Articles

Puerto Rico must free itself from slow permits, excessive licenses, and high taxes to transform its productive potential into real growth, says Francisco Rodríguez Castro.

To understand government institutions and the degree of constituent confidence in government, it is necessary to know the track record of their performance. When government institutions function properly, they facilitate prosperity and a high quality of life by building human capital, public health, safety, security, and a healthy fiscal environment; this gives them the confidence of citizens.

Speaking with a friend about the migrant crisis in the United States, she made an interesting observation. Many of the most prosperous Western nations in the world today are facing the same problem. They are flooded with migrants who are overwhelming the system, infuriating the citizenry, adding fiscal burdens, disrupting public order, and leading to possible political instability.

In order to understand some of the social, economic and political problems of our society, it is essential to know what institutions are and what their purpose is. Historically, institutions have been conceived by human beings to sustain order and reduce uncertainty (North, 1991).

The words used in public discussions shape the outcome of debates. In political discourse, language plays a critical role in conveying ideas, shaping perceptions, and even determining public opinion. In the 21st century, despite the successes of liberalism in expanding freedom and reducing poverty, liberal ideas remain unpopular in many parts of the world. This suggests that the issue may not be with the ideas themselves, but with how they are communicated.

If there is a monumental paradox in Puerto Rico, it is the behavior of companies that are helpless to exercise their ability to create added value and contribution to the Island in the absence of direct economic sponsorship from the government sector. This increased to significant levels after the bankruptcy of our government.

Ideas take on a life of their own. The only way to control an idea is to keep it to oneself. That might be personally edifying, but an idea kept within the confines of a single mind will do little to change the world. And Joe Overton was all about changing the world.

Absenteeism in Puerto Rico, especially in the context of leaves of absence, has been a persistent challenge for companies and the economy in general, so specialists consulted by EL VOCERO have invited employers to differintiate the employee classifications and discern about the management and use of leaves of absence.

Perhaps no part of the United States is more impacted by the Jones Act than Puerto Rico. Thanks to the 1920 law, the struggling territory’s approximately 3.2 million people must use some of the world’s most expensive shipping for commerce with the US mainland (by far its top trading partner). One would intuit such protectionism inflicts no small cost to the island’s economy given its heavy dependence on ocean transport. But exactly how significant is it?

We often hear the phrase “we're all in the same boat,” as if crises affect us all equally. But the reality is very different: we are not in the same boat, even though we are facing the same storm.