Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
Posted on 06/23/2015 4:41:20 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Like Greece, the Puerto Rican government has more debt than it can service, and some are calling for a bailout by U.S. taxpayers. The major Puerto Rican state-owned or controlled enterprises are all losing money, including the power authority which is insolvent.
Puerto Rico is an American territory that was acquired from Spain in 1898 during the Spanish-American War. The island has a population of about 3.6 million, which is declining as many Puerto Ricans emigrate to the U.S. mainland or elsewhere because of the continuing economic stagnation. Puerto Ricans are American citizens, but their per capita income is about half that of Americans living in the mainland.
Puerto Ricans are largely self-governing at the local level, and do not pay most U.S. income taxes. Plebiscites have been held periodically concerning Puerto Rico’s status as a territory. Most Puerto Ricans prefer a change but they disagree about whether they want independence, a free association with the United States or statehood.
Hong Kong was a small British territory, with the British legal system, but no self-government; yet, it has become rich — having more than twice the per capita income of the average American — without receiving aid and subsidies from Britain, which the United States has and continues to provide to Puerto Rico. The operative question is why has Hong Kong become so much more successful than Puerto Rico?
The most immediate challenges facing Puerto Rico are what to do about the debt problem and how to revive the economy. Some believe if Puerto Rico were given partial debt relief by allowing state entities, such as the power company, to go into Chapter 9 bankruptcy (a provision in U.S. law enabling bankrupt U.S. localities to restructure and discharge some or all of their debt as has recently been done
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Puerto Rico is a total entitlement state. It should have been dumped a long time ago.
Puerto Rico isn’t America’s Greece. It is America 30 years from now. Congress has shown no evidence that it is willing or able to stop the spending. The deficit, which was bad under Bush, is horrible under Obama, and will be worse under the next president. Greece and Puerto Rico are just examples of what we will be in a couple decades.
There are many little "Puerto Ricos" showing up. Tell me Chicago isn't technically bankrupt, or soon will be. How about Illinois?
California is ready to collapse financially and the final nail might be the drought. The state has enough water for about a quarter of the present population. It is intent on wasting its money on high speed rail boondoggles.
The only reason the US federal government is still afloat is because there seems to be an inexhaustible demand for US currency. When that demand is exhausted, and it will be, the crash will be catastrophic. It will happen long before your 30 year horizon.
Thanks SeekAndFind.
Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.
“The best policy is to give PR its independence.”
As much crap as they talk, they don’t want their independence. What they want is their Social Security checks and their disability checks, which are “granted” at a far greater rate than... (pick any county in West Virginia)
Puerto Rican Americans aren’t any more likely to vote an end to their government checks than the average mainland American is.
It will never happen, unless, of course, the government benefits go away.
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