"80% of the murders in Puerto Rico are drug-related, and this is the reason for the unacceptably high homicide rate in Puerto Rico... Money laundering and other financial crimes, associated with drug trafficking, are also on the increase."
"As the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status explained in 2011: “identifying the most effective means of assisting the Puerto Rican economy depends on resolving the ultimate question of status … In short, the long-term economic well-being of Puerto Rico would be dramatically improved by an early decision on the status question.”"
"The option or options for the plebiscite are to be proposed by Puerto Rico’s Elections Commission but must be approved by the U.S. Justice Department. The Commission has not proposed options because the “commonwealth” party is split between advocates of continuing territory status and nationhood."
"The Federal law was enacted because the “commonwealth status” party governor and majorities in both houses of the Legislative Assembly very narrowly elected at the same time disputed the plebiscite. The Obama Administration, which supported the vote and hailed its results, was concerned that their opposition would lead to inaction on the self-determination decision of Puerto Ricans... “Commonwealth” party officials who control the insular government have not acted on the first-ever Federal plebiscite authorization on Puerto Rico’s central issue because of a stalemate in the party leadership. It is split between those who want to cling to the rejected territory status and those who want to seek nationhood. Neither side has enough support for the party to make a decision."
Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s only representative in the U.S. Congress, wrote a letter to President Obama on January 6th, 2015, asking for either the President or Attorney General to provide guidance to the people of Puerto Rico as to whether a federally sponsored yes-or-no vote on statehood would satisfy the requirements of the January 2014 federal law calling for a new plebiscite in Puerto Rico .
Pierluisi began by noting that “[b]etween 2009 and 2014, much ground has been gained by those of us who have dedicated our lives to achieving equality for Puerto Rico through statehood, the only democratic and dignified status option that has broad public support on the island.” Pierluisi then enumerated the gains the statehood movement has achieved:
- The Federal government has made it clear that there are only two real options for Puerto Rico’s status, statehood and independent nationhood perhaps within a compact of free association which either nation could terminate. “Your administration and Congress have consistently rejected the status proposal called ‘enhanced commonwealth‘,” Pierluisi pointed out. Making it clear that there is no possibility of enhanced commonwealth allows Puerto Rico to make a choice between the real options rather than putting further investment into a potential status that will never become a reality.
- HR 2499, the bill which allowed the historic plebiscite of 2012, was passed by the House of Representatives.
- The 2011 Report from the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico confirmed that Puerto Rico is aterritory, that enhanced commonwealth is not an option, and that Puerto Rico’s economic woes stem from the current territorial status.
- President Obama made the first visit to Puerto Rico by a sitting president since President Kennedy’s 1961 visit, and pledged support for Puerto Rico’s self-determination.
- The 2012 plebiscite found that 54% of the voters rejected the current territorial status and 61% chose statehood from the viable options.
- The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing on Puerto Rico’s status in 2013 at which they publicly acknowledged that the people of Puerto Rico had rejected territory status, and that resolution of the island’s status was necessary.
- $2.5 million was set aside for the first Federally-sponsored plebescite, to be held in Puerto Rico to resolve at last the question of status.
Pierluisi went on to point out that it has been nearly a year since the $2.5 million in funding was approved. He acknowledged that much of the delay in putting the law into action has been caused by the local government of Puerto Rico, while also pointing out that the law does not dictate how the ballot should be structured. He emphasized that the federal appropriation “does require the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure that any option of the ballot is combatable with the constitution, laws and public policy of the United States. ”
Peirluisi further explained that the law has “expose[d] and deepen[ed] divisions within the island’s Popular Democratic Party, which currently controls the governmor ship and both chambers of the Legislative Assembly.” He predicted that if Party leader are able to agree on a status proposal, it would “almost certainly be rejected by the federal government as inconsistent with U.S. law or policy.”
In light of this delay, Pierluisi reminded President Obama of his own simple proposal: a yes or no vote on statehood. The other viable option, independent nationhood, has gained only single digit support in previous plebiscites. The “enhanced commonwealth” option has been soundly rejected by the U.S. government, which would have to agree to it for this option to be put in place. Pierluisi pointed out that opponents of statehood can vote against statehood with such a referendum, and that the results of this vote would be clear and unquestionable.
“I ask that you or the Attorney General formally respond to this letter,” he concluded, “advising the people of Puerto Rico whether your administration concurs with my conclusion that a ballot which poses the following question satisfies all the requirements of the federal law enacted in January 2014.”
The question Pierluisi references is this:
Shall Puerto Rico be admitted into the Union as a state?
Yes___ No___
Copies of the letter were also sent to Attorney General Eric Holder, Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, Director of White House Intergovernmental Affairs and Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status Jerry Abramson, and Acting Associate Attorney General and Co-Chair of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status Stuart Delery,
The post Pierluisi Requests Guidance from the Obama Administration on Status Vote appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Commonwealther Senate Pres. Would Back Statehood Voteby Contributing Editor
Puerto Rico Senate President Eduardo Bhatia said Friday that he would support a Statehood: “Yes” or “No” plebiscite if authorized by Congress.
He seemed to be unaware that Federal law has provided for such a vote.
The law authorizes the vote if proposed by the territory’s Elections Commission.
The law was enacted a year ago. It proposed by President Obama and passed the Republican House of Representatives even before it passed the then Democratic Senate.
The statehood party representative on the Commission has proposed that the body act to have the vote on statehood. The representatives of the “commonwealth status” and Independence parties, however, blocked his measure.
Bhatia is the “commonwealth” party’s second highest elected official.
The Commission makes decisions by consensus of its three party representatives or, if they cannot agree, by its president. The governor of the territory appoints the president. Current Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla heads the “commonwealth” party.
Garcia Padilla has opposed a vote on statehood.
The territory’s sole representative to the Federal government, who has a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives with a vote only in committees, has proposed a vote on statehood. Pedro Pierluisi (D) also heads the statehood party.
In the last Congress, 132 other House members and three senators joined him in proposing a territorial vote on statehood.
A plebiscite on the territory’s status options conducted by the Commonwealth government along with the territory’s last elections in November 2012 rejected the current territory status sometimes misleadingly called “commonwealth” and chose statehood among the alternatives by 61.2%.
In the campaign, Garcia supported the rejected territory status option. Afterwards, he and the “commonwealth” party-controlled Legislative Assembly opposed Federal action on the people of Puerto Rico’s self-determination decision in favor of permanence and equality within the U.S.
The commonwealthers’ objections led the Obama White House to propose the Federal plebiscite law. It wanted to prevent their opposition from resulting in Federal inaction on the question of the territory’s ultimate status since majorities in the plebiscite rejected territory status and favored statehood. The Obama Administration had supported the insular government’s plebiscite and hailed its results.
Garcia’s predecessor as “commonwealth” party president, former insular House of Representatives Minority Leader Hector Ferrer, has also proposed a vote on statehood.
Ferrer and other “commonwealth” party leaders testified in favor of a vote on statehood in U.S. Senate and House hearings in 2009 and 2010.
Ferrer would like to replace Garcia as the “commonwealth” party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2016. Bhatia is also thought to want to replace the Governor.
The “commonwealth” party’s Secretary of Federal Affairs under Garcia has acknowledged that a vote on statehood would be a “valid” way of resolving Puerto Rico’s status question. Like Garcia, however, Jose Hernandez Mayoral has opposed such a vote.
Although the Republican U.S. House approved the law that permits a vote on statehood a year ago, Bhatia asserted that the new Republican Congress would not support such a vote. ‘Tea Party’ members, who he characterized as “racist,” are the reason, he contended.
The post Commonwealther Senate Pres. Would Back Statehood Vote appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Rep. Pierluisi began his speech to the new House of Representatives by saying that he had an issue of national importance to discuss. The mainland English language press has not mentioned the speech at all, but social media is spreading the word.
The video is nearing 3,000 views at YouTube in just a matter of days, and garnering comments like the one shown below. Please click to enlarge.
The video is also gaining traction on Twitter, as viewers tweet and retweet the link.
Pierluisi’s characterization of Puerto Rico’s status as an issue of national importance is justified. The status of Puerto Rico affects not only Puerto Rico’s economic position but also that of the United States. In addition, Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States affects the international reputation of our nation.
As Rep. Pierluisi concluded, “Since none of my colleagues in this chamber representing states would accept territory status for their constituents, I know they will understand that I will not accept it for my constituents.”
The post Pierluisi Explains Puerto Rico’s Status Requirements appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
The rate of Puerto Ricans leaving the territory for a State may have tripled between 2013 and 2014, according to numbers from the insular government Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Net migration during the first six months of 2014 was 72,086 leaving Puerto Rico. This was three times the 24,308 during the first half of 2013.
The number of islanders voting for statehood for themselves with an airline ticket over people moving to Puerto Rico for the first three-quarters of 2014 was estimated by the agency to be 114,097. Net migration away from the territory for all of 2013 was 48,617. If the rate moving away during the first nine months of 2014 held for the final three months, the total for 2014 would be more than triple the number in 2013.
Net migration away from Puerto Rico was 45,636 in 2012; 37,701 in 2011; 43,773 in 2010, 18,389 in 2009; 38,936 in 2008; 46,447 in 2007; and 51,654 in 2006.
Combined with a decrease in the territory’s birth rate and an increase in its death rate — both due to a population that is getting older because the people who are moving away are younger — Puerto Ricans abandoning the territory for the greater opportunities and benefits in a State is resulting in an overall decline in the population.
The Federal Bureau of the Census’ July 1, 2014 estimate of Puerto Rico’s population was 3,548,397. This was a staggering drop of 177, 392 from the Census’ April 1, 2010 count of 3,725,789. It was also a decrease in the population since the count of April 1, 2000, when it was 3,808,610.
The July 1, 2014 estimate was, further, 44,472 below the estimate for July 1, 2013. And it was 7.3% less than the 3,826,878 estimated as of July 1, 2004.
The structural problems of the Commonwealth economy are believed to be one the primary reasons for the exodus but the migration out of Puerto Rico is itself contributing to the territory’s economic and budgetary problems.
- The labor force shrunk from 1,424,956 in January 2007 to 1,143,901 in November, and the number of people employed has gone down from 1,277,560 in April 2006 to 983,281 in November — the lowest since April 1992, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Deposits in commercial banks during the third quarter of calendar year 2014 were $984 million lower than during the same period of 2013, according to the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. The percentage decrease was 2.1% to $46.725 billion.
- Car sales fell in Puerto Rico last year, while they rose in the States.
- The value of building permits dropped 22.4% to $68.4 million during November, the lowest level in five months. The value was down 14.5% over the first 11 months of calendar year 2014. La Grande moving company, a Puerto Rican firm associated with the Mayflower moving company in the States, reports that more people are moving from Puerto Rico to the States on short notice for jobs, rather than waiting for the end of the school year.
Puerto Ricans continue to move to the Northeast, but increasingly are choosing Florida and other Southern states, as are Americans in general. Florida is actively encouraging population growth by inviting citizens to move to the State.
Only one State has seen a population loss of 1% during this century: Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina, when large numbers of survivors were relocated to habitable areas in neighboring states.
Newspaper El Nuevo Dia recently published a chart showing estimates of future population numbers, if the current rate of population loss continues:
The post Rate of Puerto Ricans Leaving Territory for a State Triples appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla late yesterday announced that he will propose legislation to enable all residents of Puerto Rico who are not citizens to vote — including those in the U.S. territory in violation of Federal law.
He made the announcement at an event with the president of the Dominican Republic marking the signing of some agreements between the territory and its independent neighbor. The accords are of the nature that U.S. territories and States can sign with foreign nations with U.S. Department of State approval.
The Governor passionately argued that illegal immigrants should be treated equally with citizens.
U.S. Immigration System “Nonsense”
Referring to “Our people of Dominican descent and other nationalities who have migrated irregularly,” he recognized that they “have been denied the vote.” He contended that this is … to our shame” and is only because of “paperwork and nonsense of the immigration system of the United States.”
Like “Blacks, the poor, and women”
He also contended that “Blacks, the poor, and women have also suffered this form of marginalization.”
He did not note that this long past discrimination in the nation concerned citizens and legal residents.
The president of the territory’s “commonwealth status” party called for “equal rights and obligations” for all residents regardless of legal status, asserting that “To whomever on Earth works for their bread, there come the values of freedom and inclusion that distinguish us as Puerto Ricans.”
He did not acknowledge that ‘commonwealthers’ oppose residents of Puerto Rico having voting representation — equal or otherwise — in their national government and the equal treatment of theterritory under all Federal laws.
Garcia justified his proposal saying that there is precedent in other U.S. jurisdictions, which, he said, is “too bad, because we should have been first.”
He did not identify the jurisdictions, but they consist of a few small municipalities in one county in Maryland. And non-citizens in the small communities are not allowed to vote in county or State elections.
It is also illegal for non-citizens to vote in Federal elections. Puerto Rico holds elections for all offices — including the Federal office of resident commissioner in the U.S. — once every four years. So, the Government of Puerto Rico would have to ensure that non-citizens do not vote for resident commissioner if it enfranchises them to vote for Commonwealth and municipal office.
Garcia also did not explain how non-citizens — including those subject to deportation by the Federal government — would be registered to vote.
There are a couple of hundred thousand people of Dominican origin in Puerto Rico. Many are citizens by naturalization or birth but many are living in the territory illegally.
Garcia has taken other actions to treat the illegal residents equally with citizens and legal immigrants, including enabling them to obtain Government-paid for health care and driver’s licenses.
Yesterday, he also endorsed legislation to allow them to have accounts at and borrow money from financial institutions.
With an approval rate of 19% among citizens and 66% of citizens saying that they would not vote to re-elect him next year in a recent poll, Garcia may also hope to gain votes by adding illegal residents to the electorate.
Puerto Rican Equality Advocates
Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, the president of the party advocating equality for Puerto Rico within the nation, reacted by saying that he thinks “the priority should be to grant equality to American citizens residing in Puerto Rico.”
Senator Thomas Rivera Schatz, also a possible statehood party gubernatorial candidate next year, termed the Governor’s proposal “unconscionable” contending it is “a promise that he cannot keep.”
Statehood party House of Representatives Member Tony Soto was more explicit, suggesting that the proposal is inconsistent with the territorial government’s constitution.
Members of Garcia’s “commonwealth” party control both houses of the legislature.
The post Gov Proposes Non-Citizens Vote — Including Illegal Residents appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Bills to have a plebiscite on statehood in Puerto Rico this November 8th have been introduced in both houses of the Commonwealth Legislative Assembly.
The legislation calls for Puerto Ricans to vote on permanence and equality within the United States under a Federal law enacted a year ago. The law provides for an insular plebiscite on a status option or status options that can resolve the question of the territory’s ultimate status.
The option or options are to be proposed by Puerto Rico’s “State” Elections Commission and must be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice as not conflicting with the Constitution, laws, and policies of the U.S.
Statehood would, obviously, meet the requirements.
The other possible options under the Federal law are independence and nationhood in an association with the U.S. that either nation could end.
The current unincorporated territory status, sometimes misleadingly called “Commonwealth” after a word in the formal name of the insular Government of Puerto Rico, would not qualify. This is because it cannot resolve Puerto Rico’s status issue as Puerto Ricans, U.S. citizens by birth, can petition for statehood or nationhood as long as unincorporated territory status continues.
There is no other possible “commonwealth” governing arrangement that would qualify because, as President Obama’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status reported in March 2011, Puerto Rico would remain subject to Congress’ broad powers to govern territories of the U.S. under any “Commonwealth” arrangement.
A plebiscite under Commonwealth law held along with the territory’s elections in November 2012rejected territory status and chose statehood by 61.2%. Nationhood in an association with the U.S. received 33.3% of the vote, and independence 4.5%.
The Federal law was enacted because the “commonwealth status” party governor and majorities in both houses of the Legislative Assembly very narrowly elected at the same time disputed the plebiscite. The Obama Administration, which supported the vote and hailed its results, was concerned that their opposition would lead to inaction on the self-determination decision of Puerto Ricans.
Republicans as well as Democrats in Congress went along with the proposal in the budget for the Justice Department.
The Federal law also appropriated $2.5 million for the new insular plebiscite it authorizes. The bills introduced the Legislative Assembly would use the funds to conduct the plebiscite and a public education campaign on the ballot option, as provided for in the Federal law.
The bills were sponsored by all of the members of each house of the Legislative Assembly who are members of the statehood party.
“Commonwealth” party officials who control the insular government have not acted on the first-ever Federal plebiscite authorization on Puerto Rico’s central issue because of a stalemate in the party leadership. It is split between those who want to cling to the rejected territory status and those who want to seek nationhood. Neither side has enough support for the party to make a decision.
In the last Congress, 132 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and three members of the U.S, Senate joined Puerto Rico’s sole representative, who can only vote in House committees, in sponsoring bills that would have required presidential action and pledged congressional action to make Puerto Rico a State if a majority of Puerto Ricans voted for the status in a “Yes” or “No” referendum. The territory’s resident commissioner in the House, Pedro Pierluisi, is the president of the statehood party.
The post Bills for Statehood Plebiscite under Federal Law Introduced appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 2
A champion of resolving the question of Puerto Rico’s ultimate political status has been named chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on territory issues.
Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) will be the Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs in the new 114th Congress. The “Insular” in the title refers to the U.S.’ territories.
As Chairman of the full Committee on Natural Resources in 1998, Young was the lead sponsor of a bill that passed the House that would have provided an on-going, full process for Puerto Rico to become a State or a nation based on the choice of the its people.
The bill would have authorized a referendum in the territory that year, required a presidential recommendation if a majority did not choose a fully-democratic status — statehood or nationhood, and authorized further referenda on the question at least every 10 years as long as there was not a majority for a fully-democratic status.
Supported by President Bill Clinton, the bill appeared to have enough votes to pass the Senate but Majority Leader Trent Lott and Majority Whip Don Nickles blocked it from votes despite the efforts of committee Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska). Murkowski was the father of the new Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on energy and Natural Resources in the 114th Congress, Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
Young was Chairman of a Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs in the 112th and 113thCongresses. Territory issues were handled by another subcommittee because of full committee Chairman ‘Doc’ Hastings’ opposition to statehood for Puerto Rico. Hastings reportedly feared that Young would try to enable the issue of Puerto Rico’s status to be resolved.
Rob Bishop (R-Utah) has replaced Hastings. Bishop voted against a Puerto Rico status choice bill that passed the House in 2010 but recently said that he probably would not do that now.
As the “Ranking” (senior) Minority Party Member of the Natural Resources Committee in 2010, Young was a leading co-sponsor of that bill. He has consistently supported efforts to resolve the Puerto Rico status question.
Puerto Rico’s insular government held a plebiscite on the status question along with its elections in 2012 under Commonwealth law. A majority rejected territory status and a 61.2% majority chose statehood among the alternatives.
Because the “commonwealth status” party governor and legislature majorities narrowly elected at the same time disputed the plebiscite, a Federal law was enacted a year ago providing for a plebiscite on a status option or options that can resolve the issue — statehood and nationhood — under U.S. Department of Justice auspices.
The option or options for the plebiscite are to be proposed by Puerto Rico’s Elections Commission but must be approved by the U.S. Justice Department. The Commission has not proposed options because the “commonwealth” party is split between advocates of continuing territory status and nationhood.
Young has served in the House since 1973. He is its longest serving Republican member and third-longest serving member.
The Alaskan was Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee from 1995 to 2001 and Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 2001 to 2007.
The post Status Resolution Champion to Chair Territories Subcommittee appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· ·
President Obama plans to ask the Congress to expand the benefits of two Federal income tax programs that give money to Puerto Ricans, according to a document released by his news office Saturday night.
He will also propose other tax program benefit expansions, the paper revealed. But these would presumably not help Puerto Ricans because of the territory’s current treatment under Federal tax laws.
Presidential aides released the news in connection with the President’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.
The proposals are to be included in Obama’s budget for Federal Fiscal Year 2016, which begins October 1st. The budget is scheduled to be sent to the Congress February 2nd.
Hundreds of millions of dollars a year go to hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans under the two programs for which Puerto Ricans are eligible.
Puerto Ricans would receive hundreds of millions of dollars a year more under the two programs and hundreds of thousands more Puerto Ricans would benefit if the territory becomes a State. The programs only partially apply to Puerto Ricans because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory.
College Costs Aid
One of the two programs that partially benefit Puerto Ricans cuts Federal income taxes for middle and low-income families to offset post-secondary education costs up to $2,500 a year.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit also gives families up to $1,000 a year to the extent that they do not owe income taxes. It is this portion of the program that benefits Puerto Ricans due to an initiative of then Governor Luis Fortuno (R-statehood) and Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi (D-statehood).
Obama plans to ask the Congress to increase the amount given families to the extent that they do not owe income taxes to $1,500.
He will also ask that part-time post-secondary education qualify for the benefits. Costs for part-time attendance could be offset to the extent of $1,500 in credits against income taxes or $750 to the extent that there is not an income tax liability.
The assistance would be given for five years of post-secondary education.
Aid for Families
The other program that partially benefits Puerto Ricans now is the Child Tax Credit.
The program cuts the Federal income taxes of working parents up to $1,000 per child. In the States, workers can receive the benefit through a check from the Federal government to the extent that they do not owe Federal income taxes.
In Puerto Rico, workers with three or more children can receive the checks due to legislation that expanded the benefits nationwide for workers with three or more children proposed by President Bill Clinton. Puerto Ricans with one child or two receive no benefits.
While a U.S. senator, Hillary Clinton proposed legislation to extent the program to low-income workers in the territory with one child or two. She reiterated the proposal during her 2008 presidential campaign.
Obama later accepted the proposal. In 2011, his Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status recommended that his Administration act on it. But the Obama Administration has not asked the Congress to enact it.
Expansions of the program such as the benefits for three or more children are authorized through 2017. Obama will ask the Congress to make these benefits permanent.
Benefits Puerto Ricans Wouldn’t Get
Among the tax benefits that Obama is to propose that presumably will not be extended to Puerto Ricans are the following.
- A doubling of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for workers without children, and an increase in the income level at which the benefit phases out. The Child Tax Credit builds on the Earned Income Tax Credit, which can also be provided through a check to the extent that there is not an income tax liability. As a candidate, Obama pledged to also extend the EITC to low-income Puerto Ricans, but he has not tried to as President. The Government of Puerto Rico had its own earned income tax credit program but it only provided a fraction of the Federal benefit — a maximum of $350 — and it ended the program this past June 30th because of its budget shortage.
- An increase in the Child Care Tax Credit for working parents up to $3,000 per child. The average benefit is now $550. The program is different from the Child Tax Credit, and working parents can benefit from both.
- A new second-earner tax credit. The tax cut for families in which the second worker earns at least $10,000 a year would be $500. Families earning up to $120,000 a year could get the benefit. Families earning up to $210,000 per year could get reduced benefits.
More Controversial Proposals
Obama will propose other tax benefits as well but he will also propose: a sweeping increase in taxes on inheritances; raising the tax rates on income from investments for high-income families; and a tax on borrowing by large financial institutions.
These proposals caused a spokesman for new House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) to term the President’s package as “not serious” even though Ryan has made a proposal to expand the EITC similar to Obama’s.
Territory Status the Problem
Puerto Rico can be treated differently than the States in Federal tax benefit programs because it is an “unincorporated territory,” although it is sometimes misleadingly called a “commonwealth” due to “Commonwealth” being a word in the formal name of the insular government.
Its worse treatment than the States in Federal programs relating to taxation, health, and low-income individuals is a reason for its economic underdevelopment and decline. As the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status explained in 2011: “identifying the most effective means of assisting the Puerto Rican economy depends on resolving the ultimate question of status … In short, the long-term economic well-being of Puerto Rico would be dramatically improved by an early decision on the status question.”
Puerto Ricans rejected territory status and chose the equality of statehood in a plebiscite held along with the 2012 elections. A year ago, the Federal government enacted a law for another vote under Federal auspices because the “commonwealth status” party governor and legislature majorities very narrowly elected at the same time disputed the plebiscite.
The Federal vote would be on an option or options that can resolve the issue proposed by Puerto Rico’s Elections Commission to the extent approved by the U.S. Department of Justice as not conflicting with the Constitution, laws, and policies of the U.S., as past “commonwealth” party proposals have.
The Elections Commission has not proposed an option or options yet because the “commonwealth” party is deadlocked between factions that want to propose nationhood and that want continued unincorporated territory status -– although continued unincorporated territory status would not meet the requirement of resolving the issue. Puerto Ricans will be able to seek statehood or nationhood as long as the current status continues.
The post Two Obama Tax Proposals Would Aid Puerto Ricans; Others Wouldn’t appeared first onPuerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Michael Botticelli, Acting Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, announced the Obama Administration’s 2014 Caribbean Border Counter-Narcotics Strategy this week.
“For years, ONDCP has published a Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy and a Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy,” Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pierluisi pointed out, “but it did not publish any document that detailed the federal government’s strategy to address drug trafficking and related violence on the nation’s third border in the Caribbean.”
The strategy document was produced in response to a federal mandate imposed by Congress in legislation enacted a year ago.
Drug trafficking, along with the violence it brings and the negative climate for business these two factors create, has become an increasingly severe problem for Puerto Rico. As the border with Mexico has been more firmly controlled, the Caribbean border has stayed relatively open. At Rep. Pedro Pierluisi’s urging, additional resources have recently been devoted to law enforcement in Puerto Rico, yet the passage of cocaine through the Caribbean to the United States has, according to the White House blog, more than doubled since 2012.
The report details the steps which are being taken and proposes additional efforts that should be made to control this problem. Primary strategic objectives are listed as follows in the report and in the statement from the White House:
- Enhance intelligence and information-sharing capabilities and processes associated with the Caribbean border.
- Interdict illicit drugs and drug proceeds at and between U.S. ports of entry in the Caribbean.
- Interdict illicit drugs and illicit drug proceeds in the air and maritime domains in and around the Caribbean border; maximize evidence and intelligence collection to support criminal investigations leading to associated and higher echelon networks.
- Disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations operating in and around the Caribbean border.
- Substantially reduce the level of drug -related violent crime in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Strengthen communities and reduce the demand for drugs.
The 46-page report brings up many significant points. 80% of the murders in Puerto Rico are drug-related, and this is the reason for the unacceptably high homicide rate in Puerto Rico. School violence and vandalism are also part of the problem, and drug use is, according to the Puerto Rico Department of Education, quite high among schoolchildren, with more than 40% of students reporting that they used drugs before age 14. Money laundering and other financial crimes, associated with drug trafficking, are also on the increase.
The report points out that the current economic problems in Puerto Rico have left the island’s government unable to cope with the increasing maritime drug trafficking.
The report goes on to list specific tactics, ranging from law enforcement to work within communities to improvement in communication. Read the full report.
The post 2014 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy Released appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· ·
As PUERTO RICO REPORT disclosed, Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) has gotten territories issues added to the Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee he has chaired for four years on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs and the Alaskan has been very active before in trying to enablePuerto Rico’s territorial status to be replaced by a fully democratic governing arrangement.
Also as PUERTO RICO REPORT disclosed, Young is now the third longest serving Member of the House of Representatives. Only Rep. John Conyers (D-Michigan) and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) have held office longer. Young was first sworn into Congress in 1973.
A native of California, Young served in the U.S. Army and taught school in the 700-resident village of Ft. Yukon, Alaska, as well as enjoying stints in commercial fishing and trapping. He became mayor of Ft. Yukon and then went to the State Senate before entering Congress just in time to lead the fight for the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline.
“Next to statehood itself,” Congressman Young is quoted as saying on his website, “the most historical legislation passed that affected every Alaskan then, now, and in the future, was the passage of the pipeline legislation.”
Young has seen the effects of going from territory status to statehood first hand – an experience that informs his views on Puerto Rico’s status.
Young is best known as the lead sponsor of a bill that passed the House in 1998 that would have provided a process for Puerto Ricans to choose the territory’s ultimate status that included referenda every 10 years with all of Puerto Rico’s real status options — independence and free association in addition to statehood and territory status — and would have continued until Puerto Rico became a State or a nation.
But during Young’s long tenure in Congress, he has made numerous statements on Puerto Rico’s status and proposals for a “commonwealth” status. One of his earlier statements was this quote from 1993:
It is ridiculous to suggest that the United States would ever agree to a commonwealth with permanent union between Puerto Rico and the United States. Only by being incorporated into the body politic of the United States can Puerto Rico be considered to be in permanent union. We are a democracy united by a Constitution which extends equal protection, rights, and privileges to all. The United States will not set aside over two centuries of reliance upon this near-sacred document to be “bound by a bilateral pact that could not be altered, except by mutual consent.” Even the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allows a member to end the agreement with a 6-month notice.
In a 1994 statement following a referendum under local law in Puerto Rico in 1993, Young again spoke forthrightly about territory status and the “commonwealth” proposal that received 48.6% of the vote on that ballot:
[On the November 14, 1993 plebiscite ballot], [t]he people were presented a mythical commonwealth option which proposed significant changes to the current relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States[.]It should not be surprising, given human nature, that a plurality of the people voted for a guarantee of virtually all of the benefits and assistance of U.S. citizenship without the corresponding duties and obligations. Notwithstanding the option of `all-the-goodies-without-the-price,’ and to the grand credit of the people of Puerto Rico, a combined majority chose status options offering additional rights and responsibilities. A near plurality of voters chose statehood with the same rights, benefits, and responsibilities of the 50 States; a small fraction voted for independence with the inherent rights, powers, and obligations of separate sovereignty.The commonwealth formula is clearly not an economically or politically viable alternative to the current self-governing, unincorporated territorial status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and the unalterable bilateral pact that such commonwealth formula proposes as the vehicle for permanent union of Puerto Rico with the United States is not a constitutionally viable alternative to the current self-governing, unincorporated territorial status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.It is unfortunate that the voters have faced unrealistic and inflated expectations of a supposed commonwealth relationship with the United States. However, this has become an opportunity to set the record straight; to quell the commonwealth fantasy status which continues to be promoted to the detriment of the society it is purported to help. While it is true that the United States-Puerto Rico relationship shares many things in common, no permanent union secured by an unalterable bilateral pact with irrevocable American citizenship is possible under any variation of the proposed commonwealth formula. Our U.S. Constitution provides the only avenue for irrevocable U.S. citizenship, total equality, and permanent union.
From 1995 to 2001, Young was Chairman of the full Natural Resources Committee. In February of 1996, he joined with three other House committee and subcommittee chairman in sending a letter to Puerto Rican leaders regarding the 1993 “Commonwealth” proposal:
None of the status options presented on the ballot received a majority of the votes cast. While the commonwealth option on the ballot received a plurality of votes, this result is difficult to interpret because that option contained proposals to profoundly change rather than continue the current Commonwealth of Puerto Rico government structure. Certain elements of the commonwealth option, including permanent union with the United States and guaranteed U.S. citizenship, can only be achieved through full integration into the U.S. leading to statehood. Other elements of the commonwealth option on the ballot, including a government-to-government bilateral pact which cannot be altered, either are not possible or could only be partially accomplished through treaty arrangements based on separate sovereignty.
Young also shot-down “commonwealth status” proposals in the case of one from the territory of Guam. In a 1996 letter to then-President Clinton, he explained problems with the Guam proposal, in particular one that would have required Guam’s consent to changes in the relationship between the Federal government and the island — also a foundation of Puerto Rico “commonwealth” proposals.
“Since the [Guam Commonwealth Act (GCA)] would be a Federal statute, a future Congress can not be bound to a political status relationship with an unincorporated territory as contemplated by the GCA. The “solution” apparently arrived at in the Guam discussions is to create ambiguity about the nature of the mutual consent clause. Thus, instead of an enforceable right of consent, Guam reportedly is prepared to accept a provision which admits of unenforceability. This may have some symbolic political value, but in the end it only underscored the disenfranchisement and lack of equal participation or real consent in the Federal political process for U.S. citizens in an unincorporated territory such as Guam.
An agreement that will unravel as soon as the ink dries, or another proposal that simply gathers dust, has no real value for the U.S. or Guam. Those of us elected to get results for the people we sere need to take responsibility for doing more than “coming to closure” with Guam in form but not substance. If we believe we can pretend to have a real agreementand then walk away or wash our hands of it, we are really just setting up the people of Guam for another episode of disappointment.
… the Federal government must never risk making a mockery of the decolonization process. We would do just that by attempting to make less-than-equal citizenship and permanent disenfranchisement seem more tolerable through the legal and political fiction of “mutual consent.”
Also that year, Young wrote in a letter that he did not expect plans for Puerto Rico’s self determination to be possible until Puerto Rico ‘commonwealth’s’ dropped demands for the territory to be able to opt out of Federal laws.
Young and Committee Ranking Democrat George Miller issued a report on Puerto Rico’s local referendum on status options in 1998. In the report, they wrote that “the Popular Democratic Party, which has been the long-standing advocate of commonwealth, did not support the Commonwealth ballot definition [on the 1998 plebiscite ballot]. Instead, the PDP officially adopted and advocated an alternative commonwealth definition that did not appear on the ballot and contained principles rejected on a bipartisan basis by the Committee on Resources during consideration of H.R. 856″ the bill that had passed the U.S. House that year.
In 2007, in a statement during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Young spoke directly to the representatives of Puerto Rico present:
My goal here is to really try to allow Puerto Rico to advance. And I do not believe you can advance as a commonwealth. I say that from my heart. Because we [Alaska] were not able to advance as a … territory … my ultimate goal is to try to give the Puerto Rican people a choice. And my bill, H.R. 900, does give them a choice. And if they decide to be an independent nation, God bless you. If you decide to be a State, God bless you. If you decide to be a commonwealth, you are not going to grow.
The post New U.S. House Chairman on Puerto Rico’s Status appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · · · · ·
The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) has told members of Congress that the territory’s economy and the insular government’s finances are doing very well.
PRFAA Executive Director Juan E. Hernandez sent them a letter last month with “a summary of the progress” he wrote Governor Garcia Padilla “has made on economic and fiscal issues.” (You can see his ‘fact sheet’ after the end of this article.)
The rosy picture painted by the former “commonwealth status” party senator is at odds with most assessments of the territory’s economy and the Commonwealth government’s budget and financial position. These includes the views of the vast majority of Puerto Ricans, according to scientific opinion polling, and the analyses of all independent economists and national credit rating agencies that have studied the situation.
Many of the specific ‘facts’ cited by the head of the Governor’s offices in the States in what he sent members of Congress are also wrong or misleading.
Additionally, it is curious that the Commonwealth government agency headquartered in the nation’s capital would deliberately give members of Congress the impression that the territory is doing so well that more Federal government assistance is not needed.
Asked to review the claims in the PRFAA paper, an expert in government who has been closely observing developments in the territory pointed out a number of factual distortions.
Two glaring ones were in the account on government pension system ‘reform’ proposals.
The paper asserts that, “the Puerto Rico Supreme Court found the judicial pension reform measures signed into law at the end of 2013 to be constitutional.” In fact, the Commonwealth’s highest court found the attempt to cut back the retirement benefits of members of the judiciary in office and retirees to be unconstitutional.
Additionally, the paper omitted mention of the third pension system that the Governor tried to change: the retirement plan the public education system. The Supreme Court similarly struck down most of that law enacted at the same time as the judicial system legislation.
Also very misleading was a boast that “The Garcia Padilla administration has presided over the creation of 55,305 new jobs in Puerto Rico … exceeding the Governor’s pledge of creating 50,000 new jobs in 18 months.” According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, there were 1,030,603 people employed in the territory when the Governor took office and 983,281 when PRFAA wrote its ‘fact’ sheet, 47,322 fewer people working.
The paper reports that government revenue in Fiscal Year 2014 exceeded collections during the previous year. It did not explain that the amount was several hundred million dollars below the government’s estimates and what was required by the budget — or that the increase from the previous year was due to extensive tax hikes.
It was also pointed out that revenue for the first quarter of Commonwealth Fiscal Year 2015 — July through September of last year — was $75 million greater than for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2014 but not that it was $36.4 million below what was needed — or that the increase reflected additional tax increases.
A chart in shows “potential” tax revenue in Commonwealth Fiscal Year 2014 from the “strategic initiatives” of an “Economic Development Roadmap” — but not whether the “potential” revenue materialized even though the paper was sent a full five months into Fiscal Year 2015.
More striking is what is not noted in the apparently promotional bullet points. The Government Development Bank calculation of the territory’s economy was about 20% below its high at the end of 2005. It had fallen to its mid-1994 level. The decline during the current administration was a full five percent, a quarter of the drop over the nine year period.
Nor was it pointed out that Puerto Rico had 23% fewer people working when the paper was sent than eight years before. The 294,278 less people took employment in the territory down to its April 1991 level.
It was also not explained that the Commonwealth government’s credit was downgraded to ‘junk’ status (non-investment grade) by all of the major national credit rating agencies last year or that the government owes more than $72 billion — more than any State other than much more populous California and New York.
The paper contains several points about the government’s Electric Power Authority, but additionally ignored was that the agency became unable to meet its financial obligations last year and is developing a plan to renege on its commitments.
It was, further, not mentioned that the territory’s Highways and Transportation Authority also became unable to pay its debts at about the very time that the paper was sent to members of Congress.
The post Gov’s Rep To Congress: Gov’t Finances, Economy Doing Well appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has been referred to as a “commonwealth” since 1952, when the federal government approved the Puerto Rico Constitution and granted the island authority to conduct its local affairs. Yet “commonwealth” is only a title in the island’s local constitution, and the 1952 law did not change Puerto Rico’s status. Official statements regarding the passage of the law at that time are clear that Puerto Rico remained, and remains, a U.S. territory.
So why has the “commonwealth” label stuck?
When the Puerto Rican constitution was approved, the U.S. was working to counter Soviet claims of U.S. imperialism, of which Puerto Rico was a primary example. This 1952 statement from the U.S. Department of State when the Puerto Rico constitution was approved provides a window into the thinking of the Cold War era: “In view of the importance of ‘colonialism’ and ‘imperialism’ in anti-American propaganda, the Department of State feels that [this legislation] would have great value as a symbol of the basic freedom enjoyed by Puerto Rico, within the larger framework of the United States of America.”
As the Cold War continued, high-level federal officials addressed Soviet accusations of American imperialism with a moral righteousness that described Puerto Rico’s status in a way that was clearly at odds with original documentation surrounding passage of the 1952 Constitution. These statements were made at the expense of providing clarity to the Puerto Rican people.
For example. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “We Americans introduced to the world a new concept by which local and national interests from a partnership for self-government….It is further strengthened by our unique and special relationship with the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which stands as a shining symbol of friendship and cooperation.”
This message, which was delivered to the 1959 Governors’ Conference in San Juan by Under Secretary of State C. Douglas Dillon, does not carry the force of law and contradicts a very different statement made by President Truman that the new federal law he enacted authorized only changes in local law. Truman wrote: “The people of Puerto Rico have accepted the law as enacted by the Congress. They have complied with its requirements and have submitted their constitution for the approval of the Congress. With its approval, full authority and responsibility for local self-government will be vested in the people of Puerto Rico.”
Similarly, when President John F. Kennedy stated that “The Commonwealth relationship is not perfected and has not reached its full potential. I am in full sympathy with this aspiration.” He was displaying a sentiment that, while not lacking in empathy or good intent, did not and could not change Puerto Rico’s territorial status any more than it could make “commonwealth’ constitutional or apractical reality.
These statements created a movement in Puerto Rico but were not effective in changing the mindsof the U.S.’s cold war enemies. Ronald Reagan recognized this reality in an op-ed he wrote for the Wall Street Journal in 1980, as a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination:
Our keen “peacefully coexisting” competitor, the Soviet Union, is not unaware of the important of Puerto Rico in the great global contest of ideas. As a “Commonwealth” Puerto Rico is neither a state nor independent, and thereby has an historically unnatural status. There is this raw nerve to rub, and our Marxist-Leninist competitors rub it. They’ve long thought of the island economics of the Caribbean as easy marks. I do not suggest that the Kremlin strategists expect to snap Puerto Rico into the Communist orbit any time soon, only that they find it convenient to use its unnatural status, creating tensions around the idea of American “colonialism.” “Yankee Imperialism.” We can’t merely defend ourselves against this attack. We must ourselves attack, not with terror, but with statehood.
Since the presidency of Ronald Reagan, there has been wide acceptance in the federal government that Puerto Rico is a territory and the “Commonwealth” label has no legal meaning. The federal government has never said that Puerto Rico is not subject to the Territory Clause of the U.S. Constitution, regardless of how encouraging it may be about Puerto Rican local autonomy. Yet quotes from the 1950s are still used to continue a Cold War myth.
The post The Evolution of the “Commonwealth” Label During the Cold War appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 3
Gov. Fighting Plebiscite on Statehood in New Congressby Contributing Editor
Puerto Rico’s “commonwealth status” party administration has made lobbying the new Congress against authorizing a territorial plebiscite on statehood a top priority, letters obtained by the PUERTO RICO REPORT reveal.
Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives, Pedro Pierluisi, is expected to propose legislation for a vote on statehood in the territory but has not even done so yet.
The letters are from Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and the head of his offices in the States, Juan Hernandez, and were sent to members of Congress. (Copies follow this article.)
Hernandez sent the first letter to the Congress members more than a month before the new Congress took office. Garcia sent one less than two weeks ago.
The letters describe Garcia’s efforts to have a political status plebiscite under a Federal law enacted a year ago.
Omitted, however, was any mention of why the efforts have not succeeded yet or what is really going on with the issue.
Last year, the Governor called upon the Legislative Assembly, controlled in both houses by his party, to also provide for the plebiscite. It has not, however, because too many party leaders oppose the “commonwealth status” proposal made last July by Hernandez’s father, former Governor Rafael Hernandez Colon, that Garcia had embraced.
The part of the proposal to which they object would leave Puerto Rico partially subject to the broad power of each Congress to govern territories under the U.S. Constitution’s Territory Clause.
The proposal calls for Puerto Rico to be partially exempted from this power: One Congress would supposedly give up the power of future Congresses to govern Puerto Rico on matters that States handle, although this would actually require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as President Obama’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status made clear in its March 2011 report — an unrealistic goal.
The opposed party leaders object at least as much to the power that Congress would retain: authority to continue to govern Puerto Rico on national government matters. This is an authority that Hernandez Colon himself has written is “undemocratic” because the territory does not — and cannot — have voting representation in the Congress.
The opponents want Puerto Rico to become a nation but in an association with the United States. Despite Puerto Rico becoming a nation, however, they also want the association to guarantee that future generations of Puerto Ricans would have U.S. national citizenship.
The party’s Governing Board named Hernandez Colon and three other party leaders — two from each side — to try to come up with a compromise proposal. The committee has been unsuccessful, however, in five months of meetings.
In spite of the stalemate, Gov. Garcia wrote that the proposal of the territory’s resident commissioner for the Federal government to authorize an insular vote on statehood “usurps the powers of the Commonwealth and the right of the people of Puerto Rico to initiate the process on their future political status.”
Pierluisi, who heads the statehood party, led 132 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives and three U.S. senators during the last Congress in sponsoring bills for a territorial vote on statehood.
Garcia’s predecessor as “commonwealth” party president, former Puerto Rico House of Representatives Minority Leader Hector Ferrer, however, has also championed a plebiscite on statehood.
Further, Senate President Eduardo Bhatia has said that he could back an insular vote on statehood if it had congressional support.
Additionally, the bills sponsored by 136 members of the last Congress would not, as Garcia claimed, take away any ability of the insular government to act on the status issue as it wishes or the right of Puerto Ricans to initiate a status resolution process. The bills would have simply authorized an insular vote on statehood, not required one.
Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Director Juan Hernandez made a different argument against congressional authorization for a statehood vote. He wrote, “any legislation that eliminates Commonwealth and Independence as an option … is inherently unfair to the majority of Puerto Ricans who support those options.”
A “Statehood: Yes or No” plebiscite would not, however, eliminate “Commonwealth” (the currentterritory status) or independence as options. In fact, the current territory status would be the primary beneficiary of a majority vote against statehood. Independence — and nationhood in an association with the U.S. that either nation could end — would also remain options if a vote on statehood rejects statehood.
Opponents of statehood could vote against the status in a statehood plebiscite as easily as supporters could vote for it. In fact, a “Statehood: Yes or No” vote would pit statehood against all of Puerto Rico’s other status options combined.
In the only plebiscite in Puerto Rico limited to real options, which was held along with the Commonwealth’s elections in November 2012, a solid majority rejected the current status. Statehood won more than three-fifths of the vote among the alternatives. Independence garnered only 4.5%. Nationhood in an association with the U.S. got a third.
At about the time that Gov. Garcia was writing his letter, Hernandez Colon gave a different reason for opposing a statehood plebiscite: He emphatically said that statehood would win easily.
The Federal law providing for a status plebiscite requires that the option or options for the ballot be able to resolve the issue and do not conflict with the Constitution, laws, and policies of the United States according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The option or options are to be proposed by Puerto Rico’s Elections Commission,
The possible options are statehood, independence, and nationhood in an association with the U.S. that either nation could end.
The current status would not qualify because it cannot resolve the issue: Puerto Ricans would retain the right to petition for statehood or nationhood as long as Puerto Rico remains an unincorporated territory of the U.S.
There is no other “Commonwealth” that could be an option because no other possible “Commonwealth” status other than one subject to congressional territory governing power has ever been identified, despite more than six decades of proposals.
The post Gov. Fighting Plebiscite on Statehood in New Congress appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Manufacturing in the United States as a whole is experiencing a renaissance. After years of offshoring, American manufacturing is adding new jobs at an impressive pace.
Not so in Puerto Rico.
In 2013, mainland manufacturing jobs rose at an average rate of 7,000 jobs per month. In 2014, the average was 16,000 jobs per month, rising in December to 17,000 jobs. In Puerto Rico, by contrast, manufacturing jobs fell by 1.7% year over year in the most recent figures, those for November 2014. (Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
Since one of the factors encouraging manufacturing to return to the United States is increasing automation, with lessened reliance on low-paying jobs and more well-paid technical positions, the sheer number of jobs isn’t the only metric to consider. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)/IndustryWeek Survey of Manufacturers showed a remarkable 91.2% positive outlook in the final quarter of 2014. And the PMI (Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, considered a reflection of the health of the industry overall and factoring in new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries and employment environment) was at 58.7 for the U.S. as a whole in December, while in Puerto Rico it stood at 46.7.
A number of factors have been beneficial for manufacturing in the States, from falling energy prices to increasing levels of safety in industrial automation. Some lesser-known factors:
- There is an increased emphasis on the mainland of education-industry partnerships. Many companies have already taken their own steps to connect with local colleges.
- Walmart’s push for U.S.-made goods, which includes extensive grants for innovation and direct support for companies willing to build or upgrade American factories, has made reshoring practical for many companies which might otherwise hesitate to make the investment.
- Steadily increasing wages in China and stricter sourcing guidelines from major retailers have increased the costs of managing overseas production. Major retailers are demanding that manufacturers have a representative in the country where the factories are located, and many factories in countries like Bangladesh have been blacklisted for safety issues.
Manufacturing should be a strong opportunity for Puerto Rico under these conditions. The institutions of higher education in Puerto Rico, the existence of a large, educated workforce of U.S. citizens, and the application of U.S. laws in Puerto Rico could be advantages for Puerto Rico.
Yet manufacturing in Puerto Rico has had a different history from manufacturing in the states. Because the U.S. territory is not a part of the federal Internal Revenue Code, it has not been unusual for U.S. based international companies to reduce federal tax liability by manufacturing through Puerto Rican subsidiaries as if they were operating abroad. The federal government has encouraged this practice based on the premise that the corporate tax breaks would help create jobs in Puerto Rico. For example, former Section 936 of the tax code, enacted in 1976, explicitly exempted income earned by U.S. firms operating in all U.S. possessions. Yet by 1993, the Government Accounting Office (GAO) recognized “[c]oncerns about the tax benefits in relation to employment generated,” and Congress repealed the credit in 1996.
Critics claim that Section 936 helped Puerto Rico grow its manufacturing base and that its repeal is a factor in current unemployment. Yet Puerto Rico’s history of manufacturing has largely followed the general decline in U.S. based manufacturing, in Detroit and elsewhere. In addition, favorable tax treatment for U.S. based companies today operating in Puerto Rico as Controlled Foreign Corporations (CFCs) under the tax code does not appear to be bringing manufacturing rates to the level enjoyed by the rest of the United States.
Critics of CFCs in Puerto Rico claim that this special tax treatment does not promote sustained economic growth any more than Section 936 did, and that the policy’s only benefit is the profitability of the companies that use this tax loophole. Today Puerto Rico is missing out on a manufacturing renaissance.
The post Manufacturing in Puerto Rico: Falling Behind the States appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
Read the whole story
· · ·
The U.S. Census Bureau has released new numbers on Puerto Rico’s population that demonstrate a continued decline. According to the data, Puerto Rico’s population fell from 3,726,157 in 2010 to 3,548,397 in 2014, a loss of 4.7% in four years. While the birth rate in Puerto Rico has dropped, the main reason for the population loss is that people are leaving Puerto Rico for the States in increasingly large numbers.
“Every month, thousands of island residents vote for statehood with their feet, in search of political rights and economic opportunity,” explained Puerto Rico’s resident commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives, Pedro Pierluisi. “There is no better evidence that the current territory status has failed, and that statehood is the right status for Puerto Rico, than these stunning numbers.”
Research into the reasons for the massive increases in Puerto Rican migration consistently finds that the economic meltdown in the territory, together with high crime rates, create a strong impetus formoving. An opportunity for a better life is readily available to Puerto Ricans, since they are U.S. citizens and can easily move to a State, where they can enjoy greater opportunities and benefits.
Among the States, only West Virginia failed to show population growth since the 2010 census. The population in West Virginia fell by about 2,000, while Puerto Rico’s total population lost more than 177,000.
The post Puerto Rico’s Population Loss Evidence of Status Failure appeared first on Puerto Rico Report.
 Town Hall |
Army: Fort Hood lacked system to ID threat of 2014 rampage
Town Hall A spokesman for Lopez's family said in April that he was upset he was granted only a 24-hour leave — which was extended to two days — to attend his mother's funeral in Puerto Rico. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Donald Peters said it is "absolutely untrue ... Army: Fort Hood lacked system to ID soldier as threat before 2014 deadly shootingNewser all 196 news articles » |
US, Colombia arrest 17 accused of shipping cocaine from Venezuela
Town Hall SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - Officials in Puerto Rico and Colombia arrested 17 members of an alleged drug ring on Thursday accused of money laundering and smuggling cocaine from Venezuela to the United States. Last month a federal grand jury in ... and more » |
Lousy lingo traps White House on Islamists
Fox News Jeb Bush has recruited a top Iowa Republican operative, and former adviser to Mitt Romney, to work on his political operation as he weighs a 2016 presidential bid. Bush is hiring David Kochel as a senior strategist for his newly launched Right to Rise PAC. and more » |
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 4
Puerto Rico's government needed another excuse for how bad things are going so...they just blame the people who are leaving. An article in today's El Nuevo Dia proclaims that high rates of emigration are making the ...
The Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (USC) campus in Santurce, Puerto Rico is a place where the paths of power, politics and journalism converge. One can learn an awful lot about Puerto Ricanreality and about why the
The Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (USC) campus in Santurce, Puerto Rico is a place where the paths of power, politics and journalism converge. One can learn an awful lot about Puerto Ricanreality and about why the country is the way ...
... political flank, left, right and center. They fund the Center for a New Economy (CNE), an avowedly independent think tank “dedicated to creating a new economy for Puerto Rico that is prosperous, balanced, and equitable.
No comments:
Post a Comment