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Make Puerto Rico Rico again! Or a State.
Was there a misunderstanding?
That joke about Puerto Rico being a floating island of garbage? And Trump donning a vest and jumping in a garbage truck? Perhaps Puerto Ricans believed Trump was going to take out their garbage. The island indeed has an accumulation of garbage, with hurricane after hurricane, an earthquake, a decrepit electrical grid that is mostly down, and shipping costs that make it difficult, if not impossible, to get fuel for energy or get rid of garbage, short of dumping it in the ocean. Because they elected a governor who is not only a Republican but a Trump ally.
In 1976, the federal government passed legislation that allowed federal corporate tax breaks for companies producing in US territories. One of the great beneficiaries of this was Puerto Rico. And one of the industries that exploited the situation was the maligned Big Pharma, which began locating a lot of production in Puerto Rico. That produced a significant boost to the prosperity of the island. In 1996, Clinton signed legislation produced by New Gingrich’s House, and of course, the Senate that phased out those tax breaks. The result has been a decline in Puerto Rican prosperity, to the point at which their electricity is about (but maybe not quite) as reliable as Cuba’s. It is the most impoverished region of the United States.
Apparently, Puerto Rico can’t afford the shipping costs for fossil fuels, thanks to the Jones Act. So they are chronically short of energy.
For this, Teddy Roosevelt led the charge up San Juan Hill? So America could abuse the island?
Maybe a Republican Congress and a Republican President can end the Jones Act and legislate a Marshall Plan for Puerto Rico. And reinstate those tax breaks for corporations in territories. Or, maybe, just maybe, vote to allow statehood for Puerto Rico.
Anathema to Republicans? Mitch McConnell just said it ain’t gonna happen. Perhaps that is short-sighted. Puerto Ricans have voted, to the tune of about 60%, for statehood in nonbinding referenda in the past. Should they be denied self-governance? They have a pseudo form of self-governance. Why not make it legitimate? Would that produce 2 more Democrat Senators? Not clear.
If Puerto Rico were to be allowed to become a state, I would suggest that they be made a fully legitimate state. Not like Nevada, or Arizona, or Wyoming, or Montana, or Utah, etc., etc., as all of those western states were allowed to join the Union under the proviso that the federal government would own the land not otherwise owned. For example, 86% of the land in Nevada is owned by the federal government. If that were not the case, Cliven Bundy would not have ever been arrested. And I would not have grown up downwind from the Nevada test site during the 1950s with atmospheric atomic weapons testing.
Just a bit of advice. Be cautious, Puerto Rico. Demand full actual statehood. Like Texas.
If the federal government under a Republican administration were to vote for Puerto Rican statehood, support that, and aid Puerto Rico to recover, I suggest it would have an effect like Lyndon Johnson passing the Voting Rights Act.
If the Republicans advocate for Puerto Rican statehood, Democrats would likely fight it tooth and nail. It would make for interesting political dynamics, at the least.
Just a thought.
Puerto Ricans certainly deserve better than they have now. And it is embarrassing, at least to me, that an American territory would be so impoverished. Maybe they would spend themselves into insolvency as a state, like California or Illinois. But maybe not.
how naive am I? What am I missing?
Published in General
Any Caribbean island with casinos should be doing better than P.R. If Las Vegas can print money in an f’ing desert, then P.R should be doing a lot better with waves on the beach. Below is a picture of the Hilton Casino and Resort. Looks pretty nice to me. There must be some kind of NIMBY regulations….
I have heard the Jones Act is a problem in a lot of things. I remember during the COVID mess, it was discussed a lot. I don’t remember anybody saying why we couldn’t get rid of it or who would be against it. Now I’d be more for this than statehood for Puerto Rico.
Two of the wealthiest states by economy, and they can’t manage their governments. Could PR do worse? No, it won’t have the rope to be hanged by, like those states had.
cEntRal pLAnNing MakEs oUr liVEs beTTEr
It affects daily life in the Marianas Islands too.
I’m not the final word, but I have thought about this quite a bit.
I remember reading an article in FEE magazine (libertarian) something about how they have a gigantic debt problem, but it’s nothing, and I mean nothing, for the United States to eat. The place is ***totally corrupt*** and incompetent. It’s almost like anything south of the border and it never changes. So they the smart, honest, and industrious person moves to the United States just like every smart, honest, and industrious person moves out of Africa as fast as they can.
They have a huge disaster problem from hurricanes and earthquakes. It’s not easily managed because we aren’t that great at it either it’s just that it doesn’t hit the whole country.
I say we eat all of their debt. Completely erase it. Fix all of their roads, I hear that they are absolutely terrible. Take over their schools. I would make them private or something. Brand new utility system that is as earthquake and hurricane proof as you can make it. Fix the water and sewer system. The United States takes over everything except their justice system. Take complete responsibility for all disaster response.
What do we get in return? We get 15 points on everything. Utility bills. Fixing the roads. Fixing the school system. Blah blah blah. 15% profit forever. Wipe out all of their debt. Control everything except the justice system. And then they pay us a more than fair return because they are too corrupt and incompetent to do all of this.
Trade and automation is deflationary. Prices go down, and then the Fed forces them up and then they screw it up. It happens every time. Now they are talking about tariffs. Did it ever occur to anybody that we should just be constantly letting prices fall and then let all of the poor places and all the poor people sell us stuff for less?
lIbERtaRiAns dOn’t lIVe iN tHe rEAl woRld
First of all, PR is Puerto Rican, not Mexican or Dominican or Salvadoran. Hispanic voters are not a bloc. Second, the corruption thing cannot be overemphasized.
PR is a beautiful place with beautiful people, but in the end, they seem to vote for whoever promises the most free stuff. Then that person takes the free stuff and puts it in his/her bank account and/or the accounts of cronies. He/she gets ousted and the people vote for the person who promises the most free stuff. Then he/she puts that stuff….etc.
We’ll see how the new Republican governor does. I’m rooting for PR.
Or we could simply do nothing for, with, or about it.
Am I the only subscriber who’s even been to it?
Possibly. Or probably.
I confess I haven’t a clue: Don’t know doodly squat about Puerto Rico.
Does a change of planes at the airport count?
I changed planes twice in San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU). On the outbound in a hurry; on the return, with several hours’ layover.
The food at the terminal cafe was so bad I returned it in disgust. The whole airport was like that.
Puerto Rico could and ought to be an island paradise, a wealthy island paradise. They have beautiful beaches, a picturesque capital, easy access to population centers. If they would toss out the criminal pols and speak English, there is no end to what PR could accomplish. They could be the Monaco of the Caribbean.
Instead of an island paradise, so far as I can tell, PR is indeed a dump.
I say give the island its independence.
Seems like that might be rather cruel. And, China might move in .
A good point.
I don’t know what it’s like after the hurricanes of the past few years. We were there a week before the first big one, Maria. San Juan was terrific, there was everything there to make it a Caribbean experience, or stay in familiar territory with either accommodations or food. Mofongo became a family favorite.
We spent our last few days in Luquillo with its powdery beaches. We checked out the Kioskos and tried a ton of different dishes. Our place there gave us the opportunity to get to know several locals, all with connections to New York City it seemed. One guy worked construction in NYC and met Trump a few times, including delivering plans to his office. He had nothing but great things to say. Trump came to the job sites often and always talked with everyone. He was retired but serving as the building super.
Trash wasn’t a problem then, so far as we could tell. There were some run down and disused areas in San Juan, but they didn’t have the debris from the storms yet.
Everything south of the border except for Costa Rica, Panama, and the Cayman Islands sucks. Socialism and corruption is everywhere.
https://audioboom.com/posts/8605625-puerto-rico-troubles-of-governance-mary-anastasia-o-grady-wsj
PUERTO RICO: TROUBLES OF GOVERNANCE. MARY ANASTASIA O’GRADY, WSJ.
Nov 8 at 6:51 PM
lIbERtaRiAns dOn’t lIVe iN tHe rEAl woRld
Government Is How We Steal From Each Other™
*** Democrat Hellscape News™ ***
Very interesting post, Nanocelt. I am undecided on making Puerto Rico a state, but I totally agree that the Western states got the shaft, and this needs to be addressed. Yes, the Jones Act is a terrible protectionist policy and should definitely be repealed. Would Donald Trump go along with that? Mr. Tariff & Protectionism? It would be great if he did, but would be totally at odds with the the MAGA philosophy of keeping foreigners from competing with Americans.
Personally, I think Puerto Rico should be an independent country. I worked with some PR natives, and their opinions were as varied as ours – statehood, independent country, and status quo . . .
The recovery from a devastating hurricane takes much longer than the press usually covers the event. Years ago I read an interesting article about New Orleans ten years after Katrina. It was still in recovery. And a lot of people left and never returned.
They should limit who gets to vote. Democracy doesn’t work when it becomes about bread and circuses.
http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2017/07/26/the-roundtable-insight-george-bragues-on-how-the-financial-markets-are-influenced-by-politics/
I had a six hour layover on my way home from Aruba years ago.
According to Wikipedia, these are the territories of the United States:
Why Puerto Rico and not the others?
This article is interesting. The Jones act costs P.R. citizens about $1.2B/year. One of the effects of this is that it makes foreign made goods cheaper with with American made goods. Trump might find that compelling. There is also a similar law for passenger ships that should also be repealed.
The level of corruption and incompetence isn’t even close to the others. It has a big population and all of the smart, industrious, and honest ones move to the states and vote Democrat.
I’m dead serious about basically seizing it. You take the corruption and incompetence and then throw in the fact that it’s in a heavy earthquake and hurricane zone, it would be a good move.
Before we take on any more problems, how about we deport the problems Harris and Biden already brought into our country? They will never pay back our investment. We are already teetering on the precipice financially. We cannot afford Puerto Rico.
Like I said, I’m not an expert and I’m not the final word. Having said that, the debt is absolutely nothing to the United States. Then, I’m insisting on 15% ROI on everything else. Wipe out the debt and then everything we invest we get 15% on the operating tax receipts. If we don’t do that, you will have nothing but the dumb and corrupt living there. Then they come over here and vote Democrat. Then everybody babbles about Puerto Rico becoming a state.
Just my amateur analysis.`
How about turning PR red first, THEN – maybe – make it a state?