Almost all cruise lines sail under a foreign flag to avoid U.S. regulations.

I must say - I can't disagree with this meme. If they avoid US taxes, they should not be given the benefits of US businesses.

I'd think anyone of any party would agree this is tremendously hypocritical and wrong.

Caveat: We should take care of any taxpaying, U.S. Citizen cruise line workers who had no responsibility in setting corporate policy and who still have mortgages to pay and mouths to feed.

But the CEOs and executives responsible for dodging these taxes? F**k 'em.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of these bailouts anyway, regardless of what flag they fly under or who they support.

Since you went THERE …
Moreover, DeVos is not asking for a bailout, nor is she trying to raise YOUR taxes.
Don't get me wrong, these measures are legal, and everyone has the right to legally minimize their tax burden as much as possible. It's his hypocrisy I can't stand.

Let them sink!

Great info! Terrible delivery :(
Going to steal it, thanks!

US taxes aren’t the only reason. To be classified as a U.S.-flagged ship, there is certain criterion:
The cruise ship must have been built, or born, in a U.S. shipyard.
The cruise ship must be staffed by U.S. crewmembers and paid based on U.S. minimum wage laws.
The cruise ship must be owned by a U.S. company. It must also be registered in the U.S.

Most US shipyards don't build cruise ships, although they probably could if they so chose. They build military ships or smaller ships like yachts. Since there are no shipyards building cruise ships, there can be no U.S.-flagged cruise ships.

While most of what you said is true, vessels that are not used exclusively in U.S. waters do not have to be built in the U.S.

The Jones Act only applies to vessels used exclusively between U.S. Ports. For U.S. flagged vessels that travel to international ports, they can be built anywhere but must be crewed and owned by U.S. citizens.

https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44254.pdf

Oh, good to know. Most cruises leave from and return to the same port after visiting a foreign port so it wouldn’t apply to them anyway.

They are also wrecking the environment.

And as we've seen lately, it doesn't take much to turn a cruise ship into a floating epidemic.