Depending on who you ask, the island of Puerto Rico should not become the next state of the union, and the US should not bail out the fiscally-challenged territory.
Some will argue differently, but most Americans oppose the idea of Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state.A new report from the GAO points out that Puerto Rico is $70 billion in debt and has defaulted on over $1.5 billion of it.
Who is to blame for the debt hole PR finds itself in? The government, of course.
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And even as Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Russell (D) who is currently in Silicon Valley trying to woo tech companies to help the island gain some economic footing, looks for ways to move forward after Hurricane Maria all-but wiped out the the carribbean travel destination, the debt still remains.
According to the website Latino Rebels, the government has saddle itself with this debt because of its “persistent annual deficits, where expenses exceeded revenues.”
- – “Puerto Rico has roughly $70 billion in outstanding debt, and since August 2015 has defaulted on over $1.5 billion in debt. One factor contributing to Puerto Rico’s debt levels is the Puerto Rico government’s persistent annual deficits, where expenses exceeded revenues.
- – “Puerto Rico’s government has borrowed money to finance its operations, rather than cutting spending, raising taxes, or both.
- – “We identified various potential federal actions that could help address factors contributing to the debt crisis. These include altering the tax-exempt status of Puerto Rico municipal debt, and applying federal investor protection laws to Puerto Rico.”
$70 billion is a huge amount to forgive. Will American taxpayers support such a congressional move, if it ever comes up for debate?