Puerto Rico has lost 20% of its jobs since 2007 and 10% of its population, sparking an economic crisis that worsens by the day.
“The result is that Puerto Rico can no longer fully pay its debt and pay for government services,” the oversight board said in the court filing. “Nor can Puerto Rico refinance its debt — it no longer has access to the capital markets. In short, Puerto Rico’s crisis has reached a breaking point.”
The island’s slumping economy was, perhaps, the final straw. Some six in 10 Puerto Ricans are unemployed or not interested in working, and nearly half are enrolled in Medicaid.
Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and can move to the mainland at any time. Tens of thousands have already streamed into Florida, further draining the island’s tax base.
What happens next?
