Articles

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.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans packed up and moved — chasing sunshine, freedom and, let’s be honest, a lower tax bill. Fleeing from New York to Florida and California to Texas, one thing has become clear over the past five years.  People decide where to live in part to minimize their tax bill.

Argentina is having a moment. It’s a victory for the free market. A new libertarian president and former economics professor removed rent controls as part of a massive liberalization of the state when he took power in December. The result in the housing market, counterintuitively for some, is more housing at cheaper rents.

Freedom in the history of the individual has had a whole repertoire of fighters and defenders as well as enemies and detractors. It has been a concept that has generated multiple philosophical debates in the academic world, and, in addition, it has been considered a human principle for which many have even given their own lives.