'Culture of Secrecy' In Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico
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'Culture of Secrecy' In Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico
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Advocates Fight 'Culture of Secrecy' In Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico
WKNO FM-3 minutes ago
Mabel Román Padró wishes she hadn't had to sue Puerto Rico's government. But because she did, it translated an important report about ...
Former Honduran Star Amado Guevara Signed to Rebuild Puerto Rico ...
<a href="http://Portada-online.com" rel="nofollow">Portada-online.com</a>-Nov 2, 2018
Former Honduran Star Amado Guevara Signed to Rebuild Puerto Rico Team Post-Hurricane Maria ... What: Puerto Rican Football Federation has signed former .... has made no secret he is interested in someday coaching the Honduran ... task at hand of changing the culture of the island's soccer program.
19 Books to Take the Food System Back
EcoWatch-Oct 25, 2018
Farmer and rancher Strickler shares his secrets to efficiently conserve and ... kitchens, homes, and their cultures to support one another in the endeavor for an ... and his journey around post-HurricaneMaria Puerto Rico with his World Central ... In Puerto Rico, Andres served culturally relevant foods such as ...
A fun spot in post-hurricane Puerto Rico helps the healing: 'A little beer ...
Los Angeles Times-Sep 24, 2018
A middle-aged man sways across the outdoor dance floor, nodding and smiling at friends as he moves to the rhythm of the bachata coming ...
US at Odds With Puerto Rico on Post-Hurricane Miscues
Wall Street Journal-May 9, 2018
U.S. officials disputed a top aide to Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló in testimony Tuesday over who was to blame for mistakes that delayed ...
Puerto Rico hurricane death toll: how the official and unofficial figures ...
The Conversation UK-Jun 11, 2018
Home · Arts + Culture · Economy + Business · Education · Environment + ... A Puerto Rican judge has ordered the government to release detailed ... researchers from George Washington University to investigate all post-hurricane deaths. ... This authoritarian secrecy temporarily deprived us of data and bred ...
'It Should Have Been a Day of Mourning': One Activist on Sitting Out ...
<a href="http://RollingStone.com" rel="nofollow">RollingStone.com</a>-Jun 11, 2018
<a href="http://RollingStone.com" rel="nofollow">RollingStone.com</a>-Jun 11, 2018
Study: Post-Maria Contracts Go to Mainland, Not Puerto Rico
Voice of America-Sep 26, 2018
A study has found that the bulk of federal funds slated for post-hurricane reconstruction efforts in Puerto Rico are going to mainland companies, ...
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A little over a year ago, Omar Z. Robles went to Puerto Rico, where he paid ... 200,000 Puerto Ricanshave left the island post-Hurricane Maria, ...
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Yahoo Lifestyle-Jun 6, 2018
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Puerto Rico's push for statehood, explained
Vox-Jan 11, 2018
He urged Trump to allow Puerto Rico to become the 51st US state. ... Now, Rosselló and his allies are hoping that the post-hurricane media ...
Bitcoin rich kids in Puerto Rico: crypto utopia or crypto-colonialism
The Conversation UK-Feb 14, 2018
Cryptocurrency entrepreneurs have moved to Puerto Rico to build a crypto ... And it used the original meaning of the word “crypto” – concealed, hidden or secret. ... at the point of a gun, but covert through the subversion of norms and cultures. ... Resources and infrastructure, post-Hurricane Maria, are too ...
Airbnb wants you to visit Puerto Rico
CNET-May 9, 2018
... partners with the island, saying it wants to help post-hurricane reconstruction efforts. ... Tourists can now use Airbnb to book experiences in Puerto Rico where they can see the sights and also learn about the local culture. ... "It's no secret that we've been hit hard by the hurricane," Puerto Rico's governor, ...
Why You Should Go to Puerto Rico for Spring Break
<a href="http://TeenVogue.com" rel="nofollow">TeenVogue.com</a>-Feb 28, 2018
But is Puerto Rico able to handle Spring Break tourists post Hurricane Irma and Maria, which devastated the island just six-months ago?
America Failed Puerto Rico
Paste Magazine-Jun 1, 2018
Five thousand seven hundred and forty people in Puerto Rico are dead. ... The dirty secret of America is that Hitler loved this country when he wrote Mein Kampf. ... our central connection to politics these days is through symbolic culture ... a Post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico By Ellen Johnson May 21, 2018 ...
Puerto Rico Morgue Moved Cadavers at 4 AM Amid Rising Scrutiny
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Workers from Puerto Rico's beleaguered forensic sciences department moved two corpses from stop-gap refrigerator trailers in the early hours ...
Puerto Rico Power Utility Reaches Deal With Bondholders
Wall Street Journal-Jul 30, 2018
Investors in Puerto Rico's bankrupt electricity monopoly have struck a debt-restructuring deal, inching the largest public U.S. power utility closer ...
Failing dam deepens the post-hurricane crisis in powerless Puerto Rico
Los Angeles Times-Sep 23, 2017
The evacuation of tens of thousands of residents who live near a failing dam in northwest Puerto Ricocontinued Saturday, as fears of more ...
Puerto Rico Wants to Cut the Cost of Incarcerating People by Shipping ...
The Intercept-Mar 23, 2018
Since Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico six months ago, dealing a new blow to an island already crippled by devastating austerity ...
Puerto Rico: Treasury Cuts $4.7B Disaster Relief Loan to $2B
Voice of America-Feb 27, 2018
Puerto Rico's governor said Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury Department has cut a $4.7 billion disaster relief loan available to the U.S. territory ...
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The capital building in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images hide caption
The capital building in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images
Mabel Román Padró wishes she hadn't had to sue Puerto Rico's government.
But because she did, it translated an important report about Hurricane Maria into Spanish so she and most of the island's residents could read it.
"Access to information has always been hard here," Román said.
It was a more than 400-page report that the governor, Ricardo Rosselló, planned to send to Congress outlining his vision for the island's reconstruction and his need for $140 billion to see it through. Before delivering it in August, the government published a draft for public review – but only in English.
"It's not right," said Román, a community leader in the working-class neighborhood of Cantera, on the outskirts of San Juan. Close to 80 percent of people in Puerto Rico aren't fluent in English. "The government is limiting our access to this information and impeding our ability to participate in the recovery."
For Román, it was an important victory, because she is part of a budding movement in Puerto Rico that's been pushing the island's government to be more transparent.
It's a movement that's taken on greater urgency in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria as Puerto Rico's journalists, academics and activists continue trying to assess what went wrong in the government's response at the same time that they prepare to monitor the tens of billions in federal recovery grants expected to flow to the island in the years ahead.
After Mabel Román Padró sued the Puerto Rican government, it agreed to translate an important report about Hurricane Maria recovery from English to Spanish so she and most of the island's residents could read it. Adrian Florido/NPR hide caption
After Mabel Román Padró sued the Puerto Rican government, it agreed to translate an important report about Hurricane Maria recovery from English to Spanish so she and most of the island's residents could read it.
Adrian Florido/NPR
Román filed her lawsuit with the help of a nonprofit she worked with. Lawyers for the office overseeing Puerto Rico's recovery effort said they were under no obligation to translate the report because it was intended for the U.S. Congress. But, before a judge, they agreed to translate it.
Advocates fear the government's spotty record on transparency may portend poorly for their efforts to track where the billions headed for the island end up. It's a fear rooted in their never-ending struggle to gain access to government records and in the lessons of Puerto Rico's recent history.
"We tell people it was the lack of transparency that left you in the dark," said Cecille Blondet, executive director of the nonprofit Espacios Abiertos – or Open Spaces — which filed the lawsuit on Mabel Román's behalf. She was referring to the decades of poor, often secretive management of the island's public spending that left the power grid – and much of the government – mostly helpless in the face of Hurricane Maria's crippling winds.
"We had been left in the dark for many years, regarding many things. And after the hurricane, that metaphor became a reality because we were actually in the dark for many, many months," Blondet said. "And it seems like we're going to continue to be left in the dark on many things."
Cecille Blondet
For months after the hurricane, Puerto Rico's government refused to turn over data on who died after the storm until ordered to by a judge. Last month, investigative journalists sued to force the release of the updated hurricane response plan that officials falsely claimed to have completed. And Blondet's organization is currently in court fighting for a list of companies that have received lucrative government tax credits.
Carla Minet, who directs Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism, said these lawsuits for public information and the roughly dozen others her center has filed expose a disconnect between the government's narrative about transparency and its practice.
"The government says all the time that they have a policy of transparency, but it's not real in terms of how officials act every day," Minet said. "There's a generalized culture of secrecy from government officials. Every time you ask for a document, there is an automatic response of, 'you can't have access to that.'"
It's a frustration directed not only at Puerto Rico's central government. The federally-appointed oversight board controlling the island's finances has also faced public pressure, as has the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is still working on the island.
But as Puerto Rico prepares to receive an avalanche of federal disaster recovery grants that the governor and members of his cabinet will have much more control over, transparency advocates are focusing in.
Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has repeatedly pledged to have "the most transparent disaster recovery process in U.S. history." But those trying to keep an eye on how the government spends the billions that will soon arrive are already getting indications that transparency may not, in fact, be a top priority.
NPR made multiple requests to interview Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rosselló, and Omar Marrero, the official in charge of the governor's office for recovery and reconstruction. The interview requests were not granted.
Deepak Lamba-Nieves, research director at the Center for a New Economy, a San Juan think tank, said there are large gaps in the online database where the government is supposed to publish its contracts.
While most contracts are listed by name, fewer are published in full. Subcontracts – which often account for large shares of the money in an original contract — are almost never published. The contracts section on a new website that the government has touted as a transparency portal simply redirects to the same database.
Last month, Omar Marrero, the official overseeing Puerto Rico's hurricane recovery efforts, shook his head no when asked by a reporter whether his office would take the initiative to ensure that all contracts and subcontracts related to the recovery are published.
"We're going to comply with applicable law," he said, and suggested that journalists who wanted more of those documents published should ask the legislature to pass a law requiring the government's comptroller's office to do so.
Without access to those contracts and subcontracts, Lamba-Nieves said, it will be difficult to answer important questions: Are federal grants actually funding the island's most pressing needs? Are contracts ending up in the hands of firms with close ties to politicians in power? Is the funding stimulating Puerto Rico's economy, as officials have claimed it will, or are most contracts going to U.S. firms that will take their profits back to the mainland?
"We know that recoveries are fickle in nature, but also highly political exercises," Lamba-Nieves said. "So we need to keep a close watch on what's going on so that we can protect the future of Puerto Rico with regard to the recovery but also project an image of transparency and credibility."
That last point is especially important, he said, because of a harsh political reality. Some in Washington — including President Donald Trump — don't trust that Puerto Rico's government will manage the recovery funds appropriately.
"There's a huge concern ... that the government of Puerto Rico is going to squander these funds," Lamba-Nieves said. "I think this is totally unfair. I mean, it's borderline discriminatory."
But he said that perception could nonetheless endanger future federal funding for the Puerto Rico's recovery. The best way for the island's government to battle that perception, he believes, is with more transparency.
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According to the latest report by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, the long-term 40 year surplus is projected to ring in at $20 billion-far higher than their forecast on June 29, where they predicted a surplus of $4 billion. This projection is a result of a new plan expecting increased revenue due to cut costs, an influx of disaster aid, consolidated agencies, healthcare reform, and an increased tax revenue.
Negotiations are still going on before certifying the new fiscal plan, as the board recently submitted a letter to Governor Ricardo Rosselló on September 19, calling for more spending cuts.
This projection bodes well for creditors, hoping to see if some of the surplus money will be returned to bondholders. Coupled with the deals the territory has made with some of its creditors, the price of Puerto Rico’s general-obligation bonds have doubled this year, as the economic outlook of the territory begins to improve.
The territory is proceeding with caution before certifying the new plan, however, as last time it certified a fiscal plan, there was an error with a cost of $4 billion.
Even with the positive outlook for the new projection, the report emphasizes that “Puerto Rico cannot afford to meet all its contractual debt obligations” and deeply requires a “ restructuring of its debt.” Moreover, the territory’s report claims that much of its economic woes and debt could be alleviated in a political manner, stating that “the most important and critical structural reform for Puerto Rico is a permanent solution to its territorial status. The solution to these inequalities is statehood for Puerto Rico.” This would then “stop outmigration, increase the on-island workforce, and grow Puerto Rico’s economy,” perhaps driving the 40 year surplus of the territory even higher if actualized.
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Economists including Stiglitz recommend up to 73% Puerto Rico debt …
MarketWatch–13 hours ago
Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz says Puerto Rico’s current debt … Puerto Rico would be forced to create primary fiscal surpluses between 3.5% … the fiscal plan is projected to generate” may encourage more Puerto Ricans to …
The COFINA Agreement, Part 1: The First 40 Year Plan
Eyes on the Ties–13 hours ago
The agreement came through the Puerto Rico legislature’s recent approval of House … “In case the available revenues including surplus for any fiscal year are … to Florida, will continue in the coming years, according to the same projections.
Puerto Rico Oversight Board projecting huge long-term surplus
Pasquines–15 hours ago
According to the latest report by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, the long-term 40 year surplus is projected to ring in at $20 …
 Trump’s tweet on Puerto Rico has not sidetracked its bankruptcy …
Bond Buyer–Nov 16, 2018
WASHINGTON — A senior official of Puerto Rico wants to make it clear that the commonwealth has not and will not intermingle federal disaster aid with debt …
New Puerto Rico fiscal plan OK’d; governor says too…
Infosurhoy–Oct 25, 2018
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s … surpluses or deficits, but that they will help stimulate the island’s economy. … be submitting proposals to revise the plan, saying the projections it contains are too …
 Puerto Rico’s fiscal plan raises cautious optimism
Bond Buyer–Oct 25, 2018
The Puerto Rico Oversight Board’s latest fiscal plan left bond investors and some … While Tuesday’s plan projects a $6.33 billion government surplus would be … the June 29-approved plan projected an $8.8 billion deficit under the same …
Governor Baker Signs Supplemental Budget Bill, Investing New …
<a href=”http://framinghamsource.com” rel=”nofollow”>framinghamsource.com</a>–Oct 24, 2018
… a supplemental budget that invests the surplus funds from Fiscal Year 2018 in a … along with interest and other expected transfers, would bring the projected … in transitional housing assistance for hurricane evacuees from Puerto Rico …
 Puerto Rico Oversight Board throws some cold water on bondholders …
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In the long term, the board approved a fiscal plan that projected that any central Puerto Rico government annual surplus available for paying debt will disappear …
Firstpost
Puerto Rico’s Governor Tweets at Trump: ‘I Agree With You’
BloombergQuint–Oct 23, 2018
(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump took to Twitter Tuesday to attack Puerto Rican … Its latest plan projectedsurprising budget surpluses, in part because of the …
 Trump Attacks ‘Inept’ Puerto Rico Leaders Over Disaster Aid
Wall Street Journal–Oct 23, 2018
President Trump attacked Puerto Rico’s “inept politicians,” accusing them of trying to … from last year’s hurricanes—a 32% increase over a prior disaster-aid projection. … surplus available for creditors through 2023, contingent on Puerto Rico …
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While reiterating Puerto Rico gov’t lacks will for reforms, fiscal board …
Caribbean Business–Oct 23, 2018
SAN JUAN – Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board … a cumulative $30 billion surplusuntil 2033, after which it will it will run deficits mostly in … government revenue has outpaced projections and privatization plans for the …
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| 4:56 AM 11/20/2018 – Route traced in the renegotiation of debt | Opinion Ruta trazada en la renegociación de la deuda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route traced in the renegotiation of debt | Opinion
Ruta trazada en la renegociación de la deuda
El acuerdo que se concreta entre la Junta Federal de Control Fiscal, el gobierno y grupos de acreedores para llevar a feliz término la renegociación de la deuda de la Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante (Cofina) es un paso…
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| Ruta trazada en la renegociación de la deuda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
El acuerdo que se concreta entre la Junta Federal de Control Fiscal, el gobierno y grupos de acreedores para llevar a feliz término la renegociación de la deuda de la Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante (Cofina) es un paso…
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| Route traced in the renegotiation of debt | Opinion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The agreement that takes shape between the Federal Fiscal Control Board, the government and groups of creditors to successfully complete the renegotiation of the debt of the Fund of Interest-prone (Cofina) is a step in the right direction because it makes sense of urgency to the task of removing from the road to the fiscal consolidation and the economic development of Puerto Rico.
This agreement has been reached as a result of working shoulder to shoulder, fundamentally between the fiscal board and the Rossello administration.
The credit collapse gestated in the fiscal failures, and that began to worsen after the closure of government and the crisis of governance in 2006, has passed as a country to bitter bill, with an economic depression that adds up to 12 years and a public debt which – with all its aspects, derivatives and multiplier effect – exceeds $ 130,000 million.
It can not be an option to shuffle with the issues of debt and, much less, that disagreements and petty wars between sectors delay or hinder the necessary renegotiation. Hence the importance of the endorsement that both the Chamber and the Senate have given to the administration project for the consensual attention of Cofina’s debt.
Ni el proceso legislativo fue inclusivo ni la medida endosada es perfecta. Pero la realidad es que es extremadamente necesario poner en práctica los mecanismos que sean viables, que hagan posible el destranque en un asunto nuestro tan neurálgico a dos años de creada la ley Promesa.
Este proyecto de administración y su aprobación legislativa son un buen ejemplo de lo que se puede lograr cuando la unidad de propósito aflora.
La deuda de Cofina, entidad creada en 2006 para emitir obligaciones, se eleva a los $17,600 millones y en mayo de 2017 fue puesta bajo el TÃtulo III de la ley Promesa.
A un año y tres meses desde su entrada al TÃtulo III, trascendió que habÃa un acuerdo entre una parte de los acreedores, el gobierno y la junta fiscal para reestructurar la deuda fuera del proceso de quiebra. En principio eso incluyó a bonistas senior y junior, asà como a aseguradoras de deuda.
Luego de intensas negociaciones, se logró que se sumara la cantidad requerida de acreedores en el acuerdo para hacerlo viable, lo cual pasó a la certificación de la jueza de distrito federal Laura Taylor Swain, quien preside todo el proceso de quiebra del gobierno de Puerto Rico.
El acuerdo provee para una reducción del 32% de la deuda. Con esto, se deberán alcanzar ahorros en torno a unos $17,500 millones correspondientes al servicio de las obligaciones.
De igual forma, el arreglo contempla una redistribución de la división de los recaudos producto del Impuesto sobre Ventas y Usos (IVU), lo cual le deja más dinero al Fondo General, con un promedio de $425 millones anuales durante unos 40 años.
Falta mucho por recorrer, es cierto. Pero es de esperarse que este importante acuerdo sobre Cofina se convierta —con determinación— en la llave que abra la puerta ancha para conducir al éxito la reestructuración de los demás segmentos de deuda pública del PaÃs. Es de esperarse que el acuerdo sea ratificado en el futuro cercano por la jueza Swain.
It should also be ensured that after this exercise the future negotiations will take place in better terms for the Island, and that we will be able to take off the straitjacket that holds back economic development and that also slows down the return to bonds markets under fair and beneficial to the people of Puerto Rico.
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Some of the most contentious numbers in Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy are population projections: How many taxpayers will be living on the island 10, 20, or 50 years from now? Any attempt to gauge the commonwealth’s fiscal prospects—and hence its ability to pay bondholders—depends in great measure on the reliability of those figures. Yet the consultant hired to calculate them has no demography degree, speaks little Spanish, and lives in Hong Kong.
Lyman Stone, 27, whose last full-time job was as an economist at the U.S. Agriculture Department, has interests that range from fertility in the Northern Mariana Islands to gentrification in Cincinnati. These are among the topics he’s addressed in a self-published blog titled “In a State of Migration.” Last year, the federal panel tasked with turning around the island’s finances took a chance on the outsider, who had been disseminating—for free—the internet’s best-read Puerto Rico population projections.
Stone bills $300 an hour to forecast one of the hardest-to-estimate variables in the $74 billion restructuring—one with implications for tax collections and ultimately the value of Puerto Rico’s debt. Some bondholders say he lacks the right qualifications and that his projections are too dire and will cost them money. Others say he’s a savant who has mastered the statistical study of populations in his spare time.
“If they can’t find an actual error in the work, then I’m not sure what the criticism is,” says Stone, who quit his U.S. government job in June and moved to China to do missionary work for the Lutheran Church. “My professional motto is Molon labe, a classical expression of defiance attributed to King Leonidas of Sparta that means ‘Come and take it.’ ” (Stone’s father is an Old Testament and ancient languages scholar.)
Natalie Jaresko, the executive director of the Financial Oversight & Management Board for Puerto Rico, says the panel is pleased with Stone’s work. “We listened to a wide variety of voices, including academic voices,” she says. “We liked the way he was measuring, what he used in terms of his analysis, the data he was willing to look at and collect.”
A line for a flight at Luis Muñoz MarÃn International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 26, 2017.
Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Puerto Rico’s population had been shrinking for years, a side effect of the economy’s long and painful decline, and Hurricane Maria accelerated the trend. Stone estimates that the number of residents fell by about 5.1 percent, to 3.17 million, in the fiscal year that ended in June, and projects it will dwindle to about 2 million by 2050.
With fewer people, Puerto Rico has diminished ability to reap tax revenue and fund debt payments. The island and its creditors reached an initial agreement on a deal involving securities known as Cofinas, which would have some bondholders taking haircuts amounting to close to half their investments. But billions more remain to be negotiated. Investors prefer a generous population estimate that could boost bond values in a settlement. By the same logic, the island’s elected government would want to tamp down expectations. The board is on the commonwealth’s payroll but operates autonomously, and its projections and policy prescriptions have managed at various times to irk Governor Ricardo Rosselló and bondholders alike.
Charles Doraine, president and chief executive officer of Doraine Wealth Management Group in Corpus Christi, Texas, believes the board is trying to paint the situation worse than it is. “Anyone who wants to make it look as bad as possible is who they’re going to hire,” says Doraine, whose firm oversees investments in sales tax-backed Puerto Rico securities. “The worse it looks, the better it is for Puerto Rico’s perspective.”
Robin Deshayes, a bondholder with Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Miltonian Capital Management, questions Stone’s credentials. “I don’t think that Mr. Stone’s background as an agricultural economist (specializing in cotton) for the USDA qualifies him as a demographics expert for Puerto Rico,” she wrote in an email.
Stone says he took classes on migration while earning his master’s in international trade and investment policy at George Washington University. He also taught himself how to mine mobile-phone location, Google search, and school enrollment data, among other things, for information on population flows.
The self-described conservative tweets prolifically. He’s used the platform to spar with opinion journalists and argue that abortion opponents who can’t stomach Trump should abstain from voting. He also writes for Vox and the Federalist, a conservative news site where he has weighed in on birthright citizenship, which he supports, and Iowa Representative Steve King, a Republican whom he says is a bad public servant but not a Nazi. (Bloomberg News has consulted Stone on Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and state-to-state migration.)
While there’s little data with which to judge the accuracy of his long-term Puerto Rico projections, Stone’s time as the board’s demographer coincided with a data input error in June that produced an overly negative estimate, as Stone and the board have acknowledged. The error drove up the 30-year projected surplus by $4 billion.
Pennsylvania State University assistant professor Alexis Santos—who has a Ph.D. in applied demography and conducts Puerto Rico research—says post-Maria population projections are fraught with peril. The event was unique, and it’s still difficult to make out the extent of effects on migration and fertility patterns.
Stone knew little about Puerto Rico in January 2016, when a Twitter follower requested he try his hand at the subject. “I was shocked by the response,” he says. “I got much more traffic than I was used to getting on my humble little blog.”
By the time Hurricane Maria swept through the island, Puerto Rico had become a recurrent theme on his blog, and Stone got a surprise invitation to the island to make a presentation at one of the fiscal control board’s “listening sessions,” which convened experts in various disciplines to discuss key issues. The Kentucky native dominated discussion at the Nov. 16, 2017, event, a video of which is available on YouTube. “I’m looking forward to reading your blog after I leave here,” said fellow panelist Mario Marazzi, the then-head of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute. The next month, Stone signed a contract to work for the board.
Stone, who also has an affiliation with Demographic Intelligence, a Charlottesville, Va.-based consulting firm that counts JPMorgan Chase, Pfizer, and Procter & Gamble among its clients, says he’s happy to engage with critics. In August, he hosted a videoconference call in which he presented his methodology and took questions from dozens of journalists, investors, lawyers, and academics.
Two listeners questioned why gross national product data was being fed into computer models to generate population projections, rather than the other way around. Shouldn’t the economy rise and fall with the number of people making and consuming goods? At first, Stone said there were no conclusive studies on the matter that would force him to account for such a feedback mechanism. Pressed on the matter, he changed tack.
“I always appreciate more people doing good forecasting work,” Stone said. “The more the merrier is my attitude. I’d in fact rather not have a monopoly on forecasting Puerto Rico.” —With Michelle Kaske and Danielle Moran
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Choosing a Russian security official and Putin ally to run the international police organization would be a huge mistake.
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According to the latest report by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, the long-term 40 year surplus is projected to ring in at $20 billion-far higher than their forecast on June 29, where they predicted a surplus of $4 billion. This projection is a result of a new plan expecting increased revenue due to cut costs, an influx of disaster aid, consolidated agencies, healthcare reform, and an increased tax revenue.
Negotiations are still going on before certifying the new fiscal plan, as the board recently submitted a letter to Governor Ricardo Rosselló on September 19, calling for more spending cuts.
This projection bodes well for creditors, hoping to see if some of the surplus money will be returned to bondholders. Coupled with the deals the territory has made with some of its creditors, the price of Puerto Rico’s general-obligation bonds have doubled this year, as the economic outlook of the territory begins to improve.
The territory is proceeding with caution before certifying the new plan, however, as last time it certified a fiscal plan, there was an error with a cost of $4 billion.
Even with the positive outlook for the new projection, the report emphasizes that “Puerto Rico cannot afford to meet all its contractual debt obligations” and deeply requires a “ restructuring of its debt.” Moreover, the territory’s report claims that much of its economic woes and debt could be alleviated in a political manner, stating that “the most important and critical structural reform for Puerto Rico is a permanent solution to its territorial status. The solution to these inequalities is statehood for Puerto Rico.” This would then “stop outmigration, increase the on-island workforce, and grow Puerto Rico’s economy,” perhaps driving the 40 year surplus of the territory even higher if actualized.
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Route traced in the renegotiation of debt | Opinion
Ruta trazada en la renegociación de la deudaEl acuerdo que se concreta entre la Junta Federal de Control Fiscal, el gobierno y grupos de acreedores para llevar a feliz término la renegociación de la deuda de la Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante (Cofina) es un paso…
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| Route traced in the renegotiation of debt | Opinion | ||
The agreement that takes shape between the Federal Fiscal Control Board, the government and groups of creditors to successfully complete the renegotiation of the debt of the Fund of Interest-prone (Cofina) is a step in the right direction because it makes sense of urgency to the task of removing from the road to the fiscal consolidation and the economic development of Puerto Rico.
This agreement has been reached as a result of working shoulder to shoulder, fundamentally between the fiscal board and the Rossello administration. The credit collapse gestated in the fiscal failures, and that began to worsen after the closure of government and the crisis of governance in 2006, has passed as a country to bitter bill, with an economic depression that adds up to 12 years and a public debt which - with all its aspects, derivatives and multiplier effect - exceeds $ 130,000 million. Ni el proceso legislativo fue inclusivo ni la medida endosada es perfecta. Pero la realidad es que es extremadamente necesario poner en práctica los mecanismos que sean viables, que hagan posible el destranque en un asunto nuestro tan neurálgico a dos años de creada la ley Promesa. Este proyecto de administración y su aprobación legislativa son un buen ejemplo de lo que se puede lograr cuando la unidad de propósito aflora. A un año y tres meses desde su entrada al TÃtulo III, trascendió que habÃa un acuerdo entre una parte de los acreedores, el gobierno y la junta fiscal para reestructurar la deuda fuera del proceso de quiebra. En principio eso incluyó a bonistas senior y junior, asà como a aseguradoras de deuda. Luego de intensas negociaciones, se logró que se sumara la cantidad requerida de acreedores en el acuerdo para hacerlo viable, lo cual pasó a la certificación de la jueza de distrito federal Laura Taylor Swain, quien preside todo el proceso de quiebra del gobierno de Puerto Rico. De igual forma, el arreglo contempla una redistribución de la división de los recaudos producto del Impuesto sobre Ventas y Usos (IVU), lo cual le deja más dinero al Fondo General, con un promedio de $425 millones anuales durante unos 40 años. Falta mucho por recorrer, es cierto. Pero es de esperarse que este importante acuerdo sobre Cofina se convierta —con determinación— en la llave que abra la puerta ancha para conducir al éxito la reestructuración de los demás segmentos de deuda pública del PaÃs. Es de esperarse que el acuerdo sea ratificado en el futuro cercano por la jueza Swain. It should also be ensured that after this exercise the future negotiations will take place in better terms for the Island, and that we will be able to take off the straitjacket that holds back economic development and that also slows down the return to bonds markets under fair and beneficial to the people of Puerto Rico. | ||
| Ruta trazada en la renegociación de la deuda | ||
El acuerdo que se concreta entre la Junta Federal de Control Fiscal, el gobierno y grupos de acreedores para llevar a feliz término la renegociación de la deuda de la Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante (Cofina) es un paso… | ||
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Ruta trazada en la renegociación de la deudaby Editorial, EL VOCERO
El acuerdo que se concreta entre la Junta Federal de Control Fiscal, el gobierno y grupos de acreedores para llevar a feliz término la renegociación de la deuda de la Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante (Cofina) es un paso…
The agreement that takes shape between the Federal Fiscal Control Board, the government and groups of creditors to successfully complete the renegotiation of the debt of the Fund of Interest-prone (Cofina) is a step in the right direction because it makes sense of urgency to the task of removing from the road to the fiscal consolidation and the economic development of Puerto Rico.
This agreement has been reached as a result of working shoulder to shoulder, fundamentally between the fiscal board and the Rossello administration.
The credit collapse gestated in the fiscal failures, and that began to worsen after the closure of government and the crisis of governance in 2006, has passed as a country to bitter bill, with an economic depression that adds up to 12 years and a public debt which - with all its aspects, derivatives and multiplier effect - exceeds $ 130,000 million.
It can not be an option to shuffle with the issues of debt and, much less, that disagreements and petty wars between sectors delay or hinder the necessary renegotiation. Hence the importance of the endorsement that both the Chamber and the Senate have given to the administration project for the consensual attention of Cofina's debt.
Ni el proceso legislativo fue inclusivo ni la medida endosada es perfecta. Pero la realidad es que es extremadamente necesario poner en práctica los mecanismos que sean viables, que hagan posible el destranque en un asunto nuestro tan neurálgico a dos años de creada la ley Promesa.
Este proyecto de administración y su aprobación legislativa son un buen ejemplo de lo que se puede lograr cuando la unidad de propósito aflora.
La deuda de Cofina, entidad creada en 2006 para emitir obligaciones, se eleva a los $17,600 millones y en mayo de 2017 fue puesta bajo el TÃtulo III de la ley Promesa.
A un año y tres meses desde su entrada al TÃtulo III, trascendió que habÃa un acuerdo entre una parte de los acreedores, el gobierno y la junta fiscal para reestructurar la deuda fuera del proceso de quiebra. En principio eso incluyó a bonistas senior y junior, asà como a aseguradoras de deuda.
Luego de intensas negociaciones, se logró que se sumara la cantidad requerida de acreedores en el acuerdo para hacerlo viable, lo cual pasó a la certificación de la jueza de distrito federal Laura Taylor Swain, quien preside todo el proceso de quiebra del gobierno de Puerto Rico.
El acuerdo provee para una reducción del 32% de la deuda. Con esto, se deberán alcanzar ahorros en torno a unos $17,500 millones correspondientes al servicio de las obligaciones.
De igual forma, el arreglo contempla una redistribución de la división de los recaudos producto del Impuesto sobre Ventas y Usos (IVU), lo cual le deja más dinero al Fondo General, con un promedio de $425 millones anuales durante unos 40 años.
Falta mucho por recorrer, es cierto. Pero es de esperarse que este importante acuerdo sobre Cofina se convierta —con determinación— en la llave que abra la puerta ancha para conducir al éxito la reestructuración de los demás segmentos de deuda pública del PaÃs. Es de esperarse que el acuerdo sea ratificado en el futuro cercano por la jueza Swain.
It should also be ensured that after this exercise the future negotiations will take place in better terms for the Island, and that we will be able to take off the straitjacket that holds back economic development and that also slows down the return to bonds markets under fair and beneficial to the people of Puerto Rico.
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