Hope for the Future

In the previous posting on this subject, we noted that Puerto Rico hasn’t always been an economic “basket case” by any stretch of the imagination.  A series of natural and manmade events, however, combined to put the Commonwealth in a very bad position.

A Basket Case?

 

In the previous posting on this subject, we took a brief look at the current situation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico — and it is not good.  In social justice, however, we learn that (at least in social justice terms) “nothing is impossible.”  That doesn’t mean that something that is genuinely impossible can be done, e.g., flap your arms and fly to the Moon.  Rather, it means that by organizing using the techniques of social justice, what is impossible for one lone individual to accomplish becomes very easy (relatively speaking, anyway).

The Situation Today

 

As we saw in the previous posting on this subject, an idea to develop Puerto Rico in the 1970s using the Proprietary Fund for Puerto Rico went nowhere, possibly due to the influence of the eminent economist Dr. Paul Samuelson.  That does not mean, however, that something still can’t be done — despite the fact that the Commonwealth is in much worse shape today than in the 1970s.

Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh, Lolli-Lollipop

Okay, maybe it wasn’t the deepest or most meaningful song, but then it wasn’t meant to be.  The Chordettes’ version of Lollipop from 1958 (they did the second recording) hit Number 2 on Billboard.  It was pretty much the only thing they did that anyone remembers . . . well, Mister Sandman was pretty popular, too.  And a decade or so later, “the Archies” with Sugar, Sugar had another one-hit wonder.  There must be something about candy that diminishes the seriousness of the message (if any) conveyed.

The Proprietary Fund for Puerto Rico

As we hinted in the previous posting on this subject, the ideas of money, credit, banking, and finance are mere theories, but have practical applications in what we loosely term “the real world.”  One of the more interesting of these is the might-have-been of “the Proprietary Fund for Puerto Rico.”

“A Small Error in the Beginning”

In the previous posting on this subject, we looked at some fundamentals of money, credit, banking, and finance.  And we do mean “some.”  We covered key concepts, but not in any depth, primarily for informational purposes, not anything approaching a full explanation.  It was, frankly, simply a way to get into the story of how politicians and economists shackled to conventional (and wrong) notions of money and credit have managed to derail reform programs to everyone’s detriment, probably because they were afraid to look stupid or endanger their status or income . . . with the latter probably taking precedence.

Puerto Rico: A Few Suggestions

It’s unverified (by us), but we’ve heard that the “Jones Act Waiver” for Puerto Rico is going to expire and won’t be renewed.  And what, exactly, does that mean?  The “Jones Act,” which dates from the 1920s, stipulates that cargoes going from one U.S. Port to another must be carried on U.S. flag vessels.  This presumably helps the struggling U.S. Merchant Marine by providing employment . . . and greatly increases prices in Puerto Rico. . . .

Project Economic Justice: President Reagan’s Speech, II

What with everything else that has happened, Puerto Rico seems to have disappeared from public attention . . . that is, until people start wondering how to rebuild without bankrupting the rest of the United States.  Oddly enough, a possible program for rebuilding that will make money instead of costing money is ready to hand, and only needs to be implemented.  Today we look at the second part of President Ronald Reagan’s speech to the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice that presented the plan.  This is a follow-up to the extract from the strategy paper, “Project Economic Justice: A Beachhead for Regional Infrastructural Reform,” which led up to the work of the Task Force.  For those interested in seeing and hearing rather than (or in addition to) reading, here is the video of the speech:

Project Economic Justice: The Role of the Corporation

Today we conclude our posting of the “strategy paper” that led to the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice, “Project Economic Justice: A Beachhead for Regional Infrastructural Reform,” which will be followed on Monday by the first part of President Reagan’s speech to the Task Force:

Project Economic Justice: Two-Tiered Capital Credit System, II

Continuing our examination of a program that could be instituted to rebuild Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean, today we continue looking at Part II of the “strategy paper” that led to the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice, “Project Economic Justice: A Beachhead for Regional Infrastructural Reform,” to be followed by President Reagan’s speech to the Task Force.  Today we post the first part of the second section of Part II, along with the introductory section from yesterday that will be repeated for each section as it is posted:

Project Economic Justice: Two-Tiered Capital Credit System, I

Continuing our examination of a program that could be instituted to rebuild Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean, today we continue looking at Part II of the “strategy paper” that led to the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice, “Project Economic Justice: A Beachhead for Regional Infrastructural Reform,” to be followed by President Reagan’s speech to the Task Force.  Today we post the first part of the second section of Part II, along with the introductory section from yesterday that will be repeated for each section as it is posted:

Project Economic Justice: A New Social Contract

Continuing our examination of a program that could be instituted to rebuild Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean, today we begin looking at Part II of the “strategy paper” that led to the Presidential Task Force on Project Economic Justice, “Project Economic Justice: A Beachhead for Regional Infrastructural Reform,” to be followed by President Reagan’s speech to the Task Force.  Today we post the first section of Part II, along with an introductory section that will be repeated for each section as it is posted: