Puerto Rico’s economy depends heavily on manufacturing, as shown in the chart below. However, the largest part of the workforce is employed in service industries (29.9%) and the government (23.7%). Fewer than 10% of Puerto Rico’s workers are employed in manufacturing. With an unemployment rateof 15.5%, there is a clear gap between the wealth produced for the multinational manufacturing companies and the wealth produced by those companies for the people of Puerto Rico.
As changes in tax laws affect multinational corporations and Puerto Rico’s economy continues to falter, the government of Puerto Rico is looking to tourism, now included in the services area of the pie chart above.
Current efforts include renovations of coastal towns, public relations campaigns, and attempts to woo wealthy individual investors to take a plunge in Puerto Rico’s tourism industry. On the other hand, rampant crime and Puerto Rico’s own population exodus hamper attempts to increase tourism, and the jobs brought by increasing tourism tend in any case to be low-paying service sector jobs.
By itself, a focus on the tourism industry may not be enough.
An alternative proposal is to build Puerto Rico into a high-tech hub. Other rural areas with an educated population and a low cost of living have found that information technology can bring well-paid jobs in without sending local people out.
Proponents of this option support both local entrepreneurs and outsourcing opportunities. Alberto Bacó-Bagué, Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce in the Government of Puerto Rico, told Forbes, “We want Puerto Rico to be as well known for innovative entrepreneurship as it is for outstanding Caribbean rum and picturesque beaches.” Organizations such as the Puerto Rico Information Technology Cluster point out — in addition to the points mentioned above — that it is easier for U.S. companies to hire Puerto Ricans for remote work, since they are U.S. citizens. A 2005 economic growth proposal recommended IT as a focus for Puerto Rico for much the same reasons discussed here, and they are no less relevant now.
It appears that the interest is high among Puerto Rico’s techies, too: the recent TEDx San Juan received more than 1,000 requests to join, though it had room for only one tenth of those people. Wovenware, a Puerto Rico-based IT company, produced an open letter to the tech community encouraging its competitors and potential competitors to “be relentless” in their pursuit of a high tech vision of the future for Puerto Rico.
And yet there is a basic problem. Electricity in Puerto Rico is expensive, and not always reliable. Broadband is not universally available. Intermittent service, dropped connections, slow connections, and damaged computers will inevitably interfere with Puerto Rico’s prospects in the IT industry. Low labor costs may be offset by high energy costs.
Connect Puerto Rico reports that almost 90% of Puerto Ricans have access to broadband — but only if we include speeds as low as 3 Mbps download. This is fast enough for a daily email check, but far too slow for professional use. What’s more, availability does not mean real access. The most recent figures available show that fewer than one third of households in Puerto Rico actually have broadband; the high cost is one of the most common reasons for not subscribing.
While both electricity and broadband internet are available, the higher cost and lower speed of available internet service plus the additional costs of protecting computer equipment from sporadic electricity issues will unquestionably increase the barriers to entry for individuals and start ups alike.
“Both issues,” says Carlos M. Meléndez, COO of Wovenware, “are easily managed by tech entrepreneurs by having backup broadband providers and backup generator in the office. Almost all office buildings already have a backup generator and there are sufficient broadband providers to have an inexpensive backup internet connection available.”
Nonetheless, an investment in the infrastructure might make all the difference for the high tech dream — and that might make all the difference for Puerto Rico’s economy.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
The National Review,
the magazine that helped develop the national conservative movement and still influences it, has concluded that the best way to resolve Puerto Rico’s
debilitating economic problems is to resolve the question of the territory’s ultimate political status. This means determining whether
Puerto Rico will be a
State — the option for which the overwhelming majority of its people voted in the most recent plebisciteon status options — or become a nation.
the magazine that helped develop the national conservative movement and still influences it, has concluded that the best way to resolve Puerto Rico’s
debilitating economic problems is to resolve the question of the territory’s ultimate political status. This means determining whether
Puerto Rico will be a
State — the option for which the overwhelming majority of its people voted in the most recent plebisciteon status options — or become a nation.
“Bankruptcy Boricua”
focuses on the failed economy of the “Commonwealth” but advises in its final paragraph: “Like everything else in Puerto
Rico, the question of the economy is tied up in the
focuses on the failed economy of the “Commonwealth” but advises in its final paragraph: “Like everything else in Puerto
Rico, the question of the economy is tied up in the
issue of the island’s status — whether it will become a state, become an independent republic, or linger in its current purgatory between the two. How that is resolved will have profound consequences for Puerto Rico and the rest of the United States, but how it is resolved may be, as an immediate economic matter, less important than the fact of it being resolved … ”The conclusion is virtually identical to that of liberal President Obama’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status. After noting that Puerto Rico would remain a territory under any “Commonwealth” arrangement, it decided in a 2011 report, “… regardless of the ultimate outcome of the status question, identifying the most effective means of assisting the Puerto Rican economy depends on resolving the ultimate question of
status.”A Personal Story for Puerto Rican Veterans by hadeninteractive
One of the striking things about Puerto Rico is the high level of military service in the U.S. territory. Particularly when in light of the fact that residents of Puerto Rico cannot take part in presidential elections, it is noteworthy that so many Puerto Ricans have volunteered to serve in their Commander in Chief.
One Puerto Rican veteran living in Florida, Joe Rodriguez, recently had the excitement of a phone call from President Obama inviting him to today’s award ceremony at the White House. Rodriguez, 73, will accept the honor on behalf of his uncle, Miguel Vera, who lost his life in the Korean War.
Vera led a charge up Old Baldy and covered the subsequent retreat of forces in 1952. According to his nephew, Vera was being carried off the field of battle on a stretcher when, seeing that the other soldiers were losing heart, he jumped off the stretcher and returned to the battle. He led his comrades back into the fray and then, when they again retreated, covered that retreat and saved many lives.
Rodriquez credits his uncle’s heroism for encouraging him to go into the armed forces himself. He served in the Marines during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and still celebrates the founding day of the Marines each year.
Vera, along with 23 other veterans, will receive recognition as a result of a decade-long review of military records in search of individuals who should have received the National Medal of Honor, but did not “because of prejudice,” according to a White House Statement.
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El Comisionado Residente en Washington y Presidente del Partido Nuevo Progresista, y próximo gobernador de Puerto Rico para el 2016 el honorable Pedro Pierlu...
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View the speech here: Five-Minute Floor Speech, A Response to Two U.S. Senators Regarding Puerto Rico Statehood
Washington, DC—Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi announced today that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded over $104 million to the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration for its financing and management activities, including to pay for the modernization of existing public housing buildings and construction of new public housing buildings around the island. According to Pierluisi, the funds can also be used PRPHA to retire any debt it has accrued for past projects and to explore financing projects with private sector capital. “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has informed us that Puerto Rico will receive $104.4 million in grants from the Public Housing Capital Fund. These funds help ensure that low-income and working-class families in Puerto Rico have access to decent, affordable housing,” said Pierluisi. HUD provides annual funding to approximately 3,100 grantees throughout the United States under the Public Housing Capital Fund. “I have been a strong advocate for all federal public housing grant programs, including the Capital Fund, and have worked in the annual congressional appropriations process to secure funds for these national formula grant programs. I am pleased that our efforts have borne fruit,” said Pierluisi.
Washington, DC—Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is allocating $8.5 million to the Puerto Rico Department of Health to provide services to HIV/AIDS patients on the island and $3.6 million to improve health services in the municipalities of Lares and Adjuntas. “We received confirmation that the PRDOH will receive $8,459,946 in funds under the Ryan White program, which helps states and territories improve the quality and availability of health care services and support services for individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS,” said Pierluisi. “This funding is a supplement to an $11 million Ryan White grant that PRDOH received in April 2013 and a $4 million grant in Ryan White funding it received in September 2013,” added the Resident Commissioner. Several weeks ago, Pierluisi announced that, after years of efforts, the municipality of Ponce would continue to receive funding under the Ryan White program through at least 2016, despite being slated to lose funding. In addition, the Resident Commissioner explained that Centro de Salud de Lares, Inc. would receive $2 million and Hospital General Castañer in Adjuntas would receive $1.6 million under HHS’s “Health Center Cluster” program to improve the provision of health services in these two municipalities.
View the letter here: Letter from Pierluisi and Other Members of Congress to the United States Parole Commission Regarding Oscar Lopez Rivera
Sábado 29 de Marzo, 201477°
En la calle una gloria del deporte femenino
La deportista Elena Santana Claudio lleva dos días durmiendo en la calle y sin ayuda. 03/28/14 | 01:24
¿Qué el video sexual fue grabado en Fortal...
El secretario de prensa de la mansión ejecutiva admitió que el video fue grabado cerca de allí.03/28/14 | 01:12
Fianza millonaria por el secuestro de un m...
El tribunal fijó una fianza de $5millones a Waldemar Quintana luego fue llevado a la cárcel. 03/28/14 | 04:06
¿El video sexual fue en Fortaleza?
Fortaleza admitió que el policía grabado en el video sexual prestaba vigilancia a la mansión.
- Alejandro Fernández intimo con su público
El cantante mexicano se presentó exitosamente y con invitados en el coliseo de Puerto Rico. - En la calle una gloria del deporte femenino
La deportista Elena Santana Claudio lleva dos días durmiendo en la calle y sin ayuda. - ¿Qué el video sexual fue grabado en Fortal...
El secretario de prensa de la mansión ejecutiva admitió que el video fue grabado cerca de allí. - Fianza millonaria por el secuestro de un m...
El tribunal fijó una fianza de $5millones a Waldemar Quintana luego fue llevado a la cárcel. - Rubén & Co – 28 de marzo
Entérate que opinan nuestros invitados especiales sobre los temas más candentes el momento. - A reducir los días feriados en Puerto Rico
Entérate que podría estar ocurriendo con los tan queridos días feriados ¿Qué opinarán? - Casos sexuales que jamaquean a la isla
Nuestros invitados especiales hablan sobre los casos sexuales más comentados en Puerto Rico. - Noche [i]Legal – 28 de marzo
Cierra la semana con las ocurrencias de los [i]Legales y la visita de la comediante Noris Jofre. - Difícil la suerte de quien no tiene espera...
Los negativos no están felices porque todo les está saliendo mal en lo que llevan de mes. - Noris vs Sonia Maletín en el ascensor
Mira lo que sucedió en el ascensor cuando la comediante se encontró con su ex jefecita. - ¿Qué piensas del video sexual de la guardia?
La burbuja sale a la calle para ver qué opinan los televidentes sobre el video sexual de la oficial. - Charrityn llega a Así Cantaba Puerto Rico
Guisito entrevista a la animadora y cantante por su trayectoria en el mundo del entretenimiento. - Las [i]legal News con Maripilli
Mira lo que ocurre con la visita de la modelo y empresaria que se casa pronto en Puerto Rico. - ¿El video sexual fue en Fortaleza?
Fortaleza admitió que el policía grabado en el video sexual prestaba vigilancia a la mansión. - Lo Que La Vida Me Robó – 28 de marzo
Alejandro y su madre están en problemas un hombre los tiene como rehenes ¿Qué pasará?
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$30 million worth of cocaine seized on boat near Puerto Rico; 2 men charged ...
BreakingNews.com Ron Wyden, R-Ore., and Martin Heinrich, D-NM, introduce bill to allow Puerto Rico to begin process of seeking statehood - @thehill. read more on thehill.com. earnings. 28d. Puerto Ricoreports net revenues for January of $664 million, down from $665 ... |
Warm congratulations to Puerto Rican scholar María Acosta Cruz (Clark University) for her recent publication of Dream Nation: Puerto Rican Culture and the Fictions of Independence (Rutgers University Press, 2014). In this provocative work, Dr. ... In this provocative work, Dr. Acosta Cruz explores the 'semantics of desire' of colonial tropes of independence, challenging readers to probe the gaping abyss between yearning and fulfillment in identity politics. Description ...
Puerto Rican Independence Movement and Cuba Further ...by info@therealnews.com(The Real News Network)
If there's one important story that gets almost zero coverage today, it is the Puerto Rican independence movement, the whole Puerto Rican politics. Perhaps maybe in New York there's more, but across the country and ...
Puerto Rico debt restructuring seen as inevitable. From Top Politics and Campaign News from CNBC March 14, 2014 - 7:09am. Few who have followed the Caribbean island's financial troubles doubt that a massive restructuring is in its future.
Daniel Ponce de Leon. After Juanma Lopez was knocked down by Ponce de Leon– corrupt Puerto Rican refree Luis Pabon took the first opportunity to declare the fight a TKO victory for hometown favorite, Juanma…
In this March 2, 2014 photo, a man gives money to a beggar after Mass outside the San Felipe Cathedral in the Arecibo Diocese in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A Dominican Republic national was sentenced on Tuesday for his leading role in trafficking the identities and corresponding identity documents of Puerto Rican US citizens.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A former correctional officer in Puerto Rico was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison for attempting to smuggle heroin into state prison by delivering it to an inmate in the parking lot of the Medical Center in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico's government is investing $27 million to renovate the coastal areas of eight towns.
The disappearance of a Douglas DST airliner, registered NC16002, occurred on the night of December 28, 1948 near the end of a scheduled flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Miami, Florida.
"We wish to enjoy the same social privileges and contractual rights that are conferred by the commonwealth on individuals in opposite-sex marriages and not to be treated as we are being treated as second class citizens differentiated, alienated and discriminated in comparison to other U.S. citizens," say Ada Conde Vidal and Ivonne Alvarez Velez in ... (more)
Bloomberg
Scores of trades in
...
and more »
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Lesbian couple files marriage lawsuit in Puerto Rico
Washington Blade “Puerto Rico law precluding recognition of lawful same-sex marriages denies us those rights in violation of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” Conde and Álvarez, who have been together for ... |
Puerto Rico Announces $350M Housing, Hotel Project
ABC News Puerto Rico's governor says private investors will help build a $350 million housing and commercial complex near the capital of San Juan. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Wednesday that more than 180 homes will be built in the north municipality of ... |
Same-sex couple files marriage lawsuit in Puerto Rico
Baltimore Sun A lesbian couple married in Massachusetts filed a lawsuit this week looking for recognition of their marriage in Puerto Rico. Ada Conde and Ivonne Alvarez married in Massachusetts in 2004. Because Puerto Rico signed a law in 1999 that defined marriage ... |
Family of banker slain in Puerto Rico ends lawsuit against his employer
Times Colonist SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The widow of a New Jersey bank executive who was shot to death inPuerto Rico sought Monday to withdraw a wrongful death lawsuit against his employer. In the suit filed last year, Maurice Spagnoletti's widow accused officials at ... |
Soldier arrested in Puerto Rico earlier this month on sex, burglary charges ...
Fayetteville Observer The U.S. Marshals Service, Eastern District of North Carolina, announces the arrest of Oscar Rodriguez, 34 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Rodriguez is wanted for multiple alleged sex crimes he committed against adult and juvenile victims, burglary and ... and more » |
Unidentified “US authorities” are investigating the alleged clerical abuse of minors in Puerto Rico, the Associated Press reported. A wave of abuse allegations has swept the island since January, according to the wire service.
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In a Rolling Stone interview published yesterday, Bill Gates is quoted as saying that the way the U.S. treats Puerto Rico is “just wrong.” Answering a question about income inequality in the United States, the richest man in the ...
Last spring Puerto Rico bucked a decades-long trend by protecting 3000 acres of pristine beaches and mangroves along the Northeast Ecological Corridor. A new law marks an unexpectedly happy ending...
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico • A Puerto Rico attorney who married her longtime partner on the U.S. mainland has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to have their marriage recognized in her home territory. The lawsuit comes as the ...
A Puerto Rico same-sex couple — the first to legally marry in Massachusetts — is suing Puerto Ricofor the right to have their marriage legally recognized.
A Puerto Rico same-sex couple — the first to legally marry in Massachusetts — is suing Puerto Ricofor the right to marry. Ada Mercedes Conde Vidal and Ivonne Alvarez Perez filed suit yesterday, stating their Fourteenth ...
The suit filed Tuesday by attorney Ada Conde challenges the constitutionality of Puerto Rican laws that define marriage as between a man and a woman, as well as those that prohibit same-sex marriage and the recognition of ...
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The Canadian Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - New U.S. Census numbers show that Puerto Rico's population is dropping as the U.S. territory struggles to retain people during an economic recession.
The U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday that the island's total population fell from about 3.7 million in 2010 to 3.6 million in 2013.
Sixty-eight of Puerto Rico's 78 municipalities saw a decline from July 2010 to July 2013. The biggest drops came in the capital of San Juan and cities on the island's west and south.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Agencia EFE
San Juan, Mar 28 (EFE).- Close to 150 acres (60 hectares) of woodland were devastated before dawn in Puerto Rico by a fire in Adjuntas Forest in the central part of the island.
The chief of the Puerto Rican Fire Department, Angel Crespo, said the blaze damaged some 40 percent of the forest and that National Guard helicopters were used to put out the flames.
Though the cause of the fire has not been confirmed, Crespo said that "in all probability" it was deliberately set.
HSI arrests Puerto Rico man on child exploitation, human trafficking ... by webmaster@ice.gov (ICE)
The arrest follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance by the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD). ... of predatory crimes against children, HSI San Juan partnered with members of local, state and federal law enforcement, as well as local and state government officials and community leaders, to form thePuerto Rico Crimes Against Children Task Force (PRCACTF). Through ...
Given the commonwealth's challenges, the debt should be held by investors who are aware of the possibility of default, said Sean Carney, a municipal strategist for New York-based BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset...
RedWell. Fundamentally, Puerto Rico is overpopulated given its agricultural and industrial base. This was a problem 50, 60 years ago. Why do you think there are more Puerto Ricans in New York than San Juan? spunknik.
New York Latin Events, Activities & Things To Do. Menu ... “I want to replicate what I did in the 2nd Precinct by reaching out to community leaders and holding monthly meetings to create a net,” said the Puerto Rican officer.
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Presentación de Sergio M. Marxuach, director de Política Pública del Centro para una Nueva Economía, en la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Católica de Ponce el 6 de marzo de 2014.
