Philly Leaders Seek To Avoid Puerto Rico Collapse

LATINOS everywhere are rallying to rescue Puerto Rico from bankruptcy, a situation over which island Territory has little power to avoid without Congressional or Obama’s “promised” help. Launching campaign here were State Rep. Angel Cruz, Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez, Nilda Ruiz, Candido Silva, Carmen Febo, Felicita Felicano, Oscar Rosario Fuentes and Angel Ortiz.

The United States’ island territory, Puerto Rico, is in the throes of an economic and fiscal crisis which has led to a humanitarian crisis that will impact on stateside taxpayers as well.

Because of its status as a territory, Puerto Rico has none of the legislative remedies available to states. So it hasn’t been able to stave off the unprecedented migratory wave from the island to the mainland of over 400,000 people in a decade. It is also the third-largest issuer of municipal bonds in the United States.

A nationwide rally in Washington yesterday, led earlier by a kickoff in Philadelphia on Monday by Latin leaders here, revealed Puerto Ricans pay the same Medicare taxes as other Americans, yet the federal contribution to territories is capped at 50%.

Among the speakers were State Rep. Angel Cruz (D-Kensington), 7th Dist. Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez, former Councilman Angel Ortiz, Nilda Ruiz and Carmen Febo. They highlighted facts that point to President Barack Obama’s and congressional pledges to empower the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to remedy its crisis have not been acted upon.

They detailed the fact the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act of 2010 provided $6.4 billion to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico will run out of funding as early as 2016.

At least 68% of the island’s population — over 2.37 million patients -— receive their care through Medicare, Medicare Advantage or Medicaid and will be affected.

System administrators are selling pension assets to pay current benefits. 163,000 retirees’ pensions and an additional 167,000 future retirees (20% of the workforce) are at risk.

By 2019, once assets are depleted, all future pension benefits will have to be paid directly from the Commonwealth’s General Fund.

At least three major structural factors have triggered the current economic crisis in Puerto Rico: the decline in manufacturing jobs induced by the elimination of Section 936 federal tax credits; the crisis in public finances and the rise of public debt; and the lack of response from Congress and the President to address territorial policies.

The Millennial Migration is as significant as the Great Migration of the ’50s and ’60s.

In 2005, an equal number of Puerto Ricans, 3.8 million, lived stateside and on the island.

By 2014, there are 5.2 million Puerto Ricans living stateside and 3.4 million residing on the island. This represents a population swing of 1.5 million over the last decade.

That is why local and state Latino leaders gathered in Washington to press the Congress and the President into living up to commitments long made, but never delivered, said Cruz at Taller Puertorriqueño headquarters on N. 5^th Street.

Quiñones Sanchez said, “If the President and our Congressmen do not come to the rescue of Puerto Rico, they need to know the over five million Puerto Ricans in the United States have the right to vote and Latino leaders, such as we here, around the country will alert them to that fact.”

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