Tuesday, February 10, 2015

NO ROBAR! - One rule for Puerto Rican prosperity: thou shall not steal: Puerto Rico rarely rewards those who work hard and are honest. Honest people are viewed as useful idiots, decency is shunned; courtesy ridiculed and walked over... For Puerto Rico to pull itself out of the economic and moral abyss it currently finds itself, it need only apply one simple rule: thou shall not steal.

One rule for Puerto Rican prosperity: thou shall not steal 

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An uncle by marriage once told me, its not the hardest worker that survives in Puerto Rico; ‘es el mas listo.’  While ‘listo’ means smart, it is a deviant kind of smart.  It refers to street smarts, not college level intelligence.
The unfortunate truth is that he was right.  Puerto Rico rarely rewards those who work hard and are honest.  Honest people are viewed as useful idiots, decency is shunned; courtesy ridiculed and walked over.
A wealthy family friend, commenting on local politics once said, ‘mejor los pillos mios, que los pillos tuyos.’  (better my thieves, than yours)  He was a strong financial supporter of the Popular Democratic Party.  While distasteful, his comments were also an accurate description of the way politics in Puerto Rico work.  No one denies the corruption in government, in fact in many ways the powers that be embrace it.
Yet there is a fundamental moral question that never gets asked, much less answered: if the people responsible for creating and enforcing the law do not respect it and abide by it themselves, then why should anyone else follow the law?  The result you get, is what is seen in the streets of Puerto Rico every single day.
For Puerto Rico to pull itself out of the economic and moral abyss it currently finds itself, it need only apply one simple rule: thou shall not steal. If you’ve read my work for sometime you know I am not a religious person.  I do not attend church nor preach submission or conversion.  I do, however; believe in a God and a right and wrong.
I also believe in a simple law called, cause and effect.  Puerto Rico today is the effect of the cause of years of negligence and theft of a massive scale of people, property, decency, freedom and Liberty.
Any future government of the U.S. commonwealth must find a way to adhere to this very simple rule and apply it universally to create a true voluntary society.  The island territory is the effect of of years of socialist indoctrination.  That indoctrination legitimizes theft of all things.
Socialism teaches to tolerate the intolerable, forgive the unforgivable, excuse the inexcusable and surrender all attachment to justice and commonsense.
It is long past time that the New Progressive Party begin to live by the fundamental conservative views up which it was founded.  Whether for independence or statehood, Puerto Rico will not long survive, nor its people ever thrive under the socialist left ideology of the democratic party.
To further explain how expansive theft is I encourage you to watch this video from Prager University with subtitles in Spanish explaining how ‘thou shalt not steal’ can make the world and Puerto Rico a far, far better place.

 
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UPDATE 6-Puerto Rico to appeal restructuring law ruling

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Tue Feb 10, 2015 5:28am IST

(Adds statement from GDB)

By Edward Krudy

SAN JUAN/NEW YORK Feb 9 (Reuters) - Puerto Rico said on Monday it would appeal a U.S. ruling that voided the island's restructuring law, saying it left the U.S. commonwealth in legal limbo and struggling to find a way to manage its debt load.

Late on Friday, a federal judge ruled that Puerto Rico's so-called Recovery Act, which made some of its agencies eligible for court-supervised debt restructuring, violated the U.S. constitution by allowing a state government to modify municipal debt.

"We are left deprived of the only instrument available to manage our debt in an organized form," Puerto Rico Justice Secretary Cesar Miranda said in a statement. "The practical effect of the decision is to allow disorder in collecting of public corporation debt."

Puerto Rico's appeal is expected to kick off lengthy litigation with a hard-to-predict outcome, possibly delaying a final resolution for months.

Puerto Rico-based legal analyst John Mudd said the commonwealth's government would have 28 days to ask for a reconsideration and 30 days to file an appeal, and it would likely take a year for the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to rule on the case.

Puerto Rico's justice secretary did not provide a timeline for an appeal.

The decision could also encourage the U.S. Congress to adopt a bill allowing Puerto Rico to use Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, some analysts and investors speculated.

The bill was introduced in July by Puerto Rico's representative in Congress, Pedro Pierluisi, who said Puerto Rico should focus on Chapter 9 rather than insisting it has the right to enact a local bankruptcy law.

"I am sure that, if we go to Congress with a single voice to seek the same treatment that the states receive under Chapter 9, we can achieve this objective," Pierluisi said in a statement.

The island, struggling with debts of more than $70 billion, passed its restructuring act in June to give public corporations a framework to restructure debt and ring-fence the government from a potential bankruptcy.

U.S. law forbids Puerto Rico's government and its entities from restructuring debt under Chapter 9, which was used for Detroit last year.

Miranda said the decision to void the act was "incorrect in law," that there were no legal impediments to Puerto Rico approving the law and that its legal remedies remained in force. The decision leaves the island in legal limbo without an organized structure to negotiate existing debt, he said.

The ruling comes as Puerto Rico tries to negotiate a $2 billion bond sale to which hedge funds and other creditors would subscribe before facing large demands for funds in June.

Puerto Rico needs that lifeline to stabilize its finances. Its financing arm, the Government Development Bank (GDB), saw liquidity fall sharply at the end of last year.

The hedge funds still plan to support the deal, said a source familiar with their thinking.

"The Recovery Act was as much a signal as a tool that the public corporations are on their own," said the source, who asked not to be named as details of the deal are not yet public. "For us nothing material has significantly changed."

Robert Donahue, analyst at Municipal Market Advisors, said that without the GDB's ability to subsidize deficits, Puerto Rico "faces threats to public safety and essential services" and would claim emergency powers to protect key assets.

GDB President Melba Acosta Febo said in a statement that the court's decision was a temporary setback. He added that it was important that creditors and other "constituents of political entities" benefit from mechanisms to adjust their debts.

The ruling has implications for debt of around $20 billion in several public corporations covered under the act, including $9 billion at electric power authority PREPA.

General obligation bonds, or GOs, are repaid by tax revenues from the central budget while public corporation bonds are generally repaid by revenues from those corporations.

Puerto Rico's general obligation bonds carrying a coupon of 8 percent and maturing in 2035 traded at an average price of 81.404 cents on the dollar, down from 83.577 cents on Friday.

The island's power authority bonds rallied from distressed levels as the loss of the Recovery Act left officials with less leverage in negotiations with bondholders over a restructuring at PREPA.

Bonds of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority carrying a coupon of 5 percent and maturing in 2018 jumped to 59 cents on the dollar from 50.562 cents when they last traded on Feb. 4. (Reporting by Reuters in San Juan, Edward Krudy in New York, writing by Edward Krudy and Megan Davies; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe, Meredith Mazzilli and Christian Plumb)

Hedge funds still plan $2 bln financing deal with Puerto Rico -source - Reuters

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Hedge funds still plan $2 bln financing deal with Puerto Rico -source
Reuters
NEW YORK Feb 9 (Reuters) - Hedge funds holding Puerto Rico's general obligation debt are still planning a $2 billion financing deal with the U.S. commonwealth despite a court decision to void a law allowing the island's public corporations to file for ...

Judge Threatens Plan for Puerto Rico to Avert Financial Catastrophe - New York Times

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Bond Buyer

Judge Threatens Plan for Puerto Rico to Avert Financial Catastrophe
New York Times
Broadly, the hedge funds appear to expect that the new bond deal will buy Puerto Rico more time to overhaul its tax system. Once revenues start to perk up, the bonds should gain in value. Puerto Rico and its bond investors have applied a similar logic ...
UPDATE 6-Puerto Rico to appeal restructuring law rulingReuters
Puerto Rico set for tougher debt struggle after court rulingThe Fiscal Times 
Puerto Rico to appeal restructuring law rulingReuters Africa

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US seeks 29 drug suspects in Puerto Rico, Florida, Colombia | WINK ... 

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Authorities said a portion of the cocaine was sold in Puerto Rico and the remainder transported toNew York. They said drug sale revenues would be sent back to Colombia in various ways, including wire transfers to banks in ...

Puerto Rican Writer Emilio Díaz Valcárcel Dies at 86 | Repeating ... 

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Upon returning to Puerto Rico, he continued his university studies and worked as a writer and scriptwriter for the Community Education Division (DIVEDCO for its Spanish acronym). [. . .] His first book of short ... In the first, he returns to the topic of the Korean War; in the second, he focuses on the Puerto Ricans living in New York, the victims of discrimination and social marginalization; and finally, in the last, he looks at daily life in a town on the island. The same year, an ...

Federal judge voids Puerto Rico debt-restructuring law - New Zealand Herald

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Reuters

Federal judge voids Puerto Rico debt-restructuring law
New Zealand Herald
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) " A federal judge ruled late Friday that a Puerto Rico debt-restructuring law that aims to protect the government from bankruptcy and make public corporations self-sufficient is unconstitutional. The judge's decision comes as ...
Bond Markets Are Watching: Will Puerto Rico Enact Sweeping Tax Reform?Forbes

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Puerto Rico Restructuring Law Thrown Out in Bondholder Win - Bloomberg

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Quad City Times

Puerto Rico Restructuring Law Thrown Out in Bondholder Win
Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- A Puerto Rico law that would have forced investors in some public corporations to accept unfavorable restructuring terms was thrown out in a lawsuit by holders of power utility bonds. Investment funds of Franklin Resources Inc. and ...
As middle class flees, Puerto Rico tries luring rich peopleQuad City Times
Federal judge voids Puerto Rico debt-restructuring lawNew Zealand Herald

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Federal judge voids Puerto Rico ...

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A federal judge has ruled that a Puerto Rico debt-restructuring law that aims to protect the government from bankruptcy and make public corporations self-sufficient is unconstitutional.

Federal judge rules that Puerto Rico debt-restructuring law is unconstitutional - Fox Business

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Federal judge rules that Puerto Rico debt-restructuring law is unconstitutional
Fox Business
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal judge ruled late Friday that a Puerto Rico debt-restructuring law that aims to protect the government from bankruptcy and make public corporations self-sufficient is unconstitutional. The judge's decision comes as the ...

Puerto Rico Restructuring Law Thrown Out in Bondholder Win - Bloomberg

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Wall Street Journal

Puerto Rico Restructuring Law Thrown Out in Bondholder Win
Bloomberg
Prepa, which used its capital budget to buy fuel within the past year, has $8.6 billion of bonds, with about 70 percent not covered by bond insurance, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Puerto Rico's economy has struggled to grow since 2006 and ...
Ruling Throws Puerto Rico's Effort to Remake Finances Into DoubtWall Street Journal
New Incentives in Puerto Rico Brings Rich People as Middle Class FleesLatin Post
As middle class flees, Puerto Rico tries luring rich peopleCoos Bay World
Orlando Sentinel -Columbus CEO
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Judge Strikes Down Puerto Rico's Debt Restructuring Law - New York Times

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Judge Strikes Down Puerto Rico's Debt Restructuring Law
New York Times
Investors in billions of dollars of Puerto Rico bonds have secured a major legal victory, after a federal judge ruled that the commonwealth's recently enacted debt restructuring law was unconstitutional. In a decision on Friday night, Judge Francisco A ...

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Judge Strikes Down Puerto Rico's Debt Restructuring Law - New York Times

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Judge Strikes Down Puerto Rico's Debt Restructuring Law
New York Times
Updated, 9:50 p.m. | Investors in billions of dollars of Puerto Rico bonds secured a major legal victory when a federal judge ruled that the commonwealth's recently enacted debt-restructuring law was unconstitutional. In the decision Friday night ...

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Bond Markets Are Watching: Will Puerto Rico Enact Sweeping Tax Reform? - Forbes

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Bond Markets Are Watching: Will Puerto Rico Enact Sweeping Tax Reform?
Forbes
Like most state sales taxes, Puerto Rico's sales and use tax provides broad exemptions for services while at the same time double-taxing some final purchases by taxing business-to-business transactions. In addition, the tax has an extremely low ...

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Power utility bond investors score win against Puerto Rico law - InvestmentNews

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MarketWatch

Power utility bond investors score win against Puerto Rico law
InvestmentNews
Prepa, which used its capital budget to buy fuel within the past year, has $8.6 billion of bonds, with about 70% not covered by bond insurance, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Puerto Rico's economy has struggled to grow since 2006 and its 13.7 ...
Puerto Rico Power Bonds Rise After Judge Throws Out New Debt LawBloomberg

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Puerto Rico feels deep sting of Radio Shack business woes - VOXXI

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VOXXI

Puerto Rico feels deep sting of Radio Shack business woes
VOXXI
Puerto Rico is no stranger to business closings. CaribbeanBusinessPR.com reported last month that Sony was shutting its doors on the island. President of Sony Puerto Rico Ricardo Rivera announced the company was closing down the central office and two ...
Which Radio Shack Store Locations Are Closing in 2015 in What States?About - News & Issues

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Judge Threatens Plan for Puerto Rico to Avert Financial Catastrophe - New York Times

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Bond Buyer

Judge Threatens Plan for Puerto Rico to Avert Financial Catastrophe
New York Times
asked Tom Metzold, a senior portfolio adviser at Eaton Vance, an investment company that has sold most of its Puerto Rico holdings. “Bondholders want to know what their rights and remedies are. There is no clarity about that at all.” Puerto Rican ...
Federal judge voids Puerto Rico debt-restructuring lawNew Zealand Herald
Bond Markets Are Watching: Will Puerto Rico Enact Sweeping Tax Reform?Forbes

all 42 news articles »

Latino Rebels | Pedro Pierluisi Submits Another Puerto Rican ...

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Pedro Pierluisi Submits Another Puerto Rican Statehood Bill to Congress. Two years ago, Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, a non-voting member of the U.S. Congress and the leader of the island's pro-statehood party, submitted the Puerto Rico Status Resolution Act to the House of Representatives, with the hope that his fellow voting members would act on resolvingPuerto Rico's political status. A Senate version of that bill was soon submitted by  ...

TONIGHT: Shaping Puerto Rico's Political and Economic Future: A ... 

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Clayton Gillette, Max E. Greenberg Professor of Contract Law at NYU School of Law, will moderate a discussion on Puerto Rico's current economic climate and how the current political status has led to an unsustainable ...

Puerto Rico Aims to Become 51st US State in 2021 - Latin American ... 

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It currently holds the status of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in such a way that it is governed by the federal laws and Puerto Ricans have U.S. citizenship, but it is not a full-fledged state, with important economic and political limitations.
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Judge Strikes Down Puerto Rico's Debt Restructuring Law

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The decision is a victory for hedge funds and other investors in billions of dollars of Puerto Rico bonds.

Puerto Rico tech sector does poorly in national ranking

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Flamenco Festival to Bring Spanish Passion to Washington

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Sara Baras’s flamenco performances and Carminho’s new fado will instill passion next month to the Iberian Suite, an unprecedented series of concerts, exhibitions and shows at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

FBI Takes Custody of Man Who Threatened Puerto Rico Prosecutor from Prison

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FBI agents took custody of a man who, although in prison, issued death threats against the U.S. Attorney in Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez.

Cops Investigate 2 Bodies Found Floating off Puerto Rican Coast

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Puerto Rican authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding two bodies found floating in the sea off the western coast of the island, local police said Monday.

Radio Shack to close 45 of 56 stores in Puerto Rico

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Radio Shack to close 45 of 56 stores in Puerto Rico

RadioShack's plans to close about half of its stores in the next six weeks w ...
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