If you actually study how Puerto Rico got in this mess, they don't deserve jack from us. When 55% of your island is employed by the government, with research showing at least half the jobs being redundant and duplicitous, you don't deserve sympathy.
I didn't only study it, I
lived it for a good 20+ years. The political relationship between the mainland and Puerto Rico is absolutely at the base of the issue.
1.) The Jones Act restrains Puerto Rico's ability to receive goods from other countries. Anything Puerto Rico receives has to go one of the ports on the mainland. Puerto Rico also is an island, which is susceptible to island economy cost of living increases. These factors combined create the perfect environment for a faulty economy from a consumer's perspective.
2.) Because Puerto Rico is not part of the federal budget or formally a part of the U.S. economy, the big chain companies like Walmart, which took down all of the local small businesses, take all of the capita out of the island's economy back to mainland, which does not allow it to circulate appropriately.
3.) These same big chains have also benefited from no taxes in the time they were there because they've monopolized the market and have been pushing for austerity measures instead.
4.) All of these combined with a lack of job availability and a minimum wage that is sub-par the mainland's stagnates the economy further and restricts both revenue and circulation.
5.) Puerto Rico has no control over its fiscal matters now, as Congress established a joint fiscal committee that is not elected and not accountable to the public, which means they do as they please with the island's economy. It's not up to the local government anymore. They're pushing for more austerity to greater proportions, of course.
6.) Puerto Ricans are American citizens who have fought the countless wars the U.S. has been in and contributed in many other ways. It's not about "deserving" anything, but rather tending to the needs of a place where Americans are born and live. Unless you think they are second class citizens, which you probably do.
7.) The government does indeed engage in wasteful spending, but that's not a good argument for this situation at all, given that there are a good number of states that are pretty bad off themselves, and I don't see anyone advocating leaving them or the American residents in there for dead.
8.) Puerto Rico asked for the ability to restructure its debts so that they could address the issue appropriately. Congress denied them that. Nobody was asking for any blasted money.
It's funny how back in 2008-2010 during the financial crisis, everyone was a-okay with throwing out $29B in relief funds for companies who engaged in disgusting extortion practices and should've paid the price for their failure in this supposed "capitalist" economy and free market everyone goes on about.
However, Puerto Rico "doesn't deserve jack," am I right? How very sad.
