Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Smash-hit song Despacito boosts interest in Puerto Rico from tourists by nearly 50% since topping the charts


Renewed interest: Interest in Puerto Rico has sky-rocketed since the song's chart reign


By JAMES DRAPER

It is, without question, the definitive song of the summer.

But, while Luis Fonsi's smash-hit single Despacito has certainly dominated the charts, it's also had an effect on international tourism.

According to reports by local officials, the track - which shares the record for the longest-running US No1 - has upped interest in Puerto Rico from tourists since its release by almost 50 per cent.

Renewed interest: Interest in Puerto Rico has sky-rocketed since the song's chart reign
Impressively, the mere lyric 'this is how we do it down in Puerto Rico' seems to have been enough to inspire listeners to explore the famed Caribbean island.

Online searches for the unincorporated U.S. territory have sky-rocketed in line with the song's success since it was unleashed in January.

And, specifically, the interest seems targeted around the La Perla district in Old San Juan and Club La Factoría, which feature extensively in the video.

- Currently No1 in America, officials say it has boosted web searches by half
- The hit song, by Luis Fonsi, also features fellow Puerto Rican star Daddy Yankee
- The video has had 3.4billion views since appearing on YouTube in January 2017

Smash-hit song Despacito boosts interest in Puerto Rico from tourists by nearly 50% since topping the charts

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Board sues Puerto Rico governor for rejecting furloughs

A federal control board overseeing Puerto Rico's crisis-ridden finances sued the island's governor on Monday for refusing to impose furloughs and take other measures it says are needed to save money.
The lawsuit further raises tensions between Gov. Ricardo Rossello and the board, which is demanding public employee furloughs and a pension reform as the U.S. territory tries to restructure a portion of its $74 billion public debt load. The board also requested an injunction to prohibit the governor from refusing to comply.
"While our preference was to avoid this step, we believe it is a necessary measure to keep Puerto Rico on track with its commitments to reduce spending and build stable foundations for its economic future," said Natalie Jaresko, the board's executive director.
It is the first time the board has gone to court to enforce its demands, and board members have warned that doing so could lead to deeper furloughs if implementation is delayed.

The lawsuit was filed after Puerto Rico government officials clashed with board members during a public meeting earlier this month in which they refused to implement furloughs or impose a 10 percent cut to a public pension system facing nearly $50 billion in liabilities. The board at the time said furloughs were needed because Rossello's administration had not achieved $218 million in savings as part of an overall $880 million in required savings.
Rossello told reporters on Monday that he believes his administration has met the objectives outlined in a fiscal plan that the board certified earlier this year. He also said that furloughs for more than 130,000 employees that the board says should take effect on Sept. 1 aren't needed at this time.
"We are willing to find other alternatives," he said.
Last week, Rossello signed a law that establishes a pay-as-you-go pension plan and sets aside $2 billion this year for tens of thousands of retirees. The law does not include any cuts as required by the board.
Puerto Rico has spent more than a decade mired in a recession sparked in part by previous administrations that borrowed heavily to cover ballooning deficits. The crisis has led to multimillion-dollar defaults on bond payments and prompted nearly half a million Puerto Ricans to flee to the U.S. mainland in search of jobs and a more affordable cost of living.
BY DANICA COTO
Board sues Puerto Rico governor for rejecting furloughs

Friday, August 25, 2017

This Startup Will Make You Wanderlust Over Puerto Rico

Over the last several years, the island of Puerto Rico has found itself consistently on the news. Once known as an island of beautiful beaches and warm people, Puerto Rico has been overtaken with a new identity: their 123 billion dollar debt. It’s certainly not a pretty picture, and the very public persona that has swept the island has taken a toll on its people.
In addition, the debt crisis is felt most harshly in the homes of its citizens– with many agreeing that the situation has led to a humanitarian crisis. In light of this, some have taken it upon themselves to create new solutions to stimulate the economy.
Local Guest is one of those solutions. Local Guest is an experiential tourism platform that was founded as a direct response to this economic crisis. They work with municipalities on the island to build new tourism products aimed at creating sustainable development.
With this effort, they aim to help locals create businesses, attract travelers to come to the island and as a result, create economic growth. They launched their website on August 1st and currently have experiences available in Puerto Rico’s art, food and nightlife scenes, as well as outdoor adventures.
I sat down with Carmen Portela and Mónica Pérez, co-founders of Local Guest, to speak about their motive for starting this business. They explain that the idea for Local Guest came as a response to the narrow approach that exists in the travel industry on the island.
“Historically, tourism in Puerto Rico has been targeted at baby boomers: the ones that love the beaches, drink piña coladas, go to El Yunque and Old San Juan and then leave the island. High season for Puerto Rico is when it’s cold in the states– but the rest of the year it’s the same tropical island with so much to offer. We’re creating products that will attract a different type of traveler”, Portela explains. 
The travelers she’s referring to? Millennials. Millennials are traveling for leisure an average of 3.1 times a year, whereas baby boomers are traveling for leisure an average of .6 times a year.   “We noticed that the market that is traveling is not coming to the island because we’re not offering the types of experiences they are looking for, which are experiences that are culturally rich and connected to the locals”, Portela says.
Credit: Local Guest
El Comerieño, Juan Cruz
For Portela and Pérez, this idea was a long time coming. Portela has been involved in the tourism industry for most of her professional life. When she was 23, she started working in the public relations department of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. It was there that she began to notice some of the issues around the type of products available for tourists. She was surprised at how much we were over serving a market while ignoring the rest.
After leaving her job, Portela started Synapse, a company focused on creating content and managing social media for the travel & tourism sector in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Pérez was one of her first employees. During that time, the rise in Puerto Rico’s economic crisis began to take a toll on not only the travel industry but also on the island’s citizens.
“We were coming into work each day, and every morning, the local newspapers had headlines about how everything was falling apart. Everything in the news was crisis, crisis, crisis. So we were sitting at the office one morning and we started brainstorming. We realized that no one had tried to use the crisis to create something positive”, Portela says.
They came up with a plan. What if they could use social media to shed light on everything the island has to offer? They called in some of the best eco-tourism influencers in Puerto Rico, with the idea to have them showcase the other side of the island– the side that is incredibly beautiful and has so many vast natural resources. “We sat them down in our office and we told them, ‘we have no money, but we have you’. We decided that since we were not seeing a counteractive campaign coming from the tourism industry, we might as well create it ourselves”, Portela explains.
From there, they went on to start the campaign #crisisisland. Through the eyes of these influencers, they were able to showcase the beauty on the island. The results were astounding– thousands of people around the world were suddenly taking an interest in Puerto Rico.
The hashtag spread organically, with countless locals using it on their own pictures of the island. As a result, the campaign generated over 80,000 pieces of content on Instagram and Twitter, received 670,000 in video views and had over 76 million impressions worldwide and numbers continue to grow.
Through that experience, they got the inspiration to start Local Guest.  “Crisis Island was definitely the catalyst. We saw the potential in bringing communities together and making something happen. And for me, when I travel, I know I’m willing to pay good money to have a local person show me around. People go to Japan and eat Ramen with locals and go to Argentina and take a Tango class. Why weren’t we doing that here? It’s inconceivable that it didn’t exist before”, Pérez says.

They started by going to the tourism sector and speaking to them about their idea– they expressed that difficult times in Puerto Rico meant that they needed drastic solutions. Through these meetings, they were able to convince them on their mission and vision. Others still struggled with this new model. “We were very vocal with each of the stakeholders, especially with those that are not in favor of the sharing economy. We showcased what we’re doing and how we’re different from other companies”, Portela says.
Local Guest is very unique in specific ways. For one, Portela and Pérez see their venture as a driver for creating micro businesses on the island. They explain that each of the hosts creates their own business around the experiences they are offering. They source hosts and walk them through the entire process: they help them flesh out an idea, map out the experience, and accompany them through the registration process. They provide help with permits, lawyers and even insurance. Although this means that the onboarding process can be long, they believe it’s worth it– their goal is to not only grow as a company but to help Puerto Rico grow as a community.
Credit: Local Guest
Release The Artist Within, Rafael Miranda
When I ask them what has led them to this early success, Portela and Pérez tell me that the team they’ve built is the reason for their early wins. They also tell me that they think that motivating people to start their own businesses has the potential to transform the island.
“Our team is very in line with our mission. Being in a culture of people coming to work every day and being happy– that’s such a big success. In Puerto Rico, nobody told us that we could build our own business. I was always told that if I wanted to work in tourism, that the highest goal I could shoot for was working at a hotel. No one told me that all of the issues I was seeing, I could create solutions to help fix them. So teaching people that they have the potential to grow their own business in the tourism industry– that’s the key to what needs to change in Puerto Rico”, Portela says.
Local Guest is starting to grow, and their goal is to become one of the leaders in the tourism sector on the island. They recently launched their website, and have also just launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund their efforts. In the next year, they hope to continue expanding their product offerings and eventually expand to neighboring Caribbean islands. But mostly, their hope is to continue creating an impact on local business and to help create a new culture of sustainable development in Puerto Rico.
Portela and Pérez are a testimony to the creativity and innovation that can be born out of a difficult situation. They truly believe that out of crises, leaders are born. “This is a great opportunity for anybody that has an idea to just start. Getting up every day, listening to the news, and seeing how your government is not helping your country– that doesn’t help. You cannot dwell on it. We have to start looking into what we can create, what we can build, as a country. I think it’s time for the people of Puerto Rico to actually build what they want to see. Even in the midst of a crisis."
If you like Local Guest and would like to support them, feel free to check out their campaign here.

Group picture of the Local Guest team.
Group picture of the Local Guest team, out in Puerto Rico

Alana Matos
This Startup Will Make You Wanderlust Over Puerto Rico

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Puerto Rico Push for Statehood: Would It Be Good for America?

Despite a recent Economist/YouGov poll taken last month that found only 32 percent of Americans in favor of the admission of Puerto Rico as the 51st state, Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rossello is becoming increasingly aggressive in pushing for statehood.
Rossello, a Democrat, campaigned for office promising he would gain statehood for the territory (or commonwealth), and is pointing toward a recent poll of island residents in which 97 percent of those voting in a referendum favored statehood. The validity of that poll, however, is questioned because only 23 percent of the commonwealth’s registered voters voted in the referendum. Two of Puerto Rico’s main political parties boycotted the vote as a waste of time, arguing that statehood cannot be achieved until Congress grants it.
In an effort to force the hand of Congress in the matter (the U.S. Constitution gives plenary power to Congress in deciding whether to admit a new state into the federal Union), Rossello swore in a “congressional delegation,” consisting of two senators and five members for the U.S. House of Representatives. They plan to travel to the nation’s capital and demand to be seated as the official congressional delegation for the “state” of Puerto Rico.
Rossello cites the precedence of an action taken by Tennessee to gain admittance in 1796 as the 16th state, which has been referred to as the “Tennessee Plan.” While the actions of Puerto Rico’s governor in this matter bears some similarity to what Tennessee did, there are also some significant differences.
Tennessee had historically been part of the colony of North Carolina until the American Revolution. With the adoption of the Constitution in 1789, North Carolina had not yet ratified the Constitution, placing that state temporarily outside of the United States, and Tennessee a part of the independent state of North Carolina. When North Carolina joined the United States in 1790, with its ratification of the Constitution, it ceded the western land holding now known as Tennessee to the new federal government. Tennessee soon became part of the federal land known as the Southwest Territory.
Vermont and Kentucky had been part of the states of Massachusetts and Virginia, respectively, before their admission as states. Tennessee would eventually become the 16th state, the first created from a federal territory. Many in Congress were hesitant to grant statehood to Tennessee, so the territory tried to force the issue by holding a statehood convention and adopting a state constitution. They then elected two U.S. senators and sponsored elections for two members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congress soon allowed Tennessee into the Union, but voided the previous elections, requiring new elections for their congressional delegation.
In the case of Puerto Rico, however, the delegation has simply been appointed by the governor. In an apparent attempt to create a bipartisan support for statehood, Rossello named former Governor Carlos Romero Barcelo, a Democrat, and Zoraida Fonalledas, the national committeewoman for the Republican Party in Puerto Rico as the senators, while naming two Republicans, two Democrats and an independent as the members of the House of Representatives from the proposed state.
One serious problem with this approach, however, is that both senators and representatives must be elected by direct popular vote, according to the U.S. Constitution. While governors can choose senators in case of vacancies, the Constitution unmistakably requires House members to be chosen by popular vote. Because of this, these “House members” could not be seated legally.
A second concern is that Puerto Rico could be expected to be a reliably Democrat state, with two additional U.S. senators and, according to their present population, five representatives. All would be expected to add to the liberal make-up of Congress, in addition to adding what can be expected to be seven more Democrat votes to the Electoral College, which elects the president of the United States.
Another reason that many Americans could be expected to resist Puerto Rican statehood, at least for the present, is the enormous debt problem the island faces. The debt is $123 billion in bonds and unfunded pension liabilities, which, according to Forbes, is expected to top 107 percent of gross domestic product by next year.
Popular sentiment in Puerto Rico for statehood has grown since 1967, when only 39 percent supported it. At that time, 60 percent favored the continuation of commonwealth status. Less than one percent supported independence.
The entire issue of Puerto Rico’s status is a result of the decision of the United States to obtain an “empire” after the Spanish-American War. The United States received Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from Spain. At the time, some prominent American politicians, including William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic Party nominee for president in 1896 and 1900, cautioned Americans that they should immediately grant independence to these possessions — and not join European powers such as Great Britain and France in obtaining colonies.
Unfortunately, this wise counsel was not accepted, with many powerful interests in the United States favoring the taking on of imperial status. Now, we are having to deal with that decision as a nation.
The question of whether to admit Puerto Rico as a state, or grant it independence, should be made in the interest of what is best for the United States.

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Puerto Rico Push for Statehood: Would It Be Good for America?

Puerto Rico pressing on in its quest for statehood

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello recently swore in his dream team for political representation — two senators and five representatives to match the commonwealth’s population.
They are expected to travel to Washington soon and ask lawmakers to be seated as the official congressional delegation for Puerto Rico.
While their request is unlikely to see much movement from Hill leadership, the debate over Puerto Rico’s future is unlikely to fade away. For more than a century — ever since the territory was acquired following the Spanish-American War — Congress and successive presidents have grappled with the thorny issue.
On that topic, there is a substantial gap between what island residents would like to see happen and the prevailing sentiment in the continental United States.
Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens, and the general U.S. population do not agree on the tiny island’s statehood quest.
Only 32 percent of Americans in last month’s Economist/YouGov poll last month said Puerto Rico should be admitted into the union as the nation’s 51st state.
On the island, however, 97 percent of Puerto Ricans who voted in the June 11 referendum cast ballots in favor of statehood. Just 1.5 percent voted for complete independence from the U.S. and 1.3 percent were in favor of maintaining the territory’s commonwealth status. Turnout was low — estimates put it at 23 percent of registered voters — and two of the island’s main parties boycotted the vote, Reuters reported.
The divergence between what Puerto Ricans and mainland Americans want is significant. In last month’s poll, 16 percent of respondents said the island should become independent, 25 percent said it should stay a commonwealth and 27 percent said they were not sure. The opt-in, online poll surveyed 1,500 U.S. adults from July 15-18 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Puerto Rico’s large debt might be one factor that makes its quest for statehood unattractive to mainland U.S. citizens. With a population of 3.5 million, the island’s debt load is worth $34,000 per person. That’s from a total of $123 billion in bonds and unfunded pension liabilities, which is expected to top 107 percent of gross domestic product by 2018, according to Forbes.
June’s statehood referendum was the fifth such exercise for Puerto Rico since 1967, and its second in the last five years.
Rossello, a Democrat who was elected governor last year, campaigned heavily on the promise of finally delivering statehood to the island. Members of the newly sworn-in delegation will be the chief lobbyists for this effort.
Rossello named three Democrats, three Republicans and an independent to the group.
Former Gov. Carlos Romero Barcelo, a Democrat, and Zoraida Fonalledas, national committeewoman for the Republican Party of Puerto Rico, are on deck as senators. The would-be representatives are: Democrats Pedro Rossello, a former governor and father of the current governor, and Charles Rodriguez, former president of the Puerto Rico Senate; former MLB catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, an independent; and Republicans Luis Fortuno, a former governor and resident commissioner, and retired Army Maj. Gen. Felix Santoni.
Their agenda is to “educate and promote the interest of Puerto Ricans as beneficial for all Americans,” said Carlos Mercader, executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, or PRFAA.
The unlikelihood Congress has the power to grant statehood but that remains an unlikely proposition given the current political climate on the Hill and the mounting congressional agenda for September, which includes funding the government and addressing the debt limit.
But the Puerto Rican delegation plans to press on, following the process that many states used to join the union.
“While the delegation will follow the Tennessee Plan, it will be difficult to draft a bill based entirely on that model because constitutional rights are not available to Puerto Rico like it was to those incorporated states previously admitted,” Mercader said.
As outlined in the Tennessee Plan, the delegation will ask Congress to recognize them as members by the drafting of a formal bill for admission and denouncing Puerto Rico’s current status as an unincorporated territory.
“This means that the island’s path to statehood might include some nuances, like amending parts of the playbook and seeking a unique approach to gain admission to the union,” Mercader said.
The delegation is spending August drafting a roadmap to present to Congress after it returns from its summer recess on Sept. 5.
Members of the delegation have agreed to forego pay until Puerto Rico gains statehood.
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BY KATANGA JOHNSON

The+National+Puerto+Rican+Day+Parade+on+June+11%2C+2017+in+New+York.+Puerto+Rico+is+pressing+its+quest+for+statehood.+%28Erik+McGregor%2FSipa+USA%2FTNS%29
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade on June 11, 2017 in New York. Puerto Rico is pressing its quest for statehood. (Erik McGregor/Sipa USA/TNS)

Puerto Rico pressing on in its quest for statehood

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Puerto Rico Judge approves financial advisor for mediation

Puerto Rico Title III bankruptcy judge Laura Taylor Swain approved hiring Phoenix Management Services LLC as financial advisor for the mediation process between creditors in the island's record-setting debt restructuring.
In an order signed Monday, Swain said the Title III creditors must pay for Phoenix’s services retroactively to Aug. 4, when Phoenix was hired. The creditors participating in mediation requested last month that a financial advisor be hired.
By 
Robert SlavinPuerto Rico Judge approves financial advisor for mediation

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Partnerships are paving a new path for Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is rapidly becoming the most competitive jurisdiction within the United States.
The island is undergoing a steady transformation that involves government right-sizing, reductions in public spending, a trimming of the number of political appointees, and a reformation of permitting processes. The government, led by new Governor Ricardo Rosselló, is also working on tax and energy reforms.
Rosselló's future vision also focuses on the use of public-private partnerships, a largely-overlooked model on the mainland but nonetheless a powerful tool to spur Puerto Rico's growth and create long-lasting, well-paying jobs. Instead of merely selling off government assets, these partnerships allow the government to capitalize on its resources and services by working with with the private sector.
Partnerships are not new to Puerto Rico. After a four-year process, Puerto Rico's main air hub, San Juan Airport, became the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Airport Privatization Pilot Program's first success story in 2013. This partnership paved the way for liquidity to meet debt obligations. It also created a revenue source for the duration of the lease, and more importantly allowed for long-overdue modernization and renovations of airport facilities, as well as job creation.
Today, San Juan Airport serves as a regional hub for JetBlue. It is also one of the few airports in the U.S. that operates an automated baggage-scanning system. In addition, new retail stores in the renovated terminals have created 3,000 jobs.
Such partnerships provide a way for Puerto Rico to jump-start its economy by injecting private cash into the economy, consequently improving the services provided. The Rosselló administration intends to replicate this story throughout Puerto Rico's infrastructure.
One project in the pipeline is the concession of maritime ports to improve maintenance and passenger experience. Another is a concession of parking garages to improve service, generate investment, and remove government from a service that is obviously not essential to its functioning.
And the renewed focus on partnerships is already yielding positive economic results. In March, S&P Global Ratings removed the toll operator for Puerto Rico Highway 22 and Puerto Rico Highway 5 from CreditWatch negative placement, citing "clear indications that the new government is supportive towards [public-private partnership] projects." The Rosselló administration is also taking swift action and moving into the implementation phase, focusing on seven to 10 projects to restore investment and credibility.
Additionally, Puerto Rico will host investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world on September 20 and 21 for the first Invest Puerto Rico Forum. At the forum, we will unveil an incentives program that includes a 4 percent tax rate on net income for corporations in sectors such as manufacturing, biotechnology, bio-agriculture, tourism, exports, insurance, and pharmaceutical, financial, and professional services, among others.
In a very short period, Governor Rosselló has undertaken numerous reforms and enacted initiatives to revitalize Puerto Rico, thereby signaling that the island is open for business. It is an exciting, new chapter in Puerto Rico's history. By investing in these various projects, investors have a real opportunity to participate in this transformation and play a role in the island's future.
This is the new path forward for Puerto Rico.
Carlos R. Mercader is executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.
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Puerto Rico is undergoing a steady transformation that involves government right-sizing, reductions in public spending, a trimming of the number of political appointees, and a reformation of permitting processes. The government, led by new Governor Ricardo Rosselló, is also working on tax and energy reforms. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File)
Puerto Rico is undergoing a steady transformation that involves government right-sizing, reductions in public spending, a trimming of the number of political appointees, and a reformation of permitting processes. The government, led by new Governor Ricardo Rosselló, is also working on tax and energy reforms. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File)
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Partnerships are paving a new path for Puerto Rico

Friday, August 11, 2017

Opinion: Puerto Rico Issues Can’t Be Solved Via Twitter

As Congress grapples with the challenges facing Puerto Rico, they can't be explained away in 140 characters.
Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., may have fallen into a rhetorical trap when she stated her opposition to a bailout for Puerto Rico in a tweet. While the tweet may have pleased her conservative constituents, it oversimplifies and somewhat conflicts with her other views on the Puerto Rico crisis and potential solutions.
It all started last June when Rep. Diane Black took offense at the use of the name Tennessee by Puerto Rico statehood supporters.
The Tennessee Plan is the name of a strategy adopted by the current government of Puerto Rico to achieve statehood by deploying a delegation, dubbed the Democracy Commission, to lobby Congress. A similar process was followed first by Tennessee and later by six other territories to become states.
The response to the tweet from the Puerto Rican twittersphere, particularly statehood supporters, was immediate.
If one were to rank patriots and volunteers, Puerto Ricans would be at the top of the list. As U.S. citizens they have fought with distinction in American wars since the Island was invaded in 1898, even though they cannot vote for their commander-in-chief. And the Republican party platform did come out in support of Puerto Rico statehood.
Until now, most Puerto Ricans had never heard about Rep. Diane Black, who has had remarkable rags to riches life.
Diane Black was the first person in her family to graduate from college and worked as a nurse for 45 years before entering politics. Together with her husband she founded Aegis Sciences Corp, a drug testing company valued at $750 million, which makes her one of the richest members of Congress.
In 2010, she won her House seat as a Tea Party candidate. She is one of two female U.S. representatives who insists on being called congressman. She currently chairs the House Budget Committee, which sets revenue and spending levels for the annual federal budget. And just last week she entered the race for governor of Tennessee.
Given the outburst provoked by Black’s tweet, it is not surprising that Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner and statehood advocate Jenniffer González requested a meeting with her.
When we asked about the meeting, Black’s office only said that “Mrs. Black feels strongly that Puerto Rico needs to commit itself to major fiscal reform and taxpayers should not be on the hook for bailing them out.”
This statement is consistent with an earlier tweet where she rolled up El Cuco, the Boogeyman and La Llorona into one giant conservative nightmare.
A previous statement by Black, however, suggests she knows better than to call the federal government's efforts to reverse Puerto Rico's economic crisis a bailout. As President Trump himself would say, it’s complicated.
Last year Congressman Black issued a statement to explain her vote against the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA). This is the law that established Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Oversight Board to control the budget and restructure the debt.
“While I am pleased that this bill avoids a taxpayer funded bailout of Puerto Rico, I believe the legislation is ultimately a Band-Aid on a larger problem. The bill will help Puerto Rico avoid a default on its debts in the near term, but it failed to include the pro-growth reforms needed to make the island more fiscally solvent moving forwardAdditionally, I believe the legislation lacks sufficient flexibility on the restrictions of the Jones Act, which inhibits trade, and on the minimum wage," said Rep. Black.
 The Shortage of Trauma Doctors in Puerto Rico 2:55
"Puerto Rico offers a much lower cost of living than communities in the contiguous United States and the minimum wage applied to this territory should reflect that. While this bill offered the Governor of Puerto Rico the option to provide temporary relief from the minimum wage for younger workers, I believe a full exemption from this law could have been a workable solution to help encourage hiring and ease costs on employers,” said Congressman Diane Black. “Ultimately, Puerto Rico doesn’t simply need a restructuring of its debt, it needs a roadmap to a more prosperous economy that will ensure the island does not arrive at this point again. Unfortunately, this bill doesn’t provide it.”
Congressman Black’s statement is encouraging in that it recognized two issues that are essential to Puerto Rico’s economic recovery. First, Black faults PROMESA for its lack of pro-growth reforms. These reforms are needed to offset the austerity measures required by PROMESA, which will exacerbate Puerto Rico’s 11 year recession.
Second, Black supports elimination of the Jones Act, the Federal law that prohibits the use of foreign built or flagged vessels to transport goods between U.S. destinations. Its purpose is to maintain a war-ready U.S merchant marine. Its side effect, however, has been to decrease competition, increase shipping costs and cost of living. Noncontiguous areas like Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska bear the biggest cost burden because they lack alternative land routes.
Because of the Jones Act, groceries in Puerto Rico cost 25.4 percent more than the U.S. average. Because of the Jones Act, the cost per gallon of gasoline is 15 cents higher and Puerto Rico’s state-run authority pays 30 percent more for liquefied natural gas.
Perhaps based on her knowledge of Tennessee, which is among the poorest and cheapest states to live in the nation, Black assumes that there is a causal relation between poverty and cost of living. There is none in the case of Puerto Rico.
The cost of living in the San Juan metropolitan area is 11.6 percent higher than the average in other U.S. metropolitan areas. Utilities are among the most expensive because of the inefficient and outdated electrical system, plus fuel transport costs imposed by the Jones Act.
Lowering the minimum wage, as Black suggests, will only have a positive economic impact on the airlines that fly Puerto Ricans migrating north in search of jobs.
The number of Puerto Ricans in Tennessee is minuscule. Black does not need them to win an election, which is why it is encouraging that her views on Puerto Rico are not entirely based on her desire to win votes, but on a set of conservative principles, some of which are compatible with Puerto Rico’s interests.
As a self-made woman, Black values self-reliance. She does not like bailouts and neither do Puerto Ricans. They just want jobs like everybody else and sometimes this requires a Federal investment.
She recognizes that, as she stated, the restructuring of Puerto Rico's debt should be accompanied by a “roadmap to a more prosperous economy that will ensure the island does not arrive at this point again.”
She understands that the Jones Act is an economic impediment and as chair of the House Budget Committee she has leverage to demand a Jones Act emergency exemption for Puerto Rico at zero cost to American taxpayers.
First impressions are often deceiving. Congressman Black's outlook on Puerto Rico is more complex than it initially appears from her tweets. She may be opposed to a bailout, but she also recognizes that cutting off Puerto Rico is not the answer. One would hope that the Congressman will reconsider her first impression of Puerto Rico too, and that she and fellow members reach out to the citizens of the U.S. colony to find common ground and solutions.

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Opinion: Puerto Rico Issues Can’t Be Solved Via Twitter