Puerto Rico’s Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) is facing a number of challenges right now, from ongoing conflict with the territorial government to a legal ruling declaring the board unconstitutional. They’re relying on advice from management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. The consulting firm sees Puerto Rico’s troubles as “a management crisis brought to… Read more »

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello delivered the State of the Territory address for Puerto Rico earlier this week. He expressed determination to create jobs, lessen the flow of people from the Island to the mainland, and continue moving toward statehood with a new referendum. Rossello also spoke about the importance of equal treatment with the… Read more »

The Puerto Rico Research Hub of the University of Central Florida and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies of the Hunter College of New York held a summit in Orlando to define needed research on the Puerto Rican population in Florida. The summit, “In Pursuit of Puerto Rican Studies,” had the goal of identifying research… Read more »

Climate change has affected Puerto Rico in some extremely significant ways. First, warmer ocean water temperatures fueled Hurricane Maria, bringing as much rain in one day as the Island usually sees in three months. A new study determined that the sheer quantity of rain was enough to cause landslides, flooding, and unsafe water conditions across… Read more »

Workers in Puerto Rico pay payroll taxes — the Social Security and Medicare taxes that are deducted from American’s paychecks across the country. These taxes cover unemployment insurance, Social Security, and federal health care costs. Bona fide residents of Puerto Rico do not have to pay income tax on the wages they receive from Puerto… Read more »

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), along with 43 other Democratic Senators, introduced the Working Families Tax Relief Act today.  If enacted, the proposal’s supporters state the bill would: Lift 7 million people out of poverty Bring 3 million children out of poverty Bring another 22 million people nearer to the poverty line — close to leaving… Read more »

Bette Midler is best known for her strong singing voice, but her Twitter feed has a strong political voice. Midler tweets about everything from climate change to New York City potholes. She also tweeted about Puerto Rico, saying, “If I were Puerto Rican I would be all in right now for leaving the US and… Read more »

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello has been criticized for kowtowing to President Trump over disaster relief, but he has now taken a different approach. “It would be a mistake to confuse courtesy with courage,” he said in an interview with CNN in which he was asked whether he felt as though he were dealing with… Read more »

By Howard Hills Would Puerto Rico join the “National Popular Vote Interstate Compact” to impose national popular vote on Electoral College? Should states agree to nullify popular votes in states if different from national popular vote results? To participate in election of national vote winner will states give up right to vote against national winning… Read more »