Free Puerto Rico!

Puerto Rico is bankrupt. The machinations currently underway in Washington and on Wall Street will be the subject of many books over the next few decades. Because Puerto Rican bonds are the best deal, both tax and income wise, large numbers of middle and upper middle class Americans, especially retirees, depend on them for income. But that income is in for severe reductions given the likely outcome of a Chapter 9/Detroit style bankruptcy. This all conveniently fits into the globalist elite/George Soros plan to destroy the American middle class. Not surprisingly, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama support this alternative. Given the uncertainty on the island, many Puerto Ricans have fled to Florida with the assistance of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration. This may tip Florida’s electoral votes to the Democrat party.

Since the late 1960’s, when a friend of a friend of mine was injured by a terrorist bomb while shopping in a “bourgeois” department store, I have followed events in Puerto Rico. These terrorists, the FALN (Armed Forces for National Liberation), killed five people in well over a 100 bombings including the historic Fraunces Tavern where George Washington delivered his Farewell Address. They were eventually caught and given long prison sentences. But the Clinton crime family came to power and Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder granted clemency to what he called Puerto Rican Nationalists. They overruled everyone else in the Justice Department, all other concerned Federal agencies and Congress. The vote was 95 to 2 against in the Senate and 311 to 41 against in the House. The entire process was irregular, but President Bill Clinton claimed executive privilege when questioned. This travesty was intended to gain the Puerto Rican vote for Hillary’s Senate campaign.

Puerto Rico was acquired from Spain in 1898 and in 1917 Puerto Ricans were granted American citizenship. They could have easily become the Hong Kong or Singapore of the Caribbean, but Roosevelt’s Washington had a different idea. Following a junket at Joseph Stalin’s invitation and extolling the new soviet economy, and after running several failed early New Deal experiments Rexford Tugwell became governor of Puerto Rico. The welfare state he helped created is so “benign” that today a Puerto Rican can collect disability for the disability of not knowing English as a US citizen in a Spanish speaking semi autonomous Commonwealth.

Partly financed by the Government Development Bank, entities such as the Electric Power Authority, the Highway and Transportation Authority and the Aqueduct and Sewer Authority underpin the Puerto Rican economy. When these authorities borrowed money from the development bank they recorded the loan proceeds as revenue. Their books look good and they then borrowed more money usually by issuing bonds. Losses and inefficiencies were covered by more borrowing. The inevitable collapse finally came.  But Obama sees the solution by issuing a new “super bond”.

One has to admire the fulfillment of Tugwell’s utopian vision. Today in Puerto Rico the poverty rate is 45%, unemployment is over 12%, Medicaid is available to 46% of the population, 27% of the population is on welfare and just 60% of Puerto Ricans over age 25 have graduated high school. Only 32% of Puerto Ricans are employed with about 25% of those working for the government.  Despite all of this, a tax incentive package from Washington helped to hold things together before its termination. This attracted mostly pharmaceutical companies and helped lay the basis for the new growth industry of medical tourism.  The supply of organs for transplant is plentiful given the island’s murder rate 400% higher than the United States.

Free Puerto Rico! and an end to US colonial rule declares the Party for Socialism & Liberation in Puerto Rico. I agree, and know they are right about some existing and historic colonial trade regulations. In the world of real politics, some bailout/subsidy deal would probably be passed by Congress. But if it’s a once-only deal I would support it and find it far better than the Democrat movement of make Puerto Rico the 51st state. How many welfare monsters do we hard working taxpayers need support? I hope this experiment in dependency doomed to fail doesn’t foreshadow possible outcomes on the Mainland.

Copyright 2015, Mark L. Bennett