In August 2023, when we mark the centennial of Calvin Coolidge’s ascendance to the presidency upon the unexpected death of Warren Harding, we should celebrate his devotion to economy in government—and not just that he talked about it, but mainly because he delivered on it.
No serious free marketer believes that markets are perfect. We aren't utopians. Unfortunately, perfect markets and perfect competition are often the starting point of economic textbooks. This rosy starting point leads many to conclude that when conditions are less than perfect, the best course of action for a correction is government intervention. It's wrong.
The lawyer said that, from his experience, the JSF has written more letters to the government regarding the new Labor Reform than with other issues. "In other cases where the Board sues, it always sends letters and warnings, but in the case of Law 41 the Board is being very incisive," he said. "I would describe it as a last chance, but I admit that I have not seen a previous letter in which the Board gave the government so many chances", he said.
In the letter dated July 30, the Oversight Board attached an extensive study by economist Robert Triest in which the negative impacts that Law 41 would have on the economic development of Puerto Rico are summarized. In short, the economic study concludes that Law 41 discourages the hiring of new employees in the private sector and, therefore, Government revenues will be affected. Specifically, the study concludes that Law 41 will cause a decrease in Government revenues of $156 million in the short term and - in the long term - it will cause a reduction of $8.1 billion in revenues. Based on that study, the Board concludes that Law 41 is inconsistent with the Fiscal Plan and violates PROMESA.
We need to promote laws that encourage the growth of new companies and ecosystems of innovative services. In the near future, the emerging and vibrant economies will be those that enrich and promote the generation of services based on the talent of human capital. We need to transform the talent market and create a legislative framework that facilitates labor flexibility.
Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill that fundamentally changes the state’s permitting process for home building. It requires local jurisdictions to post online not only their permitting processes but also the status of permit applications. The transparency takes a good amount of mystery out of what can be an inscrutable branch of bureaucracy.
The airport looked like something out of the 1950s: shabby hallways, a generic media outlet, a generic restaurant, and a few tacky souvenir shops. All that changed after San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) was privatized in 2013. Underlying problems were far more serious.
What is going to happen, write it down, is that entrepreneurs, large or small; merchants who will be affected in one way or another, will pass the blow to the consumer. That is not talked about. The governor did not mention it in his "vibrant" speech when signing the law. But it is something that cannot be avoided. The increase in the mesada, in the Christmas bonus or whatever, is going to be paid by the consumers in the can of sausages.
If you’re poor and reside where there’s little economic freedom, then you have fewer opportunities to improve your livelihood compared with those living in more economically free places. The freedom to have the flexibility to control your future and leave a legacy to future generations with little influence by government supports human flourishing.
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