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Once-thriving Puerto Rico mountain town finds itself at economic abyss amid population flight
ap ^ | September 18, 2015

Posted on 09/21/2015 8:04:37 AM PDT by george76

LARES, Puerto Rico – Ismael Rodriguez looked out on a nearly empty plaza from the clothing store he opened in 1960, now hemmed in by padlocked businesses in this mountain town in northwestern Puerto Rico... experiencing the deepest malaise of just about any community on this island in the depths of an economic crisis.

"I have seen the destruction of a town," Rodriguez, 67, said as he gestured toward the plaza. "Look at all the shuttered stores."

Lares has become emblematic of the economic stagnation that is overwhelming Puerto Rico, and those who live here believe it is a warning sign of things to come across the island

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bankruptcy; debt; default; economiccrisis; puertorico; rincon; vieques
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To: Dilbert San Diego

“Everything free in America.”


21 posted on 09/21/2015 8:29:03 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Dilbert San Diego

I live part time in Colombia...dollar is great now and cost of living there is very cheap. Medellin is my fav city but prefer smaller cities. Safe and very pro American. Knowledge of Spanish is needed.


22 posted on 09/21/2015 8:41:01 AM PDT by rrrod (Just an old guy with a gun in his pocket.)
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To: george76

Sounds like allot of communities in this country. Everything in the last seven years has pretty much been crappy. Stagnant is a kind way to put it.


23 posted on 09/21/2015 8:41:16 AM PDT by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: george76
The stupidity of kicking the US Navy out of Puerto Rico (and all the tax revenue that brings to the that island) in end the will cause that island's economic downfall.

Indeed, the potentially loss of the Royal Navy out of Scottish bases (with the thousands of jobs that went with it) was one of the major reasons why Scottish voters turned down a recent referendum for independence.

24 posted on 09/21/2015 8:44:17 AM PDT by RayChuang88 (FairTax: America's economic cure)
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To: george76

A place that should be a paradise. Beautiful land and climate. Surely some old white guy is to blame for all this malaise.


25 posted on 09/21/2015 8:44:54 AM PDT by Awgie (truth is always stranger than fiction)
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To: RayChuang88

Huh, PBS never mentioned that in their breathless Scot election coverage. Bases and thousands of jobs at risk...

On the Create channel, there are hundreds of travel/cooking/farming shows that were doin’ good at filming time - 2002 through 2010 - where the cottage industries helped each other, wonder if Obamacare has shut all that down now.


26 posted on 09/21/2015 8:52:47 AM PDT by txhurl
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To: Awgie

Wife and I visited PR over Christmas week a couple of years ago and our time there was enjoyable and safe. We spent our time around the western ocean front city of Hatillo which is a good place to jump off to the big radio telescope at Arecibo and some other attractions.

Virtually no one spoke English, and menus, directions, etc were entirely in Spanish. If PR wants to attract retirement age couples, they’ll have to become more accommodating to gringos.


27 posted on 09/21/2015 8:56:10 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks ("If he were working for the other side, what would he be doing differently ?")
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To: george76

And they all came here. At least they are already American Citizens.


28 posted on 09/21/2015 8:58:10 AM PDT by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: Texas Eagle

Germany? The people’s paradise of Cuba is much closer.


29 posted on 09/21/2015 9:08:44 AM PDT by VanShuyten ("a shadow...draped nobly in the folds of a gorgeous eloquence.")
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To: hosepipe

PR’s problem can be expessed in one word: drugs. No one wants to live in a place where every home, business, or apartment, no matter in the city or the smallest rural village has to have iron bars on the winows, doors and porches. No one who wants a better future can find it in a drug-ridden place like that.


30 posted on 09/21/2015 9:11:38 AM PDT by PUGACHEV
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To: Jim from C-Town

And the article never mentions former Gov. Luis Fortuno, who made tough decisions while downsizing government and attempting to get the island on solid economic footing. Investments in PR were up, the bond rating went up, but of course, the populace, many of whom had lost government jobs, did not have the patience for a full recovery to take place, and voted him out after one term. The new Governor took on more debt to appease the voters, increased the size of government, yet again, and now its crashing and burning.


31 posted on 09/21/2015 9:12:55 AM PDT by cumbo78
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To: cumbo78

A frequent poster from PR has mentioned this bit of history.


32 posted on 09/21/2015 9:21:22 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks ("If he were working for the other side, what would he be doing differently ?")
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To: rrrod

One of my friends from high school lives there. Absolutely loves it. Only comes back for Christmas.


33 posted on 09/21/2015 9:24:31 AM PDT by waterhill (I Shall Remain, in spite of __________.)
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To: PUGACHEV

I’ve been there... it’s true.. every opening of a business, house, shack or rubble has “TO HAVE” bars on it..

Beautiful people in the daytime.. when night approaches creatures come out..

Basically: Detroit with more mulattoes.. and less decaying infra-structure.. where “Mocha” was invented..


34 posted on 09/21/2015 9:24:53 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited (specifically) to include some fully orbed hyperbole..)
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To: george76; rrstar96; AuH2ORepublican; livius; adorno; wtc911; Willie Green; CGVet58; Clemenza; ...
Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.


35 posted on 09/21/2015 9:31:05 AM PDT by cll (Serviam!)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

On the flip side, there are two areas in Puerto Rico that are nearly English-only, at least as far as restaurants and hotels go: Vieques and Rincon.


36 posted on 09/21/2015 9:37:03 AM PDT by cll (Serviam!)
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To: george76
Agriculture was once Lares' economic engine . . . thanks to the 25 to 40 sacks of free fertilizer that farmers received from the government. But as government revenues dwindled, officials instead gave each farmer $45, which buys one sack of fertilizer, said Mayor Roberto Pagan.

So the government artificially created an economy with money it didn't have and then when the money ran out, the economy collapsed. And what is their answer? More government.

37 posted on 09/21/2015 9:39:18 AM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard ("When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.")
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

We and another couple spent a week in Vieques, and all the people who tried to sell us drugs knew how to speak English.

Other than that is was great, and since it is technically part of the US we did not have to go through customs. I mailed myself many plant specimens that are now growing nicely in my back yard.

The ex-military base has beautiful beaches.


38 posted on 09/21/2015 9:40:58 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan (The economic collapse is imminent. Buy staple food and OTC meds now, before prices skyrocket.)
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To: T-Bone Texan

I’m surprised you got through the airport with plants. I recall there were signs ordering no plants or seeds from PR be allowed on the trip back to the mainland. I don’t know what possibly could be of harm tho...


39 posted on 09/21/2015 9:49:36 AM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks ("If he were working for the other side, what would he be doing differently ?")
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

USPS helped.

If it fits, it ships!

My tropical plants were waiting on my doorstep when I got home.


40 posted on 09/21/2015 10:08:09 AM PDT by T-Bone Texan (The economic collapse is imminent. Buy staple food and OTC meds now, before prices skyrocket.)
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