Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello Nevares last month asked federal taxpayers to shell out $94 billion to pay for the territory’s recovery from Hurricane Maria — then turned around and paid out about $100 million in Christmas bonuses to island government employees.
The governor’s aides say the bonuses are a longstanding tradition and part of the law, and were planned for in the budget approved last summer.
But that budget came well before Hurricanes Irma and Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, leaving much of the territory in ruin and leaving the government begging for federal assistance.
The island’s financial oversight board, created by Congress as part of a deal to bail the government out of a potential debt default last year, called the payments “imprudent” and said the hurricanes should have forced the governor to rethink his decisions.
And the payments could dent Mr. Rossello Nevares’ efforts to get Capitol Hill to pony up for the recovery, where the $94 billion price tag the island has set is already meeting with shock.
ht/ wiscodave
Cut them loose.
Know what else is a longstanding tradition? Corrupt graft grifting ‘ricans
Anyone think Paul Ryan (instrumental in the last bail out known as PROMESA, benefiting wealthy donors) will speak about this?
Hey WI. How about you all Promesa to can his ass next election?
That whole island isn’t worth $94 billion. For less than that, you could buy out all the residents, relocate them to NYC (where all their relatives are anyway), and move all the illegal aliens to Puerto Rico.
Then they can rebuild the place. Problem solved.
Did I mention the part about ceding Puerto Rico back to Spain?
🙂
Beaners… (eye roll).
I’m all for Viet vets plan. The up side is nobody has to learn a new language.
I’ll just mention it looks like we’ve been HAD, cut off the flow of money immediately!
No comprende senor!
Is the NFM running Porter Rico?
Population of PR – 3.4 million.
100,000,000 caramba!
So, for years (has it been decades, already) billionaire banksters poured cash into Puerto Rico — you know that Latin American island near Haiti, Cuba, all those Saints of Money Laundering — so they could pull it right back out with “tax free” interest (free to them, costs of shovel ready pork projects shifted onto loyal American patsies).
Congress, in a show of unipartisanship, was able to find the time to write new laws (write, but still not read, of course) that would prevent the billionaires that bet on the “free money,” Puerto Rican, lottery tickets from losing even “their” winnings, let alone their flash… I mean “investment.”
And breakin’ off the pre-agreed vig to the bagmen is what is “imprudent”?
Corruption is rife in PR and every democrat controlled major city in the US.
What’s new?
since when do gubmint employees get Christmas bonuses?
@Vietvet: I gotta disagree. I live in central Florida and we’ve got as many of them here. More PRs live on the mainland than on the island. But don’t mention that. It’s ‘cultural insensitivity’ or something. Besides, all you need to do to know there’s a Puerto Rican nearby is check their car for the following: Japanese import with horrible windo tinting job. New York Yankees sticker on window(s). Resonator exhaust aka a Fart Cannon.
The Cops in Connecticut call Bridgeport “Bridge-Porta-Rico”
Somebody hold My Baby as I stab this Mang.
Is there anyone in this country or in any country that I am not supporting with my tax dollars! I should be able to claim 200+ million dependents on my tax returns!
@Hope’s Human: OK, alternate plan: Ship all of the mainland US Puerto Ricans back to PR instead, along with all the illegal aliens. Let ‘me fight it out for the limited resources there, and may the best Beaners win.
The part about ceding PR back to Spain stays the same.
“‘me” supposed to be “’em”. Dyslexia caused by chemo brain.
Need edit function.
This is so wrong, Puerto Rico is a third world nation using N. America to appear functional and Civilized to the rest of the World. This alone is enough of a gift to last a Lifetime, but we just had to be Leftist Idiots and buy the Entire diseased Farm !!!
I said this months ago when the ‘Ricans were bitching for more money … cede ’em back to Spain!
… tell Spain it’s to make up for the loss of Catalan, or something
Let’s give Puerto Rico back to Spain and add their residents to the travel ban.
Must be a bunch of Demonrats …
Can’t imagine Republicrats doing that! (sarcasm/off)
izlamo delenda est …