Posted on 06/13/2016 9:54:44 AM PDT by ColdOne
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Puerto Rico can't restructure the debts of its public utilities to avoid a financial crisis, closing off one of the island's last remaining options for avoiding default without help from Congress.
In a 5-2 ruling, the justices said that although the government and people of Puerto Rico should not have to wait for possible congressional action to avert a financial crisis, the Constitution does not allow them to rewrite a statute that Congress enacted in 1984.
While states can allow municipalities to seek such debt relief, the lower court said, Congress had not given Puerto Rico that right.
ADVERTISEMENT “The plain text of the Bankruptcy Code begin and ends our analysis,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the majority opinion. “Resolving whether Puerto Rico is a ‘state’ for purposes of the pre-emption provisions begins ‘with the language of the statute itself,’ and that ‘is also where the inquiry should end’ for ‘the statute’s language is plain.’ ”
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Here is a chance for PRyno to man up and stop government over reach.
Bend over, American taxpayers.
Do like all bankrupt issue are handled. Sell off the assets-land and all.
My take is that Congress (a voting majority) would love to bail out Puerto Rico, out of compassion, and some misplaced hope that it would give their party an edge with the Hispanic vote. That is of course, ridiculous, since most of our Hispanics are Mexican and don’t care about PR.
The real reason Congress “wants to help” is to set precedent for all of the state and local pension plans that are underwater, so they can put various SEIU and other union drones exorbitant pensions on the working taxpayers’ tab. Think Chicago, the state of Illinois, Detroit, etc.
Since when?
Kagan is the most likely to be called the “traitor” of the left during her time on the court. She seems to actually give lip service to the idea of actual interpretation of the law and cases like this show that tendency.
Ginsburg and Sotomayor are by far more predictably liberal than Kagan.
Umm, no, they don't pay our taxes Speaker Ryan. You're an idiot.
Alito may have some bond holdings which caused him to recuse himself.
Probably. Alito is an honorable fellow.
They want the rest of the US taxpayers to pay them and are funneling big bucks to congress to bail them out.
In the short term, you are right, the bondholders have clout.
In the long term, I think my camel’s nose under the tent theory has weight.
Since the Supremes denied PR the right to reorganize, like a bankrupt company or municipality, it is either up to Congress to say, “Oh, no, we can’t have that”, of for them to default, in which case another trip through the entire breadth and depth of the court system will occur.
Everybody takes a haircut. Now, lets have a fiesta!
Sell the island to the highest bidder.
Spain?
5.56mm
BOHICA!
“closing off one of the island’s last remaining options for avoiding default”
Well they could always pay the debt. That is always a good way to avoid default.
This is the best outcome for PR for the moment. They don’t pay anything more on the bonds - bondholders get nothing. and PR gets to keep the revenue that used to support the payments on the bonds.
Eventually this will make it to court. The court can decide whatever it wants to, but once PR spends the money that was supposed to go to bondholders it’s gone and is never coming back.
So bondholders will try to negotiate, outside of Chap 9.
PR will laugh and spend their new windfall until the court cuts them off.
Just Default and tell them to go pound sand. Pass Legislation declaring ALL COntracts and Agreements Null and Void at the end of the Legislation Session that authorized it.
No Legislative body shall be bound by the acts of a previous legislative body.
“Them” is the government of PR. For PR to get what it wants Congress would have to change the law.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.