Bill Clinton so loved Puerto Rico, that he and the Dem controlled congress got rid of tax breaks for US based businesses and manufacturers that eliminated either import or other taxes of PR produced products coming into the mainland that the businesses left PR and the economy crashed, leaving it what it is today.
No fed bailout for p r. Any storm rebuilding by the feds to be strictly on a loan basis.
My impression is that the PR’s economy took a hit when they ended the tax breaks given to industries that located there. Being that they are 500 miles out into the ocean, there are added costs to any enterprise located there, which the tax breaks sought to offset. NAFTA, for example, was viewed as hurting PR as it encouraged companies to look south of the border rather than out into the Atlantic.
Heavy industry would probably never locate there, but light industry did before and could again. Of course, we still have the problem of getting companies to stop fleeing to China, which is a lot further away than San Juan.
Still... there may be other things they can do to turn things around besides just restructuring the debt.
Strategy. Open the extremes as possible, persuade people to negotiate generously. Give creditors a reason to work out a good solution, rather than just demanding eternal interest payments.
Gee, maybe Trump will also wipe-out my debt.
Trump’s a business man. He says what he feels, when he says it, then forms policy later.
Is that a misprint or a real number? how can so few people get so deep in debt?
This was just Trump’s opening salvo in renegotiating the debt on their behalf. Notice he didn’t say the U.S. was going to bail them out. He said, “Whoever, Goldman Sachs, get ready, pfft, it’s gone.”
There ought to be incentives for private investment to rebuild their infrastructure. A private company needs to run the power company, toll roads with a discounted toll for natives would mostly be paid for by tourists. Get a bunch of resorts to build (anywhere but San Juan) if they build to withstand any future hurricane that island would be a great playground. Maria may have actually done a favor by wiping out homes that are unfit to withstand a storm if they are replaced by homes that are sturdy.
Not a good idea.
Wall Street doesn’t take haircuts.
Don’t they sell insurance in PR? How can you have that much damage and no insurance?