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Josh Marcinik

Josh Marcinik is a professional geographer and educator. His work experience includes spatial research, geospatial intelligence, and hazard mitigation planning. He currently serves as the vice-chair of the Libertarian Party of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Blog Posts

A perfect storm for maritime policy: the Jones Act five years after Hurricane Maria

October 3, 2022
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Free Trade

It was September 20, 2017. Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 hurricane, battered Puerto Rico. Today, with Hurricane Fiona’s landfall, it’s sadly apparent that American policy imposes unconscionable costs on the island territory separated by nearly a thousand miles of blue water from the mainland. Five years ago, I saw it firsthand. A private plane flipped upside down in a treetop was the first sign of overwhelming devastation I saw in the aftermath. Electricity and cell service were down across the island. I watched an old man hack at downed power lines with a machete. Gasoline, lumber, tarps,