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[MJPIA]

Decently long article, worth a read in whole if you're interested.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...t-on-puerto-rico-debt-days-before-debt-cliff/

Rescue legislation aimed at helping Puerto Rico address its mounting fiscal crisis cleared Congress Wednesday, two days before the U.S. territory is set to default on roughly $2 billion in debt payments.

The bill passed by the Senate on a 68-to-30 vote opens a path for an orderly restructuring of the island’s $72 billion in bond debt while creating a new federally appointed fiscal oversight board. It passed the House earlier this month, and President Obama has said he will sign it.

“Obviously, the bill isn’t perfect,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday, before arguing that it “offers Puerto Rico the best chance to return to financial stability and economic growth over the long term so we can help prevent another financial crisis like this in the future.”

The passage of the bill — the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, or PROMESA — was in doubt earlier this week, and, had it failed Wednesday, the anticipated missed payments likely would have roiled credit markets and sparked creditor lawsuits.

The opposition did not fall neatly along party lines. Democrats raised a host of objections to the bill, including over the anti-democratic nature of the oversight board, the relatively arcane restructuring process and a provision that could lower the minimum wage for young workers. Some Republicans, meanwhile, found some provisions unfair to creditors and feared the rescue bill could set a precedent for fiscally troubled states to seek federal intervention.

“For everyone who says you can’t do hard things it’s a reminder than you can do hard things,” Lew said in an interview — especially, he added, “when you’re faced with the alternative of 3.5 million Americans being plunged into chaos.”
“The real alternative was not a better bill,” he said. “The real alternative was no bill.”

As the clock winds down toward the July 1 deadline, there is considerable confusion about Puerto Rico’s cash position. Many creditors and analysts believe the territory has enough cash to at least make the $300 million or so in interest payments on Puerto Rico’s general obligation bonds, generally considered one of the safest bonds. But other analysts say that even if Puerto Rico could make interest payments, failure to make the principal payments coming due would still constitute a default and would leave the island’s coffers virtually empty.

Even if the island scraped together $300 million for interest payments now, there would be an additional $2 billion of interest payments due over the next fiscal year. In addition, Puerto Rico usually receives more cash toward the end of its fiscal year, so any recent influx of cash would not recur until next spring.

“Maybe they’re trying to show good faith,” said Susheel Kirpalani, a bankruptcy expert and partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan representing one category of bondholders. But, he added, “in restructuring, the first rule is cash is king. To pay interest would be 180 degrees opposite of Restructuring 101.”

Puerto Rico’s fiscal crisis goes deeper than its unsustainable public debt: Its economy has been stagnant for years, and its population has been steadily fleeing to the U.S. mainland — eroding the territorial tax base and threatening the delivery of basic services. More than a third of territorial government revenues are now spent on debt service.

“There can be no economic growth in Puerto Rico until the debt is restructured, so the legislation is an absolutely essential first step,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA, a network of mainly religious advocacy groups focused on global debt relief. “But I think in terms of the real issues facing the island, we are just getting to the end of the beginning. This is not the beginning of the end.”

In Puerto Rico, there are still many concerns about the legislation, which was inspired in part by the federal control board Congress imposed on Washington, D.C., from 1995 to 2000. Sergio Marxuach, public policy director at the San Juan-based Center for a New Economy, says that in the District’s case the federal government later took over a sizable chunk of unfunded pension obligations, whereas Puerto Rico faces about $43 billion of unfunded pension liabilities once it gets past its $72 billion or so of other debts.

“If Democrats had written this bill, it would be very different than what we are voting on today,” Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday. “But I’m going to vote for passage of this bill because we must help Puerto Rico before July 1st. Otherwise we turn that island . . . over to the hedge funds, and they’ll sue them to death.”

Also vowing to oppose the bill was Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (Vt.), who said he would “do everything I can to defeat a horrific bill.” An added complication was a bipartisan group of senators representing coal-producing states who said they would oppose closing debate on the Puerto Rico bill unless they won assurances from McConnell that the Senate would act to shore up health and pension funds for mine workers.

“We’re not going to let Puerto Rico go off the cliff here,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said Monday. “It’s too important.”

This bill was kinda do or die.
The house passed this bill last week and is now on holiday, had the senate made any amendments to the bill it would have been required to be sent back to the house which won't be back in session until next week whereas PR would have defaulted in two days.
It won't prevent them from defaulting but it protects them from lawsuits from creditors

An op-ed PR's governor wrote:
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/29/puer...n-more-than-1-billion-in-debt-commentary.html
I already make my posts too big as it is so just some snippets.

PROMESA is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it provides the tools needed to protect the people of Puerto Rico from disorderly actions taken by the creditors. The immediate stay granted by the bill on all litigation is of the utmost importance in this moment. Most importantly, the authority to adjust our debt stock provides the legal tools to complete a broad restructuring and route Puerto Rico's revitalization.

But facing the upsides and downsides of the bill, it gives Puerto Rico no true choice at this point in time.

On July 1, 2016, Puerto Rico will default on more than $1 billion in general obligation bonds, the island's senior credits protected by a constitutional lien on revenues. Creditors and bond insurers have initiated multiple lawsuits and last week, hedge funds filed an injunction before the Southern District of New York claiming the "absolute highest priority" over government resources, including those needed for essential public services. That complaint minces no words and states that, in "times of scarcity," bondholders should be paid before essential services.

No amount of contingency planning can shield us from the fallout of the defaults in the coming days; no amount of contingency planning will replace the necessity of a debt restructuring regime. We have suffered a decade of economic contraction. We are facing a government less capable of providing the services which the public needs.

And the bill itself and its summary.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5278

This bill addresses Puerto Rico's debt by establishing an oversight board, a process for restructuring debt, and expedited procedures for approving critical infrastructure projects.

The bill establishes the Financial Oversight and Management Board to oversee the development of budgets and fiscal plans for Puerto Rico's instrumentalities and government. The board may issue subpoenas, certify voluntary agreements between creditors and debtors, seek judicial enforcement of its authority, and impose penalties.

The board's responsibilities include:

approving the governor's fiscal plan;
approving annual budgets;
enforcing budgets and ordering any necessary spending reductions; and
reviewing laws, contracts, rules, regulations, or executive orders for compliance with the fiscal plan.
The bill establishes procedures and requirements for Puerto Rico to restructure its debt and designates the board as the representative of the debtor. The board may initiate a procedure for debt restructuring and submit or modify a plan of adjustment.

The establishment of the board operates as an automatic stay of creditor actions to enforce claims against the government of Puerto Rico.

The bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to permit the governor, subject to the approval of the board, to designate a time period of no more than four years during which employers in Puerto Rico may pay certain employees less than the national minimum wage.

The bill establishes a Revitalization Coordinator to designate critical infrastructure projects that meet specified requirements. Critical projects approved by the oversight board are eligible for an expedited permitting process.

The board shall divide creditors into pools based on the characteristics of the debt, and each pool may vote on a plan to restructure the debt. If at least two-thirds of the outstanding principal amount of a pool agrees with the plan, the pool may file a petition in court to bind the dissenting bondholders to the modification.

Definitely not the greatest bill but they didn't really seem to have a choice.
Honestly I'm kinda surprised our government managed to hammer together a deal considering how split both sides of the aisle were about this.

Any PR residents here with opinions on this?

Checked and didn't see a thread, lock if old

 

[geomon]

I'm torn on this. On one hand, it's better than defaulting. On the other hand, this is probably going to fuck the islanders up long term.

 

[Xe4]

Does anyone know how much this is going to help the debt situation? How long of a window will this give Puerto Rico?

 

[Apathy]

This is a dammed if they do dammed if they don't situation. I don't trust this bill but I don't think a Democratic written one would pass. PR is going to be screwed regardless, and it's going to be bad for the people that can't leave.

 

[TheFatOne]

This is a dammed if they do dammed if they don't situation. I don't trust this bill but I don't think a Democratic written one would pass. PR is going to be screwed regardless, and it's going to be bad for the people that can't leave.

Don't live on the island, but I am puerto rican and this is how I feel. Feels like they are fucked regardless.

 

[Relix]

Puerto Rican here, still...for some reason...living here but I am trying to do something worthwhile in the island to see if I can help it not going eternally to the shitter even though my better judgment is.... fly to mainland. Escape.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, people here have gotten dumber progressively and the low education on several regions is ruining the island; this an effect of parties numbing down people as much as possible. So, there are two big parties here, who have ruined the island. People constantly vote for these same shitty people with blank promises and no real progress. This has sunk the island further, and those of us with apparently better judgement are left to suffer the consequences of flag-waving monkeys that we have for voters. Promesa puts a layer overseeing these politicians, a much needed layer I must say. People here are used to be knee; they have no initiative. I am generalizing yes, but that's the bulk of the people. They won't change the status quo, they will complain and hope a savior comes through... these same politicians will stay in power for all time if let be.

PROMESA will hopefully oversee the needless wasting of money, and it's really sad that we need our US overlords to do this. It's like we cannot govern ourselves, and we feed those Trump supporters even more with stuff like this. It will cause a chaos, as the bill is meant to pay the debt over everything, probably ruining whatever economy remains. The minimum pay for people under 25 will drop to 4.25 the hour, when the cost of living here is actually as high as most states in the USA. The infrastructure is ruined; our power grid is a joke. Promesa will not repair that, it will just divert money (that is rightfully owed to investors but WHO KNEW this was a very high risk investment) to investors and the people will be left to fend for themselves. Migration will continue, Promesa will not fix the economy or bring jobs back, and our two major parties have carton heads for governor choices; we have great recent independent choices who sadly have no choice to win.

So, overall...PROMESA does not fix the major issue, which is our shitty politicians and the economy, It will reign them back hopefully and fix the government budget issue, but the economy will grow worse. This will become a paradise for rich Americans who want a seafront location as now we are selling beach spaces. So yeah, mixed feelings. I'd go out in a heartbeat but I have a very solid, stable well paying job, plus a business that is now beginning to really boom so I can move full-time to that. So, until one of those or if both fail, I'll try and survive here. At least i live in the west coast now, and we have some of the beast beaches in the world, amazing restaurants, and surrounded by mostly smart, young professional people (engineers, entrepreneurs, etc). Also, lots of Americans living here, they do love the beaches and the place .

 

[carlos]

Cant type much since I'm on mobile, but this is a terrible thing for people on the island. The word "rescue" shouldn't be used when referring to this.

It's unfortunate that this was necessary due to our elected politicians and especially the governor being inept (I'm being kind). To think that they didn't even have a plan if this didnt go through is scary.

We have over 90 new taxes in the last 4 years and yet, no cash on hand from them and no idea what it was used for. Did I mention no audited financial statements in years? Not even when they were asked for by Congress.

Oh and please don't believe the whole "humanitarian crisis" rhetoric being spewed by politicians; everything is business as usual for the common person here, and it is only now that the control board is here that we will start to feel the effects of downsizing and other austerity measures that should have been put in place long ago.

guess I wrote more than I meant to, but I could keep going if it weren't for cramped fingers.

There is no interest in this island anymore by the USA; their manufacturing plants are mostly gone and we are no longer home to their naval bases. As soon as the control board recovers as much as it can for bondholders and avoids bond market destabilization, we'll be shown the proverbial door and independence will be on its way, unless PR can prove to be an economic asset once more for the USA after this whole fiscal control period.

 

[carlos]

Does anyone know how much this is going to help the debt situation? How long of a window will this give Puerto Rico?

this gives them until feb 15 2017 before people can start suing again. This date can and will probably be extended for 60, 120 or more days, especially since a new elected government will just be starting out.

of course, the government and bondholders will be supposedly negotiating voluntarily during this time.

 

[Xe4]

this gives them until feb 15 2017 before people can start suing again. This date can and will probably be extended for 60, 120 or more days, especially since a new elected government will just be starting out.

of course, the government and bondholders will be supposedly negotiating voluntarily during this time.

Ok, so that gives them a year, which is nice. Still it's no good for the economy, even though the alternative is worse. I hope Puerto Ricans figure out a way to get themselves out of this mess. Maybe the government change will be for the better.

 

[MJPIA]

I'm torn on this. On one hand, it's better than defaulting. On the other hand, this is probably going to fuck the islanders up long term.

That's pretty much my take on this.

Regardless of what PR or our federal government does or doesn't do this will be ugly and painful.
For lack of a better term PR's economy and debt situation has been circling the drain for a while now but it's finally reached the point where we can no longer ignore it.
Our federal government let tax code expire ten years ago that had PR as a tax haven and PR's government did not seem to prepare for all the corporations predictability leaving leading to where we are today.
Putting the normal debt aside IIRC California has roughly 175-200 billion in unfunded pension liabilities compared to 45 billion for PR and the differences in economies along with PR's eroding tax base and well, with the current situation they are doomed.
With the bill it may just make them less doomed but I am hoping it'll be the first step to the islands' recovery.
The temporary protection against lawsuits while restructuring was something they desperately needed above all else.

 

[BearFlexington]

The latest episode of the podcast Congressional Dish does an excellent deconstruction of this bill. It sounds like a complete shit storm. It does nothing to address Puerto Rico's inability to declare bankruptcy, the shuttering of schools, or the selling off of infrastructure.

 

[lenovox1]

The latest episode of the podcast Congressional Dish does an excellent deconstruction of this bill. It sounds like a complete shit storm. It does nothing to address Puerto Rico's inability to declare bankruptcy, the shuttering of schools, or the selling off of infrastructure.

I'm huge huge proponent of statehood for Puerto Rico and democratic reforms.

But, as they're not a state, this is a little of what the federal government can do to stave off further financial collapse.

 

[BigDug13]

I'm huge huge proponent of statehood for Puerto Rico and democratic reforms.

But, as they're not a state, this is a little of what the federal government can do to stave off further financial collapse.

The US federal government years ago passed a bill that had a provision that specifically called out Puerto Rico and made it illegal for them to declare bankruptcy, so I think we've done plenty to fuck them over.

 

[KillGore]

Puerto Rican here. I'm still not sure if this will actually help us but nothing else has worked, so we need to try it. It's scary how much control this board has. They can even make or change laws. The governor will basically end up being a puppet for the board. Doesn't sound very democratic if you think about it. Still, our leaders fucked up big time, so lets see how this goes.

 

[Mesousa]

Puerto Rican here. I'm still not sure if this will actually help us but nothing else has worked, so we need to try it. It's scary how much control this board has. They can even make or change laws. The governor will basically end up being a puppet for the board. Doesn't sound very democratic if you think about it. Still, our leaders fucked up big time, so lets see how this goes.

Its hard to imagine the board being worse than the corrupt local government....but I wouldnt put it past them.

 

[hoos30]

Dope acronym, I must say.

The control board for Washington, DC ended up being a good thing, although I must say we had nowhere near the level of debt that PR is working with. The biggest benefit was that it sorta changed the culture of government managers to be more technocratic and less political. Expect massive public sector job cuts.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Christ, just make Puerto Rico the 51st State already.

 

[Mesousa]

Dope acronym, I must say.

The control board for Washington, DC ended up being a good thing, although I must say we had nowhere near the level of debt that PR is working with. The biggest benefit was that it sorta changed the culture of government managers to be more technocratic and less political. Expect massive public sector job cuts.

Thats gonna hurt. Especially since those government jobs are the only ones I see, on the island, that pay above what would be considered minimum wage on the mainland.

 

[carlos]

I'm huge huge proponent of statehood for Puerto Rico and democratic reforms.

But, as they're not a state, this is a little of what the federal government can do to stave off further financial collapse.

This line of thinking is mistaken; as recently as 1995 the federal gov gave away billions to mexico during their peso crisis. They have also given financial aid in return for nothing to Uruguay and Venezuela a long time ago , among others.

So if they don't want to help PR, that's fine, its like I said, we have very little to offer them economically in the near future, but don't summarize it down to "we cant help them because they are not a state".

This problem is more of a liquidity crisis than an actual debt issue; politicians here have just exaggerated the issue to reduce the overall debt by defaulting. Its a shame we couldn't get a short term loan for a billion or two, but that what happens when the governor during his first month of office says that he doesn't give a fuck what the credit agencies think.

As for those who say "oh no, schools being shutterred" you have to realize that 30 percent of school kids have moved to the states in recent years; there are some schools that are operating with only 13 to 17 people enrolled TOTAL! Makes perfect sense to close some, especially due to the proximity of everything on the island, but it makes for good publicity to go around saying"think of the children!" And not cutting ridiculous costs that are feeding this tentacle monster that we call a government.

 

[entremet]

Christ, just make Puerto Rico the 51st State already.

Puerto Ricans don't want to due to income tax requirements.

It's not that simple.

 

[LJ11]

Feel for the people of PR. Control board will be there for a long fucking time, it's a complete shit show. Need to balance the budget 4 straight fiscal years before considering withdrawing/removing the board, good luck with that. Last year guys like Gundlach were saying I'm cool with PR debt, hell Gundlach was saying that a few months ago. Buy dirt cheap and bleed those fuckers dry.

 

[rokkerkory]

Geezus what a clusterfuck. Poor peeps of PR.

 

[VendettaRed07]

Puerto Ricans don't want to due to income tax requirements.

It's not that simple.

yeah, it's a massive decision.

Once they are in, they're never getting out either. There won't be any independence referendums or anything however further in the future. So that has to be considered as well. I don't think PR is ready or willing to jump in for good.

 

[otake]

Puerto Ricans don't want to due to income tax requirements.

It's not that simple.

What the fuck are you talking about? Of all the reasons I've ever heard, not once has that been uttered by a puerto rican. I lived there for 18 years!

 

[BattleMonkey]

What the fuck are you talking about? Of all the reasons I've ever heard, not once has that been uttered by a puerto rican. I lived there for 18 years!

I lived there for 20 years, and yes, it is a common fear amongst becoming state along with other issues

 

[Joezie]

As a Puerto Rican(Born, currently living in FL), either bring forth dat statehood if possible or honestly, take control of the island for a bit. The amount of stories I get from my local barber and the family when I visit is absurd.

Nepotism running rampant.
100K "Pensions" for government employees or Nepotised entrees.

Insane stuff.

 

[KillGore]

Puerto Ricans don't want to due to income tax requirements.

It's not that simple.

What the fuck are you talking about? Of all the reasons I've ever heard, not once has that been uttered by a puerto rican. I lived there for 18 years!

I lived there for 20 years, and yes, it is a common fear amongst becoming state along with other issues

Ive lived in Puerto Rico for 27 years and have never met someone who was afraid of paying income tax. Not saying some people aren't afraid of income tax but it's probably a very small minority. It has to do with the fear of losing one's culture (even though we are very americanized) and identity. I personally don't care about those reasons but a lot of people I know do.

Also, we are paying one the highest (or THE highest) sales tax in the US, why do some americans think we dont pay taxes? We are pretty taxed as is. I'm okay with paying income tax, but at least lower taxes somewhere else. If i have to pay it regardless then so be it.

 

[Concept17]

I lived there for 20 years, and yes, it is a common fear amongst becoming state along with other issues

What the fuck are you talking about? Of all the reasons I've ever heard, not once has that been uttered by a puerto rican. I lived there for 18 years!

My Puerto Rican friend tells me this is how every political argument ends up going; to join or not to join.

 

[carlos]

What the fuck are you talking about? Of all the reasons I've ever heard, not once has that been uttered by a puerto rican. I lived there for 18 years!

Yeah i was going to respond to that post too, but got lazy. As soon as statehood won a referendum, a new tax system would be devised where local and federal taxes would be balanced with the influx of income from being a state.

If you have to blame something for not being a state, blame the scaremongering that has gone on for decades about losing one's identity by becoming a state.

Now believe me, puerto ricans are a very confused nationality (80 something percent of them consider themselves "white" which is ridiculous) and less than half of them can deal with English fluently. But I'm confident that statehood would definitely win at the moment, if only for economic reasons, taxes be damned.

 

[KillGore]

Now believe me, puerto ricans are a very confused nationality (80 something percent of them consider themselves "white" which is ridiculous) and less than half of them can deal with English fluently. But I'm confident that statehood would definitely win at the moment, if only for economic reasons, taxes be damned.

Although I cant give an exact percentage but 80% (edit: it is 75% reported) white doesn't seem so far-fetched. Almost everyone I know and work with are what one would call white hispanic. Usually the dark skinned people are from the Dominican Republic or neighboring islands. Obviously not blonde with blue eyes but most are white, maybe slightly tannish. Has to do with a massive european immigration in the 19th-20th century (edit: search for the royal decree of graces of 1815)

Edit: but i do agree that puerto ricans are very confused by their nationality. Are they puerto ricans? Are they american? It doesnt help that americans also separate us from them. Technically we are all americans who just live in Puerto Rico, just like americans living in Hawaii, but most people try and make a distinction between "us and them".

 

[entremet]

What the fuck are you talking about? Of all the reasons I've ever heard, not once has that been uttered by a puerto rican. I lived there for 18 years!

Representative democracy, bro.

I'm not talking about the regular folks, but the higher up politicians. And yes, this is always mentioned by them. And they are the ones holding it back.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

I should've said Puerto Rican politicians.

 

[Pancho]

Have lived all my life here in PR and its just fucking disheartning. I may probably leave to the mainland because this is a sinking ship.

 

[carlos]

Although I cant give an exact percentage but 80% white doesn't seem so far-fetched. Almost everyone I know and work with are what one would call white hispanic. Usually the dark skinned people are from the Dominican Republic or neighboring islands. Obviously not blonde with blue eyes but most are white, maybe slightly tannish. Has to do with a massive european immigration in the 19th-20th century (edit: search for the royal decree of graces of 1815)

The whole european/african/indian mix has been going on for so long that white is a minority. I think of white hispanic as a oxymoron of sorts, but I understand what you mean. I remember that census being being a subject of ridicule for a while on tv/radio/newspapers ; it was something like 86 or 88 percent.Kinda how PR always appears among the happiest countries (usually #1 until recently) we are either liars, or oblivious .

Enough off topic talk from me, lets go back to how screwed we are from the control board.

 

[MJPIA]

Nice to hear from PR-GAF, thanks for your inputs and opinions.
Also just realied I attached the wrong bill, bill that passed was S.2328,
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/2328
I believe the H.R.5287 bill contents are identical to whats in 2328, its just it got tacked onto another bill.
In the senate 36 Republicans voted for with 18 against, 31 Democrats voted for with 11 against and 2 who didn't vote and one Independent voted for and one Independent voted against.
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/114-2016/s116

In the house 139 R's for, 103 against and 5 who didn't vote, 154 D's for, 24 against and 6 who didn't vote.

Its kinda interesting in our tattered and divided federal government how bipartisan the bill was in both votes and the utter dissatisfaction of everyone involved.

Oh yeah also:
http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/30/investing/puerto-rico-crisis-electricity-price-hike/index.html

Electricity prices in Puerto Rico are going up 8% by late July or early August. But that's just the beginning. By early 2017, rates are expected to jump 26%, if the island's electric authority (known as PREPA) gets its way.

The island's electric utility is in desperate need of cash, which is why it proposed the rate hikes. In the meantime, it is also getting concessions from creditors by delaying payments to them and offering lower interest rates to some bondholders.

Thus continues the cycle.

 

[geomon]

Here's How PROMESA Aims to Tackle Puerto Rico's Debt

The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act, PROMESA, aims to tackle Puerto Rico's debt through the following:

• It creates a fiscal control board comprised of seven members. The board would be not accountable to the island government and would have control over Puerto Rico's budget, laws, financial plans, and regulations.
  
• The control board has the power to force the island government to balance its budget and force a restructuring with bondholders (about $65 billion of the island debt is in bonds) and other creditors if an agreement is not reached.
  
• It allows for the federal minimum wage to be lowered to $4.25 an hour for island workers 24 and under. Additionally, the U.S. Labor Department's new rule on overtime pay for salaried workers would not apply to Puerto Rico.

Fuck, they're never getting out of this are they.

 

[BlueTsunami]

I've been living in Puerto Rico for 200 years and I can't stop people from talking about sales tax all the time!

 

[KillGore]

Here's How PROMESA Aims to Tackle Puerto Rico's Debt



Fuck, they're never getting out of this are they.

It's crazy how they just want to basically ignore Federal laws. I mean, minimum wage is a federal law, right? Federal laws should be applied to every american, regardless of the place. If they do implement the $4.25 minimum wage and block the new rule on overtime pay for salaried workers they're basically going to fuck everyone up. PR will end up becoming a ghost island and there will be a mass migration of PR to the US (larger than the one currently happening)

Shit sucks all around.

Edit: I mean, does any american really expect people to start working for $4.25 now? lol Jesus Christ

 

[MJPIA]

It's crazy how they just want to basically ignore Federal laws. I mean, minimum wage is a federal law, right? Federal laws should be applied to every american, regardless of the place. If they do implement the $4.25 minimum wage and block the new rule on overtime pay for salaried workers they're basically going to fuck everyone up. PR will end up becoming a ghost island and there will be a mass migration of PR to the US (larger than the one currently happening)

Shit sucks all around.

Edit: I mean, does any american really expect people to start working for $4.25 now? lol Jesus Christ

Minimum wage has a whole number of exceptions carved out of it especially for US territories and I assume this is one of those.
From Wikipedia.

Employers covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)[which?] are subject only to the federal minimum wage and all applicable regulations. Employers not covered by the FLSA will be subject to a minimum wage that is at least 70 percent of the federal minimum wage or the applicable mandatory decree rate, whichever is higher. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may authorize a rate based on a lower percentage for any employer who can show that implementation of the 70 percent rate would substantially curtail employment in that business.
Puerto Rico also has minimum wage rates that vary according to the industry. These rates range from a minimum of $5.08 to $7.25 per hour.

Also on an unrelated note the bill has been signed by Obama as expected.