Editorial: Chances of a Legislative Solution for Puerto Rico Are Growing Slimmer

Whatever Congress decides to do about Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis, it isn’t likely to happen soon enough to keep the island commonwealth from defaulting on $2 billion worth of general obligation bond payments that are due July 1, and the chances Congress will agree on a plan at all appear to be growing slimmer, according to an editorial on Sunday by the Desert (Utah) News. Among the reasons for this is Bernie Sanders, the Democratic senator from Vermont who is running for president. He has become an ardent foe of the House rescue plan sponsored by Utah Rep. Rob Bishop. Sanders would give Puerto Rico bankruptcy protection, provide it with emergency loans and allocate billions for infrastructure improvements on the island, all in the name of providing jobs and economic development, and he could be a major impediment to quick passage of a solution. All of these things, according to the editorial, are exactly the wrong prescription. Congress is part of the reason that Puerto Rico got itself into trouble in the first place. Decades ago, it approved tax breaks to spur investments in manufacturing and pharmaceutical businesses on the island. This artificial prop lasted until the tax breaks ended completely in 2006. Then the businesses began to leave and unemployment began to rise. Tax revenues no longer were enough to cover the government’s obligations.