Your editorial has a few mistakes which I would like to correct. It says "Mr. García Padilla says he is prepared to make sacrifices, including cutting more spending" but he is unwilling to layoff one single government worker (a campaign pledge) from a bloated payroll which takes up one third of the budget. Your number of 70,000 is what the governor claims it is now, down from 120,000, yet consultant contracts have more than tripled. Each of the three budgets he has put forth, which he claimed were balanced, have wound up not being so. The island can only take in realistically $8 billion in fiscal (2015-16 which began yesterday), and that number may even be lower with less spending since the sales tax has jumped from 7% to 11.5% (much higher than any state). Yet the governor yesterday signed a $9.8 billion budget. The 11.5% tax rate is only April when it will change to a 16% VAT. With more than 70,000 persons leaving the island permanently in the first five months of this year, it is easy to figure out that tax estimates are way off the charts. It has become obvious that the governor hoodwinked the Editorial Board of the Times by telling you last week that "the debt is unpayable" yet yesterday, suddenly $1.6 billion appeared out of nowhere to make two huge payments due June 30. Then we come to find out that the PREPA payment of more than $440 million was made with the help of a short term loan at 12%. this is another example of your exalted solution the VAT. the issue is always the same with you. all opinion and no facts and then insults to cover your lack of knowledge and your failure to admit that you are a communist.
it's the government that is sucking us dry. They talk a good game. Childcare, Education, Infrastructure. But they are so bloated and corrupt and inefficient they can't do anything right. If you want to see real social reform like I do, including food, clothing and shelter for all, you will need a really lean, spartan, efficient government to implement it. The republicans died in the 90's. The democrats died in the 60's. Either way, they are both old dying out of touch parties. And I don't see much difference between what Greece is going through and what we should be going through.
what should we be going through? Firstly econ 101, and then an honest discussion about where all the money went. And I think all will find too much went to the government and not enough to the people.
I'm a uniter, not a divider, My schtick is to unite the libertarians and the socialists. Your enemy is my enemy. It's not the greedy capitalists, or the greedy communists who are the problem. It's the greedy government. They take a cut of every dollar that ever changes hand. And that hypocritical liberal Elizabeth Warren has the nerve to point her finger at the broker?
Just a wind up for the Greek exit and reneging on it's debts. The ancient adage of " don't trust the Greeks bearing gifts " seems to have morphed into " Don't trust the Greeks bearing a begging bowl ". We now have a Grimbo situation. i.e. Greece in limbo.
None of those figures are mine, but I am willing to take credit for most of them. If that is your analysis , I'd say it is pretty good! I wasn't aware that the VAT had been adopted yet. In fact I thought it had either died, or was still being debated. I'm afraid that a VAT that is only talked about isn't a very good example of my "exalted solution, the VAT". I would be a very good idea for Puerto Rico to go to it, but you wouldn't know how well it was working for at least a year. Let's both hope they move forward with it. I don't know where this "communist" stuff of yours is coming from, but nothing on ET surprises me much. There are a lot of uneducated traders! It is one of those things that a person can do without much education. Very low entry bar.
"I don't know where this "communist" stuff of yours is coming from, but nothing on ET surprises me much. There are a lot of uneducated traders! It is one of those things that a person can do without much education. Very low entry bar." you are consistent with your insults. thanks again for showing your character.
the only thing a communist cares about is a healthy government. If the people and the economy have to suffer, so be it, that is just collateral damage in a libertarian world, the economy does great, the people get by, and the government is always struggling