For the people who do not know, in Puerto Rico, even though people vote for political parties who represent an ideological status for Puerto Rico, mainstream politicians there still consider themselves democrats or republicans. Well, the statehood candidate elected is a Republican and in his first five months of power he has done to Puerto Rico a lot of damage
Here is the guide in easy steps of how Governor Luis Fortuno is destruying our government, and hence our economic development and progress.
1. Go on television and claim that because of the irresponsibilities of the last administration, even when he was part of it and his party controled both House and Senate, the government deficit was actually way higher than he thought it was.
"Governor Luis Fortuno told Puerto Ricans in a televised address late Tuesday that he encountered a 3.2-billion-dollar budget deficit -- four times larger than expected -- when he took office in January".
http://www.zimbio.com/...
Evidently, this claim of a 3.2 billion dollar deficit is just a LIE.
As, the 2008 budget estimates showed the budget deficit was supposed to be: "a general fund structural deficit of $556 million, or about 6%
of general fund expenditures"
http://www.gdbpr.com/...
Evidently, with the recession in place, which caused unemployment to rise and hence a decrease in revenue caused the deficit to go up to about 1 billion dollars, which is way less than the 3.2 billion dollars that Governor Fortuno claims.
2. Form an economic team to analyze the situation, which is composed by the richest men in Puerto Rico and all the corporate interests, with little to none labor feedback.
Soon after the November 4th election and two months before his inauguration on January 2nd, Mr Fortuño appointed a 14-member committee of private-sector leaders, headed by banker, Richard Carrion, to offer ideas on how to address the government’s looming fiscal crisis
http://www.economist.com/...
3. Let the economic team say their plans and take only what will fit the republican plataform.
The committee submitted a 69-page report on January 8th detailing more than 30 proposed measures to increase revenue, cut spending and raise temporary financing. The measures represent a strong fiscal austerity package that was promptly attacked by labour unions and the opposition. The recommendations include a 5% surtax on corporations and high-income earners; tax increases for gasoline, alcohol and tobacco; and a two-year moratorium on salary increases already negotiated with unionised government employees. In addition, the group also recommended the firing of up to 11,000 government workers
4. Have the commite go against raising taxes, specially to the corporations.
The panel decided against recommending an increase in the sales tax or imposing any type of temporary tax on corporations benefiting from tax exemption under the industrial incentives law.
(The Economist as well)
5. Decide that balancing the deficit during a recession is not only the solution to the recession, but the only way to prosperity.
Fortuño said that a detailed plan to eliminate the government’s budget deficit by 2013 was made possible thanks to the work done by the Board
http://www.topix.com/...
- The only way to balance the budget is by cutting government spending, because raising taxes is out of the question.
Our goal is to save two billion dollars a year in government expenses
(Zimbio source)
7. Use the argument that government is just too big, to justify a plan that will cut 30k government jobs in 1 year, when in fact it is our private sector which is just too small.
Fortuno said he did not have an exact number for how many workers would be let go but said he was "afraid" it would exceed 30,000
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Comparado con Estados Unidos Puerto Rico tiene una proporción menor de empleados públicos (7.4%) que 33 estados. This is English says that the government in Puerto Rico has a lower proportion of government employees than 33 states from the union
http://claridadpuertorico.com/...
8. Do not even consider the fact that throwing 30 thousand or more people to the streets will destroy the economy, since the private sector is too small to offer them jobs and this would cause a reduction in government revenues and in public expenditure.
From March 2008 to March 2009, some 109,000 jobs were lost and the unemployment rate reached 14.7%.
The month-to-month change reflects a loss of 21,000 jobs in January, 17,000 in February, and 26,000 in March, for a total of 64,000 jobs lost in the first three months of 2009.
http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/...
9. Take advantage of a catasthrophic deficit in the budget to claim that the government can't stimulate the economy. Do this for the purpose of creating a public-private alliance, that basically puts in the hands of a few corporate interests the decisions of what government does. He does this claiming that it is the only way of incentivating the private sector, which is the only thing important for economic growth.
"El contratante sólo tendrá que cumplir con cualquier disposición incluida en el Contrato de Alianza correspondiente" In english this means that this alliances only have to follow what the contract for it says
Evidently, this basically allows any government agency to parter with any private company and engage in any economic activity for a period of 30-60 years.
This law allows this parternships to happen without a public bidding, the monopoly prevention law does not apply to them, they can basically privatize any government agency, from public schools, public hospitals, public housing, anything government does can go to private hands. In essence it is a LAW THAT GARANTEES THE PRIVATIZATION OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES NO MATTER IF THAT PARTERSHIP VIOLATES ANY LAW BECAUSE THE ONLY LAW IS THE PARTERSHIP CONTRACT.
10. Finally, create a new government permit agency that will decide if a construction or business can be done or not, in which it is not necessary to have a public hearing, and will make the process extremely fast and non-bureacratic, so private interests will be stimulated to seek business.
De aprobarse la nueva ley, se eliminarán 80 reglamentos existentes.
(los permisos)podrán ser concedidos mediante certificación de "un profesional autorizado" del sector privado. What this means in English is that this new law will eliminate 80 government regulations, from environmental, to protection of cultural things, among others. Also, it means that many of the permits will be given not by government officials but by private people.
http://www.primerahora.com/...
These 10 steps have been done or are about to be done by Governor Fortuno, since he has majorities in both House and Senate. They have caused the labor movement, with the cultural movement and the opposition parties to join together opposing the republican policies of privatization and destruction of government.
100,000 people marched last Friday against these policies as can be seen in this webpage.
http://siluz.blogspot.com/...