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Thread: House passes bill to help ease Puerto Rico's debt

  1. #1

    House passes bill to help ease Puerto Rico's debt

    WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a rescue package for debt-stricken Puerto Rico, clearing a major hurdle in the ongoing effort to bring relief to the U.S. territory of 3.5 million Americans.

    The strong bipartisan vote was 297-127 for the legislation that would create a financial control board and allow restructuring of some of Puerto Rico's $70 billion debt. The measure now heads to the Senate, just three weeks before the territory must make a $2 billion payment.

    In a rare display of political unity, the bill had the support of President Barack Obama, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

    "The Puerto Rican people are our fellow Americans. They pay our taxes, they fight in our wars. We cannot allow this to happen," Ryan said in imploring lawmakers, especially reluctant conservatives in the GOP caucus, to back the bill during debate.

    The legislation would allow the seven-member control board to oversee negotiations with creditors and the courts over reducing some debt. It does not provide any taxpayer funds to reduce that debt.

    It would also require the territory to create a fiscal plan. Among other requirements, the plan would have to provide "adequate" funds for public pensions, which the government has underfunded by more than $40 billion.

    Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said Thursday that he didn't like the plan but it is the least harmful alternative for Puerto Rico. "This will protect us from the chaos that will result from an inevitable default that looms on July 1," he said.

    The White House said just after the vote that the Senate should act quickly.

    "We urge leaders in both parties to build on today's bipartisan momentum and help Puerto Rico move toward lasting economic prosperity," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

    The Senate has not yet acted, but senators said this week that they are watching the House vote. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican, says that it's likely that the Senate will take up the House version of the bill if it passes the House.

    Puerto Rico has missed several payments to creditors and faces the $2 billion installment on July 1. A lengthy recession has forced businesses to close, driven up the unemployment rate and sparked an exodus of hundreds of thousands of people to the U.S. mainland. Some schools on the island lack proper electricity and some hospitals have said they can't provide adequate drugs or care.

    The island's only active air ambulance company announced this week that it has suspended its services.

    "It is regrettable we have reached this point, but it is reality," said Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's representative in Congress.

    Despite leadership support, the measure faced opposition from some in the ranks of both parties, as some bondholders, unions and Puerto Rican officials have lobbied against it. Some conservatives said it would cheat bondholders, while some Democrats argued the control board has colonial overtones.

    Democrats and labor unions have also opposed a provision in the bill that would allow the Puerto Rican government to temporarily lower the minimum wage for some younger workers. A Democratic amendment that would have deleted that provision was rejected, 225-196.

    ...

    Ahead of the vote, some bondholder groups tried to pick off conservatives with the argument that the bill is unfair to creditors and tantamount to a bailout for the territory.

    Some conservatives strongly opposed the bill, expressing concern that it could set a precedent for financially-strapped states.

    "If Congress is willing to undermine a territory's constitutionally guaranteed bonds today, there is every reason to believe it would be willing to undermine a state's guarantee tomorrow," said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif.

    Others are supporting it. Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador, a Republican born in Puerto Rico who is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, helped negotiate the legislation and has worked to sell it to colleagues.

    Rep. Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, a Republican who sponsored the bill, fought back against the idea that the legislation is a bailout of any sort.

    "The bottom line is, this bill doesn't spend any taxpayer money bailing anybody out," Duffy said.
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/debt-paym...nce.html?nhp=1
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.



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  3. #2
    Man, I wish "the House" would pass a bill that would help ease my debt.

  4. #3
    They have to keep it afloat..

    it could sink you know.
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
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  5. #4
    just another liberal run $#@! hole that proves that liberalism is a failed theory.
    "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it."
    James Madison

    "It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams



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  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by A Son of Liberty View Post
    Man, I wish "the House" would pass a bill that would help ease my debt.
    You mean like Bankruptcy?

  7. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by jonhowe View Post
    You mean like Bankruptcy?
    Yep, now pass a law that would allow any state to file for bankruptcy for any future debt and you see a bit more due diligence when it comes to giving out loans. You really shouldn't loan money to an institution or person who is borrowing more money to pay off the interest from an even much bigger loan. You're just asking for trouble

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by jonhowe View Post
    You mean like Bankruptcy?
    You mean relieving me of my obligation to pay while wrecking my credit for 7 years, versus just giving me the $#@!ing money and saying, "you're good".

    Yeah, "the House" is all over helping a guy like me.

    $#@! off.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by A Son of Liberty View Post
    You mean relieving me of my obligation to pay while wrecking my credit for 7 years, versus just giving me the $#@!ing money and saying, "you're good".

    Yeah, "the House" is all over helping a guy like me.

    $#@! off.
    the legislation that would create a financial control board and allow restructuring of some of Puerto Rico's $70 billion debt.
    "It does not provide any taxpayer fund to reduce the debt"
    If you actually believe the spin from the house reps, then it is kinda like declaring bankruptcy. Also be rest assured that the rating agency would lower their bond rating to junk. Just like what would happen to you when you file for bankruptcy.

    So just the way some debt is written off during regulate bankruptcies without using taxpayers money, so would Puerto Rico's debt would be written off. The statement is based on the assumption that the house reps supporting this bill are telling the truth.



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  11. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Suzanimal View Post
    House passes bill to help ease Puerto Rico's debt
    House passes bill to bail out Puerto Rico's creditors.

    Talk about moral hazard and market distortion. Yes reward the hedge funds and other buyers of debt for extending bad credit. Reward Puerto Rico's excessive deficit spending pattern. Of course this was expected. Yes encourage more of the same behavior that caused. Put it on the backs of the American workers instead either through taxes or more deficit inflation.

    If little old Puerto Rico's debt is too big to fail, then you know there will be no problem bailing out New Jersey, Illinois or California.
    Last edited by AZJoe; 06-12-2016 at 10:12 AM.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  12. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by A Son of Liberty View Post
    You mean relieving me of my obligation to pay while wrecking my credit for 7 years, versus just giving me the $#@!ing money and saying, "you're good".

    Yeah, "the House" is all over helping a guy like me.

    $#@! off.
    From what I understand the house is not paying off PRs debts, just allowing them to be reorganized. I could be wrong.

    If you think this doesn't hurt their credit and the willingness of lenders to lend to them going forward you are beyond naive.
    The more prohibitions you have,
    the less virtuous people will be.
    The more weapons you have,
    the less secure people will be.
    The more subsidies you have,
    the less self-reliant people will be.

    Therefore the Master says:
    I let go of the law,
    and people become honest.
    I let go of economics,
    and people become prosperous.
    I let go of religion,
    and people become serene.
    I let go of all desire for the common good,
    and the good becomes common as grass.

    -Tao Te Ching, Section 57

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by AZJoe View Post
    House passes bill to bail out Puerto Rico's creditors.

    Talk about moral hazard and market distortion. Yes reward the hedge funds and other buyers of debt for extending bad credit. Reward Puerto Rico's excessive deficit spending pattern. Of course this was expected. Yes encourage more of the same behavior that caused. Put it on the backs of the American workers instead either through taxes or more deficit inflation.

    If little old Puerto Rico's debt is too big to fail, then you know there will be no problem bailing out New Jersey, Illinois or California.
    The hedge funds were the on3s taking out ads AGAINST this bill. It is not a bailout and is very bad for those funds that bought up the debt for pennies on the dollar.

    The moral hazard/adverse selection was in the feds making their bonds triple tax free, so people never thought twice about what exactly they were financing when they bought them. This problem will only come back again in another few credit cycles if that isn't changed.

  14. #12
    Is the argument REALLY that a state is going to treat another state like it would treat an individual, or did I land at Salon.com and not realize it?

  15. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by jonhowe View Post
    The hedge funds were the ones taking out ads AGAINST this bill. It is not a bailout and is very bad for those funds that bought up the debt for pennies on the dollar.
    Yes, looks like it is not a direct bailout, just an arm twisting intervention. While the arm twisting might appear to be bad for the hedge funds, that assumes the debt would be paid otherwise. A default, which appears inevitable absent intervention, would be the worse option for the creditors as they would have to eat their bad lending. It would also mean Puerto Rico would probably not have access to any more credit. Both are market corrections and positive feedback mechanisms for bad borrowing and lending.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing." - Dr. Ron Paul. "Stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone." - Sophie Magdalena Scholl
    "War is the health of the State." - Randolph Bourne "Freedom is the answer. ... Now, what's the question?" - Ernie Hancock.

  16. #14
    I actually read the bill and there's nothing in there that expressly resolves anything, other than a cash infusion to the Puerto Rico Power Utility under "Emergency Infrastructure Project" funding. It advises PR and creditors to negotiate restructuring of debt and creates an oversight panel picked by Congress. No bail-outs, nothing binding on anyone. The Utility's debt makes up a portion of the island's debt but not the entire thing.

    eta: interesting side note, some claim that the PR Power Utility is actually the shell company for the latest iteration of the bankrupt United States "Government" Corporation. It's well known that the private IRS is actually based in PR.
    Last edited by devil21; 06-12-2016 at 08:58 PM. Reason: reworded for clarity
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul

    "We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book

  17. #15
    I am trying to decide if it is worth the effort to look this up to see if it is legal . Otherwise , screw Puerto Rico , they should default .

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by devil21 View Post
    I actually read the bill and there's nothing in there that expressly eases anything, other than a cash infusion to the Puerto Rico Power Utility under "Emergency Infrastructure Project" funding. It advises PR and creditors to negotiate restructuring of debt and creates an oversight panel picked by Congress. No bail-outs, nothing binding on anyone. The Utility's debt makes up a portion of the island's debt but not the entire thing.

    eta: interesting side note, some claim that the PR Power Utility is actually the shell company for the latest iteration of the bankrupt United States "Government" Corporation. It's well known that the private IRS is actually based in PR.
    Where's the cash infusion coming from? Did it give a dollar amount? And out of curiosity, any idea who's paying those salaries? Thanks!
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.



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  20. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Suzanimal View Post
    Where's the cash infusion coming from? Did it give a dollar amount? And out of curiosity, any idea who's paying those salaries? Thanks!
    There weren't any specifics like cash amount numbers or express appropriations amounts for the Oversight Board's operations. Just the framework for yet another bureaucracy. If this really is a bail-out hidden under the Power projects and the Oversight Board (Paul Ryan said no taxpayer money going to PR for this, fwiw) then it's literally an open-ended cash black hole.

    (To expand a bit on the 'interesting side note', humans are considered to be Power Transmitting Utilities...because we are electrical entities that turn electrical impulses in our bodies into labor, and therefore profit for the bankers. Did you know that Wall St considers you to be a Power Utility? Interesting stuff. There's a lot more to what goes on in PR than meets the eye.)
    Last edited by devil21; 06-12-2016 at 09:16 PM.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul

    "We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by AZJoe View Post
    Yes, looks like it is not a direct bailout, just an arm twisting intervention. While the arm twisting might appear to be bad for the hedge funds, that assumes the debt would be paid otherwise. A default, which appears inevitable absent intervention, would be the worse option for the creditors as they would have to eat their bad lending. It would also mean Puerto Rico would probably not have access to any more credit. Both are market corrections and positive feedback mechanisms for bad borrowing and lending.
    If the creditors bought credit default swaps, they would actually profit if PR defaulted. More than likely, that is what the hedge funds did: Bought at pennies on the dollar, insured the debt at its face value, then refused to negotiate in the hopes that PR would go under.
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
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    Liberty preserving authoritarianism.
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    Enforced internal open borders was one of the worst elements of the Constitution.

  22. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by devil21 View Post
    There weren't any specifics like cash amount numbers or express appropriations amounts for the Oversight Board's operations. Just the framework for yet another bureaucracy. If this really is a bail-out hidden under the Power projects and the Oversight Board (Paul Ryan said no taxpayer money going to PR for this, fwiw) then it's literally an open-ended cash black hole.
    Well, it wouldn't be going to PR, it would be going to the bureaucracy. I can't imagine PR or the creditors are paying for it.

    (To expand a bit on the 'interesting side note', humans are considered to be Power Transmitting Utilities...because we are electrical entities that turn electrical impulses in our bodies into labor, and therefore profit for the bankers. Did you know that Wall St considers you to be a Power Utility? Interesting stuff. There's a lot more to what goes on in PR than meets the eye.)
    I did not. That pisses me off, my impulses don't come cheap.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  23. #20
    Supreme Court rules Puerto Rico can't restructure debt

    The Supreme Court ruled Monday that Puerto Rico can't restructure the debts of its public utilities to avoid a financial crisis, closing off one of the island's last remaining options for avoiding default without help from Congress.

    In a 5-2 ruling, the justices said that although the government and people of Puerto Rico should not have to wait for possible congressional action to avert a financial crisis, the Constitution does not allow them to rewrite a statute that Congress enacted in 1984.

    While states can allow municipalities to seek such debt relief, the lower court said, Congress had not given Puerto Rico that right.

    “The plain text of the Bankruptcy Code begin and ends our analysis,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the majority opinion. “Resolving whether Puerto Rico is a ‘state’ for purposes of the pre-emption provisions begins ‘with the language of the statute itself,’ and that ‘is also where the inquiry should end’ for ‘the statute’s language is plain.’ ”
    Puerto Rico had long been included as a state under the bankruptcy code, but Congress amended that definition in 1984 to exclude the territory.

    The island has more than $72 billion in outstanding debt, with public utilities accounting for $20 billion of the total. Seeking to alleviate that burden, Puerto Rico enacted legislation in 2014 that would have provided the island's electric and water utilities an alternative way to restructure their debts.

    Investors filed a legal challenge to that measure, citing the 1984 law. The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed a lower court ruling that found the utilities cannot restructure the debt under federal bankruptcy rules.

    Financial reform advocates said they hope the court's decision will motivate Congress to finish a bill addressing Puerto Rico's debt before the island territory defaults on a $2 billion payment on July 1.

    “I think what the decision makes clear is the only real option on the table right now is congressional action,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA. “Now that the House has passed legislation, it’s incumbent on the Senate to pass its version of the legislation.”

    The House bill, which passed on Friday, would allow Puerto Rico to restructure its debt, including the amount held by the utilities. The government would not provide Puerto Rico with any money under the measure, and the territory's finances would be placed under the supervision of a new oversight board.

    ...

    The Senate appears to have doubts about the House bill, but considering the July 1 deadline, members have suggested it could still move directly to the floor for a vote.

    “There is no plan B for Puerto Rico right now,” LeCompte said. “There’s only two viable options: the legislation pending and the other is direct negotiations between the creditors and the government of Puerto Rico.”

    LeCompte, however, doubts the territory would be able to reach an agreement with its creditors in time.

    “We’re not going to see a negotiated solution by July 1,” he said. “That’s just not in the cards.”

    Frank Shafroth, director of the Center for State and Local Leadership at George Mason University, argued that Puerto Rico’s Recovery Act would have given the island greater leverage in handling the $72 billion it owes.

    “The [Supreme Court] decision, however, leaves Puerto Rico more dependent than ever on Congress to authorize means for the U.S. territory to avoid insolvency,” he said in an email to The Hill. “Puerto Rico and its public agencies face a $2 billion payment due July 1st, after defaulting May 1st on $370 million of Government Development Bank debt.”

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who issued a dissenting opinion, insisted that Puerto Rico’s law created the only nonfederal bankruptcy solution to restructure debts that could cripple its citizens.

    “Congress could step in to resolve Puerto Rico’s crisis,” she wrote. “But in the interim, the government and people of Puerto Rico should not have to wait for possible congressional action to avert the consequences of unreliable electricity, transportation and safe water — consequences that members of the Executive and Legislature have described as a looming ‘humanitarian crisis.’ ”

    Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined in the dissent.

    Justice Samuel Alito took no part in considering or deciding the case. Reports said Alito recused himself from the case due to some of his financial investments, but the court did not disclose a reason for his decision.
    http://thehill.com/regulation/court-...structure-debt
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  24. #21
    Yep , illegal.

  25. #22
    Obama Signs Puerto Rico Rescue Bill into Law

    President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law legislation aimed at rescuing Puerto Rico from its debt crisis.

    The measure cleared by the Senate on Wednesday would put a halt to creditor lawsuits against the island and would provide a pathway for debt restructuring. It would also establish a seven-member oversight board to manage its finances. The House acted earlier in June.


    Facing a $72 billion public debt, Puerto Rico defaulted on $422 million payment this year, stoking fears that the commonwealth's fiscal situation needed drastic intervention.

    Obama acted just one day before the territory was expected to default on another debt payment, this one for $2 billion.

    ...
    - See more at: http://www.rollcall.com/news/politic....zzMVLOr6.dpuf
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  26. #23
    PR is still going to default on the payment due. Nothing has changed there. CDS still triggered! It's a big charade. Creditors just can't sue in federal court over the default yet.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul

    "We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by AZJoe View Post
    Yes, looks like it is not a direct bailout, just an arm twisting intervention. While the arm twisting might appear to be bad for the hedge funds, that assumes the debt would be paid otherwise. A default, which appears inevitable absent intervention, would be the worse option for the creditors as they would have to eat their bad lending. It would also mean Puerto Rico would probably not have access to any more credit. Both are market corrections and positive feedback mechanisms for bad borrowing and lending.
    I heard that the primary winner on this is Mitt Romney's old company, but haven't had a chance to check it out yet.
    ================
    Open Borders: A Libertarian Reappraisal or why only dumbasses and cultural marxists are for it.

    Cultural Marxism: The Corruption of America

    The Property Basis of Rights



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  29. #25
    Is the Puerto Rico House going to pass a bill to help ease the US federal government's debt?

  30. #26
    $#@! Puerto Rico. They aren't a State and they made their own mess, don't ask me to clean it up with my tax dollars. Same goes for ALL bailouts, whether you're a city, state, territory, or whatever.
    There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
    -Major General Smedley Butler, USMC,
    Two-Time Congressional Medal of Honor Winner
    Author of, War is a Racket!

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    - Diogenes of Sinope

  31. #27
    I don't think this is bailing out Puerto Rico at all. More like bailing out one of their creditors with our tax dollars.
    ================
    Open Borders: A Libertarian Reappraisal or why only dumbasses and cultural marxists are for it.

    Cultural Marxism: The Corruption of America

    The Property Basis of Rights

  32. #28
    Who is the biggest employer in the USA's military outpost of PR? Hard to find any sources.

    The biggest employer in USA's Hawaii military outpost, is government.

    Guam, etc. There just might be a pattern... lol

    Another fear and false-pride induced, perpetual scam.
    Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. Proverbs 29:25
    "I think the propaganda machine is the biggest problem that we face today in trying to get the truth out to people."
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  33. #29
    Puerto Rico's fiscal challenges not over: governor

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Puerto Rico, the U.S. commonwealth that recently declared a historic default, could be shut out of debt markets for two more years as it battles with fiscal challenges, the island's governor said on Tuesday.

    Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla said emergency fiscal measures in response to a $70 billion debt were not sustainable and that "Puerto Rico will not endure any more austerity."

    He said a new law enacted by Washington allowing the federal government to appoint a control board would undercut self-government, but added it would help the island confront its fiscal problems.

    "Our challenges are not over and prosperity will not return overnight," the governor said during a discussion at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington.

    "It will take maybe two years until the market opens back to Puerto Rico if we do the right thing," Garcia Padilla said, adding the government had been producing fiscally sound budgets that would help win back creditors. The island has been shut out of debt markets for about a year.

    Citing falling debt levels, he said it was a "moment of opportunity" in Puerto Rico, which has struggled with high debt loads and a weak economy for years.

    Puerto Rico defaulted on $779 million of constitutionally backed debt on July 1, among its most senior bonds, opting to pay for essential services for its citizens over obligations to creditors.

    Garcia Padilla said the Puerto Rican government would take steps on its own to get its fiscal affairs in order, therefore minimizing meddling by the oversight board.

    For example, he said that if the island's government passed responsible budgets on its own, the control board would not need to impose its own fiscal plans.

    Garcia Padilla said, however, that while the government must become more efficient to improve its fiscal situation, that should be done through attrition rather than laying off workers. Asked by a reporter about steps that could be taken to shore up the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, and the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, or PRASA, Garcia Padilla said: "PREPA is pretty advanced. We'll be able to reduce a lot the debt related to PREPA. We want to do the same with PRASA. I think we'll be able to do it."
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/puerto-ri...ess.html?nhp=1
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul View Post
    The intellectual battle for liberty can appear to be a lonely one at times. However, the numbers are not as important as the principles that we hold. Leonard Read always taught that "it's not a numbers game, but an ideological game." That's why it's important to continue to provide a principled philosophy as to what the role of government ought to be, despite the numbers that stare us in the face.
    Quote Originally Posted by Origanalist View Post
    This intellectually stimulating conversation is the reason I keep coming here.

  34. #30
    the plan would have to provide "adequate" funds for public pensions, which the government has underfunded by more than $40 billion.
    if there ever was something I'd approve to be banned

    'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988

    Awareness is the Root of Liberation Revolution is Action upon Revelation

    'Resistance and Disobedience in Economic Activity is the Most Moral Human Action Possible' - SEK3

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    ...the familiar ritual of institutional self-absolution...
    ...for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment...


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