'Reforming' the Jones Act?

With the current waiver of the Jones Act set to expire on August 16 and copious data indicating its repeal would be a boon to the U.S. economy, one might wonder why there isn't significant momentum behind repealing it once and for all.The general answer -- that precious few of today's politicians are pro-free-market and that we're too deeply mired in a mixed economy for that to even be in the Overton Window -- will be obvious to most regulars here. If the minutiae of the pull peddling interests you, a recent post on the matter at The Abundance and Growth Blog will be of further interest. That said, I'd also assign a great deal of the blame to our President, with his muddled and unprincipled views on economics. How could a protectionist like him muster the arguments or enthusiasm to use his bull pulpit to advantage despite him own dislike of the law?So the post explains what it states plainly: "There aren't the votes for an outright repeal of the Jones Act, and there are not likely to…