The economics of Cruise Ships by the Hustle

[Goodtime Cruizin]

I have no idea who 'The Hustle', but they evidently do not like the cruise industry. 

 

Discuss. 

 

https://thehustle.co/the-economics-of-cruise-ships/

[dominicr]

53 minutes ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

I have no idea who 'The Hustle', but they evidently do not like the cruise industry. 

 

Discuss. 

 

https://thehustle.co/the-economics-of-cruise-ships/

i had to stop reading.  The writer sounds like some idiot who doesn’t understand how the world works.  I’d like to ask the writer when they did their taxes last year and found out what they were liable for how much over that amount they paid.  Why on earth would anyone want to pay taxes.  If one thing is certain it’s that government is full of fraud and malfeasance and Almost every dollar you give them Is wasted.  

[grandgeezer]

l found the Hustle article very informative and most of it right inline with what I’ve read, seen, or heard before.

One thing that caught my eye in reading the remarks was the number of comments about room, board, food, and other incidentals the crew receive should count as income. That’s just ignorance. I traveled for work, and all those things were supplied to me, at a lot higher cost, and there wasn’t any reference to the cost on my check or tax forms. That means it wasn’t part of my compensation package.

Who in their right mind would take a job that pays peanuts had still have t pay their own expenses?

 

[chengkp75]

The really funny part of this is that they harp on "an obscure tax loophole", which in fact does not apply to the cruise lines.  The tax "loophole" that is referred to in the accompanying link is to allow US shipowners to flag their ships in foreign countries.  The poor schmucks at the Hustle don't realize that none of the cruise ships are US owned.  The article even mentions that the cruise lines are incorporated overseas, without making the connection that this makes them "non-US entities".  All of the companies, even though they have their corporate headquarters in the US, are incorporated overseas, and therefore are not US ship owners.  There is no tax loophole they are using, they are using the same international law that 75% of the world's shipping uses, flags of convenience, and those ships carry 80-90% of the world's total commerce.  If this were a tax loophole, don't you think the US government would have figured out how to close this on tens of thousands of foreign flag tankers and container ships coming to the US bringing crude oil and Ipads?

 

Then, there is no mention of the MLC 2006 (Manila Labor Convention of 2006), that regulates the pay of seafarers.  No seafarer can make less than $618/month, based on a 40 hour work week, (or 174 hours/month = $3.55/hr), and any hours over the 40 per week are paid at 125% of this base wage or $4.44/hr, not the "$1.62-2.27/hour" quoted. And, how does that wage compare with the wages paid in the crew's home country?

 

As for the cost of USCG search and rescue, this service is provided, free of charge, to every ship in the area, not just cruise ships, and regardless of the flag the ship is flying.  No statistics are quoted for the number and cost of rescues and evacuations from foreign flag cargo ships, wonder why?

 

Then they mention not funding government agencies.  USPH, which they mention, is paid by the cruise line for their twice yearly inspections, and construction inspections.  And, Lufthansa, KLM, and Swissair don't pay for CBP or CIS services at airports, either.

 

And, if the US was so worried about the pay and work conditions aboard cruise ships, they have every right, as members of the IMO and ILF to request changes to these international conventions, but they haven't.

 

It's just more of the Ross Klein and Jim Walker "alternate facts" rehashed, again and again.