Puerto Rico budget woes deepen
Anger has been growing over the financial crisis
Thousands of workers in Puerto Rico are threatening to go on strike after a budget crisis partially shut down the island's government.
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There have been a lot of problems down there since I left 10 years ago. The standard of living has gotten worse. Just last month the government had to shut down to save money.
Last semester I went back with my family. I took Keri along with me. I was so excited to show her the country where I grew up. But from the moment we walked into my grandmother's condo, we were slapped in the face by the heat of the unconditioned air - the lights were out due to rolling blackouts that stretch across the entire island. Family members have had to buy generators because the electricity that they pay for is so unreliable. The island is plagued by corrupt politicians and is suffering from a parent country that does not listen to it.
Last week 95,000 government workers were put out and half a million students were sent home when the governement and its schools were forced to close in an attempt to resolve the deficit problem. Because of this action, Moody's, a credit company, downgraded PR's bonds, junking most of them. So now our credit is shot, making the situation even worse.
People in the states talk about how the economy is slow and how spending isn't what it should be, but what they don't realize is that places like Puerto Rico, which is a self-governed commonwealth of the United States, gets hit much harder than any of the states.
I read these articles and hear about the condition of my home country and I just want to get up on my feet and yell out a cry of HELP!!! PLEASE HELP!! My people are in need and we're just a passing story on cnn's webpage. There is so much wealth in the states. Most americans just don't realize how blessed they are. But here we have an entire island of american citizens - 3.8 Million of them - living in poverty.
Try to imagine if what is occuring down there would happen here. Imagine if Virginia or Rhode Island had to close all government building and send the kids home because the state debt was so high and the governmental coffers so low that officials couldn't pay for the government to run. Could you imagine the uproar? The media and the talking heads would declare a national disaster and Bush's poll ratings might actually go down even further. Thousands would call for federal aid and an investigative commitee would be assembled to determine exactly who is to blame for allowing such a state of affairs to develop. Yet their is no uproar for Puerto Rico. We're just a side note in the news.
And why should the federal government or the media care? We're not allowed to vote for the president. We have no congressional votes. We're just second-class citizens living in a spit of land whose military worth has been exhausted and its only value is as a tourist stop.
That's why the only uproar you will hear is my own pitiful cry.
Pictures from the articles that I've been reading:
If you want to read more about this, I have a few saved links: http://del.icio.us/HokieGeek/puertorico+crisis(one is in spanish)
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