On the most recent “Last Week Tonight” John Oliver asked if you were aware of the TV ads warning Americans they are being asked by their government to bail out Puerto Rico, buried under mounds of debt. It’s up to Congress to help Puerto Rico relieve its debt, and although a bipartisan bill to help is in the works, there’s a well-funded effort to rile up American citizens against helping our Puerto Rican cousins.
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“No, I don’t see the timeline”, he said, giving a major boost to the hedge funds waging a fierce, non-traditional public relations and lobbying campaign aimed at pushing Puerto Rico toward a default and profiting in the event of it.
The U.S. territory is in the midst of a massive financial crisis, and is almost $70 billion in debt, with a poverty rate of 45 per cent.
This time it was the crisis that faces the island of Puerto Rico.
For instance, Congress declared that the Puerto Rican government could issue municipal bonds that were triple-tax exempt – no local, state or federal taxes. Decisions like…Chapter 9 not applying to Puerto Rico, so they’re not even allowed to declare bankruptcy.
In this August 6, 2015 file photo, Lin-Manuel Miranda appears at the curtain call following the opening night performance of “Hamilton” at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, in NY. But as the governor stated above, Puerto Rico can’t pay the debts back. Now, at least one doctor a day leaves Puerto Rico.
Miranda then makes an appearance on Last Week Tonight to do what he does best: making a plea on Puerto Rico’s behalf using hip-hop to deliver an important message.
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“We need to ensure in the language that the pensions are not getting any priority over the secured debt”, Labrador said. “Hoping to God John Oliver’s comical dissertation resonates with the Congress that got us in this situation, along with suicidal tax incentive declarations”.
