Puerto Rico debt becomes constitutional fight on the right

The HILL ^ | 5/15/2016 | By Sylvan Lane and Peter Schroeder -

[WENDLE]

Republicans are waging a battle over the Constitution when it comes to helping Puerto Rico.

Supporters of Speaker Paul Ryan’s legislation to help Puerto Rico handle billions in debt before a critical July bond payment deadline point to Article IV of the Constitution in arguing they have a responsibility to help the territory.

[JustTheTruth]

It is NOT about bailing out Puerto Rico.... They are already broke.

It IS about bailing out the big banks and others who foolishly lent way too much to Puerto Rico to earn a higher yield, assuming that they would be bailed out by the US Taxpayer if things went south.

Things have gone south; do not bail them out!!!

[thoughtomator]

It ain’t like he’s spending his OWN money.

[ronnietherocket3]

WE HAVE zero OBLIGATION. WE DON’T BAIL OUT STATES!! For damned sure we don’t add to our 20 TRILLION dollar debt for a darn foreign country!!

Can you explain what foreign country Ryan is trying to bail out?

[PGalt]

Speaker of the house of cards.

[ronnietherocket3]

I don’t understand why you say that the bonds issued by Puerto Rico were issued in our (the USA’s) name - could you please explain? My understanding is that the bonds were issued by the government of Puerto Rico and that the commonwealth’s government and the bondholders were all sophisticated parties represented by big-time lawyers who were familiar with P.R.’s legal inability to invoke bankruptcy protection.

Since the government of Puerto Rico was created by the US government (and is not a state government) and can be dissolved by the US government, it may very well be that any bonds (or other debt) issued by Puerto Rico is backed by the United States.

[Stingray51]

Oh ok, thanks for your answer. I’m not sure it works like that but I guess we’ll see.

[WENDLE]

Puerto Rico !!! Not my business. Comprende?

[elpadre]

headline in error - Puerto Rico is not a foreign country. It is a Commonwealth and part of the US whose citizens are American citizens.

Having said that, they should not be bailed out. One of the major parties there advocates no bailout also.

[jsanders2001]

I doubt he’s ever had to worry about balancing a checkbook. That’s the problem with the silver spoons we have in office. There so damn wealthy they have no concept of why the books need to be balanced.

[WENDLE]

Total Foreign Country— No error!! WE DON’T EVEN BAIL OUT STATES!! get a clue.

[ronnietherocket3]

Puerto Rico !!! Not my business. Comprende?

Puerto Rico is not a foreign country it is a territory of the United States.

[Category Four]

Ronnie's in the right on this one.

Posts 12 and 25 are the reference points, but yes, PR is a US territory, with ZIP codes even.

[blueunicorn6]

Puerto Rico has been running a government Ponzi Scheme for years.

Jail all of the politicians and their families and confiscate all their assets.

They need to cut their expenses to match their tax income. It will hurt, but tough. Should have thought of that before they elected thieves.

[WENDLE]

I think we should act humanely by air dropping donated food and weapons until the rioting stops.

[Raycpa]

Bailing Puerto Rico or investment bankers?

[blueunicorn6]

Leaflets.

Drop leaflets.

Like for a dollar off on a car wash.

[Rapscallion]

Let Puerto Rico fail. No Bailout by the US Treasury.
Let the Clinton Trust pay for the bailout.

[Bogie]

Do you realize how much we gave to Iraq????

[SaraJohnson]

WE DON’T BAIL OUT STATES, like Illinois and California!! Much less do we send our tax dollars to a foreign country!!

---

They will be bailing out states (counties and cities) after they set the precedent to bail out PR. Sick.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

Take a breath, Wendle. The bill does not send any taxpayer money to Puerto Rico. It says that right in the article you posted.

What this is about is whether or not PR will be permitted to do some form of bankruptcy, because they can't pay all their debts. Someone, bondholders, pensioners, etc. is going to not get the money they were promised. So it really is about whether Congress should pass legislation to enable a managed default/bankruptcy, or just let it fall apart piecemeal.