980s, almost all of America’s ocean shipping companies have gone out of business or been sold off. Today, all the major shipping conglomerates are foreign-owned, a market concentration that only makes them more dangerous.
Some are based in our European allies, but others are not. COSCO Shipping is almost a household name; you’ve surely seen their ships off the coast when you go on vacation. But what you didn’t know is that the world’s fourth largest shipping company is owned by Communist China.
So, you can be annoyed at the longshoremen for potentially ruining your kids’ Christmas this year. But just remember — this issue wouldn’t exist if we manufactured a lot more of what we needed here at home. That should be the lesson and the goal of this debacle. It’s time to cut out the need for foreign shippers entirely.
At the end of the day, however, the real villains aren’t even these foreign companies. It’s our elites, our politicians and business leaders, our fellow citizens who sold us out in the first place.
