And Mexico is 52 Scott Stewart
ColdFusion Developer/Administrator GlobalNet Services, Inc. www.gnsi.com 301-770-9610 x358 (Voice) 301-770-9611 (Fax) The information contained in this message may be privileged, confidential, and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or any employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. -----Original Message----- From: Scott Stroz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 07, 2006 5:19 PM To: CF-Community Subject: Re: How Welfare Has Destroyed The 51st State I thought Canada was the 51st state? On 6/7/06, Gruss Gott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Trouble on Welfare Island > May 25th 2006 | AGUADILLA AND SAN JUAN > From The Economist print edition > Abridged by Gruss > > Puerto Rico has been a United States territory for more than a > century, and its people have been citizens since 1917. The island is > distinguished by its poverty and joblessness, which are far worse than > in any of the 50 states. The territory's economy, moreover, has fallen > further behind the national one over the past three decades. Bad > government�not just locally, but also federally�is largely to blame. > > Half the working-age men in Puerto Rico do not work. Puerto Rico's > annual income per person was around $12,000 in 2004, less than half > that of Mississippi, the poorest state. More than 48% of the island's > people live below the federally defined poverty line. That poverty > rate is nearly four times the national average, and more than twice as > high as in poor states such as Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and > West Virginia. > > Puerto Rico ought to be doing much better, because being part of the > United States gives it many advantages over other low-income > economies. Most important may be America's legal system. These > guarantees tend to attract outside capital, spur local investment and > let commerce and innovation flourish > > The island can also trade freely with the giant mainland economy. And > its workers can migrate to and from the 50 states at will, gaining > skills, creating business connections and making money. > > In some ways, generous United States taxpayers have also been useful. > To help the territory catch up, they have paid for infrastructure and > a huge leap in education levels. The average length of schooling in > Puerto Rico rose from 3.7 years in 1950 to 11 years in 2000. > > With these advantages, Puerto Rico grew impressively in the decades > after the second world war, even outperforming Asian "tigers" such as > South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore (which has roughly Puerto Rico's > population). Since the 1970s, however, Puerto Rico has been outpaced > badly by the Asian tigers and Ireland, another place to which it is > often compared. It has also diverged from the United States, losing > ground even to lowly Mississippi. > > Many things have gone wrong. Most important, however, is that the > United States government assumed too big a role in the Puerto Rican > economy, and its largesse enabled the commonwealth's government to do > the same. Two federal intrusions stand out: an oversized welfare > state, and misguided rules on business investment. > > Federal transfer payments to Puerto Rico rose sharply in the 1970s. > Some programmes have been modified since then, but transfers still > make up more than 20% of the island's personal income. These federal > handouts reflect the sensibilities of a wealthy country. So by Puerto > Rican economic standards, they are huge. And the more a man or woman > earns through paid work, the more they decrease. > > Puerto Ricans are eligible for federal disability payments, for > example, through Social Security and federal disability allowances are > much higher than the United States average as a share of wages and > pension income. Unsurprisingly, therefore, one in six working-age men > in Puerto Rico are claiming disability benefits. > > Many families do not view the federal handouts as temporary. Neither > does Ra�l Vega, who owns a consumer-finance outfit in Aguadilla. His > firm treats the benefits as income when deciding whether to lend > people money for new televisions. > > As Aguadilla's Mayor walked through town hall recently, he boasted > about each employee's university or graduate-school credentials as he > introduced them. The trouble, he says, is that "All they want to do is > find security only. They have no ambition...Everybody wants to work > for the government." > > Manuel Reyes, of the Puerto Rico Manufacturers Association, also sees > little hope that the government's role will shrink. "There is no light > at the end of the tunnel," he says, "because we are still in denial." > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:208418 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
