Economy Puerto Rico in Bankruptcy: Oversight Board Proposes To Screw Bondholders In Favor of Pensioners

[Kindacrazy]

People are massively overstating the effects of the Jones Act. Its a tiny fraction of Pueto Rico's problem.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

Can they include in there that my student loan debt is forgiven?

Yes, please.

 

[Kindacrazy]

I think this would be a good time to raise the concept of moral hazard.

 

[Andy Capp]

And I guess the Jones Act didn't have anything to do with the problem right?

Let's just not act like the whole of the problem is the Puerto Ricans' fault.

Beat me to it, yet he is still ignoring this point. I have no doubt it's deliberate; I just don't know why.

 

[GetTheseHands]

Fuck PR, we aren't paying their debt

 

[Arkain2K]

And I guess the Jones Act didn't have anything to do with the problem right?

Let's just not act like the whole of the problem is the Puerto Ricans' fault.

Beat me to it, yet he is still ignoring this point. I have no doubt it's deliberate; I just don't know why.

It's clear he's overlooking the obvious for whatever reason just to diss Puerto Rico.

The Jones Act is a scapegoat that only make sense to those who have only heard about it in the last 12 months and don't actually know what it is.

In fact, I'm reasonably sure that 99% of the people who brings up the Jones Act now probably just learned about it upon seeing it blamed by the MSM and dissenting Congressmen for all of Puerto Rico's misery after the last hurricane season, even as relief supplies transported by American ships were piling up in Puerto Rican ports.

Blaming Puerto Rico's $74 Billion debt and crumbling infrastructure after decades of corruption and incompetent on the Jones Act is like blaming the hole in your socks for your substance abuses, subsequent firing from your job, dropping out of college, and becoming homeless.

What is the Jones Act and why was it created?

The Merchant Marine act of 1920 was designed to create a safe network of merchant mariners within the U.S. after World War I, in reaction to the U.S. fleet being destroyed by the German navy. The Jones Act requires all goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported by U.S. vessels (and operated primarily by Americans).

It calls for providing the nation with a merchant marine that can transport goods between U.S. ports, increase national security during war times, and support a U.S. maritime industry. This nearly century-old law has been amended several times, most recently in 2006.

While much of the current attention on the Jones Act is focused on foreign shipping regulations, the law also contains important information about the maritime industry's responsibilities regarding safety and well-being of crew. It safeguards the rights of sailors from being exploited, requiring compensation for injuries due to negligence by their employers. It requires employers to maintain safe environments and provide medical care, and also sets standards for vessel maintenance, safety equipment such as lifeboats, and crew qualifications, training and licensing. And, this all-encompassing law has something to say about the environment too, requiring all U.S. ships to comply with EPA regulations.

Under the Jones Act, any vessel can enter Puerto Rico. In fact, many foreign vessels enter Puerto Rico regularly, importing goods from countries around the world. However, transportation of goods between two U.S. ports must be carried out by a vessel that was built in the U.S. and operated primarily by Americans. This law doesn't single out Puerto Rico — it applies to all U.S. ports, the only exception being the U.S. Virgin Islands.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/nation/jones-act-explained-waiving-means-puerto-rico

I'd bet every cent I have that if the Jones Act is repealed permanently, the $74 Billion debt is cancelled, and the Puerto Rican politicians are left to run their island as they see fit, we'll be right back to where we are now in no time, when that island inevitably goes bankrupt again because the real human problem still persists.

If people concludes that added shipping cost stemmed from the high standards set forth by the Jones Act is the root of Puerto Rico's misery and it must be repealed, that's fine. Just make sure you understand what kind of maritime safety and security we are giving up when it's gone.

People are massively overstating the effects of the Jones Act. Its a tiny fraction of Pueto Rico's problem.

Pretty sure this fucks us over here in Hawaii too.

Yeah, I'm going to take a wild guess and say those guys who have just recently heard about the Jones Act somehow think it only applies to Puerto Rico, not all U.S ports.

And yet, here's Hawaii, with a thriving tourism economy, Jones Act and all.

Could it be because Hawaii is not being lead by a corrupted gang of thieves?

 

[Fugazy]

It's universally acknowledged that Puerto Rico was fucked because the incompetent Puerto Rican government failed to do anything meaningful to diversify their economy back when their coffers was flushed with money, such as transitioning that beautiful island from a factory to a regional tourism powerhouse that it should be before the Federal tax incentives expires as expected, the big manufacturers pulled out as expected, and all the now-unemployed young people have no choice but to flee to the main land to find work, also as expected. Then years later Puerto Rico declared bankruptcy, as expected.

None of that came as a surprise for anyone. They all happened gradually and expectedly, like an extremely slow-moving trainwreck. Some would say that the Puerto Rican government did nothing was expected as well.

For decades now, the Puerto Rican people are perfectly okay with continuing their proud tradition of electing politicians that had zero plans for their future and did absolutely nothing to improve the situation besides keeps kicking the can down the road and making themselves rich by borrowing more and more money than ever before from bond investors on Wall Street to fill their budget each year, the same investors now being villified by Senators Warren and Sanders as "vultures".

All this talk about Puerto Rico debts rarely include a plan to actually fix the underlying problems that drove them to the cliff, even though everyone knows what the problems were, for it's so much easier to blame it on anyone else but those who are responsible for their own demise.

I will give you all of this post except the people of PR being proud to elect trash.

They've been lied to by politician after politician, more aggresively than any other piece of the US.

The people have sought change with mayors, governors and senators and have gotten nothing in return. They've also been dicked by the Federal government many times over.

I look at it as if a tiny piece of the US were constantly ruled by third world shitlords.

 

[Arkain2K]

I will give you all of this post except the people of PR being proud to elect trash.

They've been lied to by politician after politician, more aggresively than any other piece of the US.

The people have sought change with mayors, governors and senators and have gotten nothing in return. They've also been dicked by the Federal government many times over.

I look at it as if a tiny piece of the US were constantly ruled by third world shitlords.

What do you think about my proposal? Do you think that island will do better as County of Florida, with a proper government looking over their shoulder?

A big chunk of the Puerto Ricans who fled to Florida to escape Hurricane Maria are staying, by the way. As are the hundreds of thousands of young Puerto Ricans who moved there to find jobs over the past decade.

The way I see it, there is already a human bridge between P.R and FL, and Floridian politicians can't possibly do any worse than the corrupted filth that Puerto Ricans elected one after another to bring their beautiful island to the ruinous condition it's in today.

 

[Fugazy]

What do you think about my proposal? Do you think they'll do better as county of Florida (like Catalina island is a part of California) with a State government looking over their shoulder?

A big chunk of the Puerto Ricans who fled to Florida to escape Hurricane Maria are staying, by the way.

Eh, idk honestly.

There are the Keys, theres Hawaii. Theres other islands that are territories. I don't know why the island has to become a state or part of a state. I don't have strong feelings about that one way or the other, but I would be concerned that poor state leadership would trickle down and keep PR politics in the same dump that currently inhabits.

I just feel like It's a small enough piece of land, very beautiful, historically interesting, it could be a benefit to the US with some simple oversight from the Fed, really would be easy to build up and manage if the US cared to.

 

[LMP]

Something has to be done in PR. The government corruption has been a problem that has been allowed to go on for way to long. When you combine that with predatory capitalism, is there any wonder why the problem is spiraling out of control?

Anyways as a territory of the USA, it is our responsibility to make sure that PR doesn't fail.

 

[VivaRevolution]

I think you can make a case that a relief bill is in order but I just don’t get Sander’s need to vilify someone in his call (and I’m no great fan of the finance sector in general either). It’s almost like a verbal tick

For me, and my Ilk.

Fuck the banksters, fuck them with a 12 inch dildo covered in razor blades, and gay orgy cum.

 

[Arkain2K]

This is ridiculous.

Just give them statehood and we can treat them like Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.

Statehood?! Are you you freakin' serious?! So their corrupt and incompetent Senators and Representatives can fucks up the Main Land too?

When a child falls off his bike, you don't give him a car. You assign a guardian to watch over him, as he learns to ride that bike again.

For me, and my Ilk.

Fuck the banksters, fuck them with a 12 inch dildo covered in razor blades, and gay orgy cum.

 

[Kindacrazy]

Yeah, I'm going to take a wild guess and say those guys who have just recently heard about the Jones Act somehow think it only applies to Puerto Rico, not Hawaii.

And yet, here it is, with a thriving tourism economy, Jones Act and all.

I think bankruptcy is the correct option and think its pretty insane that the federal government would attempt to block it, but its irritating how people who defend the idea of a high minimum wage and little limits on immigration + free healthcare would turn around and point a finger at something as minimally impact as the Jones act which is essentially a security based act which will effect the purchasing prices by about a quarter of a percent.

 

[Rematch]

What do you think about my proposal? Do you think that island will do better as County of Florida, with a proper government looking over their shoulder?

A big chunk of the Puerto Ricans who fled to Florida to escape Hurricane Maria are staying, by the way. As are the hundreds of thousands of young Puerto Ricans who moved there to find jobs over the past decade.

The way I see it, there is already a human bridge between P.R and FL, and Floridian politicians can't possibly do any worse than the corrupted filth that Puerto Ricans elected one after another to bring their beautiful island to the ruinous condition it's in today.

And my state inherit their debt? Fuck that noise.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Yeah, I'm going to take a wild guess and say those guys who have just recently heard about the Jones Act somehow think it only applies to Puerto Rico, not Hawaii.

And yet, here it is, with a thriving tourism economy, Jones Act and all.

This article makes it sound not so bad.

https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/keeping-up-with-the-jones-act/

 

[Arkain2K]

This article makes it sound not so bad.

https://www.hawaiibusiness.com/keeping-up-with-the-jones-act/

I don't think it's necessarily good or bad, just a double-edged necessity in the name of maritime safety and national security.

Keep it or repeal it, I'm fine either way, as long as the people who want to repeal it fully understand what it's about and what's truly at stake, as explained by economists and business leaders, not from op/eds on the Huffington Post.

And my state inherit their debt? Fuck that noise.

Their debt is being wiped out...

You're already doing such a fine job taking care of hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans, who would be better to be the guardian of such a beautiful island with so much potential after the corrupted scums are forced from office!

 

[Thepaintbucket]

I guess I don't have a problem with this considering 55% of all imports are from the US and the money we pay out goes back to creditors in the US. 7 billion dollars is nothing assuming Puerto Rico continues to grow and trade with us.

But I agree tho; The government is full of corrupt people who need to be pushed out. The bill should place stipulations where the US can appoint people to run the country/change the government.

 

[oldshadow]

Pass it, fine on one condition, they receive their independence and they are on their own from now on.

 

[SSOTO]

How about a compromise and just forgive the debt of all Puerto Rican farmers?

 

[nostradumbass]

I want to go to a strip club with Bernie. Dude would be making it rain all night and pay the tab with someone else's card.