To those
who don’t know, UTIER is the union representing the workers who run the
island’s power company. OK—so why are they striking? Because the legislature
has voted and the governor has signed a budget that—while still 100 million
dollars short—is being declared “balanced.”
Caveat—I’m
swimming in two deep waters here, the first being Spanish, and the second being
economics. In fact, “swimming” implies considerably more adeptness than I have:
“struggling to tread water” is more like it. I can, however, use a calculator.
But first, consider this statement:
La deuda
del Estado Libre Asociado y sus corporaciones públicas alcanza la cifra de $71
billones de dólares, producto de décadas de decisiones que ponen primero los
intereses de los acreedores. La deuda es tan grande que ya supera el tamaño de
nuestra economía.*
(“The
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its public agencies’ debt has reached the sum
of 71 billion dollars, the product of decades of decisions which put the
interest of the creditors first. The debt is so large that it now is greater
than the size of our economy.”)*
OK—so we
owe “71 billion”. And how many of us are there? Here’s
your answer:
La
población total de la isla bajó de unos 3,7 millones en 2010 a 3,6 millones en
2013. Las mayores bajas se registraron en San Juan y en el oeste y sur de la
isla.
(“The
population of Puerto Rico dropped from 3.7 million in 2010 to 3.6 million in
2013. The greatest drops were registered in San Juan and the west and south of
the island.”)
So the
question of the hour: how much would each of us—man, woman, child, infant—have
to pay to pay off the debt tomorrow?
Well, let’s
make it simple: let’s say that the debt is “only” 70 billion, and that the
population has further dropped to 3.5 million. So how much is it?
Twenty
thousand bucks.
Guys—would
you buy a bond issued by a government so heavily in debt?
Well, if
you said yes, you are considerably more rosy-eyed than the three companies who make
it their business to advise investors about such things, since earlier in the
year, all three of them reduced
out bond ratings to junk status. And so we headed off from being La Isla
del Encanto and became La
Isla de la Deuda—and
yes, that means what you think it means.
Enter the 242,000 people who are
“working” for the government—and anyone who has tried to get service from our
government knows haw richly justified those quotes are. The governor has
promised to not cut jobs, but asked that the public unions make concessions
about fringe benefits and payment for sick leave. The unions—reputedly—said
yes, but wanted the governor to include language that would reinstate the
benefits, once the crisis is over. This, the governor was unwilling to do.
And so,
yesterday, the water utility and the power company decided to strike. OK, what
have they vowed to do? Well, borrowing a page from the legislature, they’ve
resolved to act in secret, as well as at night. Oh, and they’ve vowed to close
off the airport, major shopping centers, and also Old San Juan. So what happens
if my aging mother-in-law suffers a fall? Will we have to medevac her out?
Oh, and
what is this going to do to our economy? Well, here’s one
economist:
Una
paralización en los servicios públicos como energía eléctrica, el agua, el
Banco Gubernamental de Fomento y corporaciones públicas que ya están en
situación económica y financiera delicada, esto le puede dar el golpe de muerte
a las mismas”.
(“A
paralysis in public services such as power and light, the Government
Development Bank and public corporations which now are in delicate economic and
financial health could be the death blow for these agencies.”)
Absolutely
possible, because what did the head of UTIER advise listeners to do, this
morning on WKAQ Radio? Stop paying the light and the water bills!
The
announcer stopped to scratch his head.
“OK—so what
happens when they come to cut the service?”
Guess what?
The answer should be obvious.
“Who’s
going to come to cut your service? Not us!”
See?
_____________
* The
author of the first piece cited above uses the term “71 billion” the US way. In
fact, the debt is named at 71,000 million dollars (which in Spanish would be
termed 71 millardos
and is 1,000 times less than 71 billion.)
