See Puerto Rico gives out Christmas bonuses after asking for $94 billion in hurricane relief at the Washington Times. Excerpt:Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello last month asked federal taxpayers to shell out $94 billion to pay for the territory’s recovery from Hurricane Maria — then turned around and paid out about $100 million in Christmas bonuses to government employees on the island.Read the rest HERE.
[...]
“Puerto Rico has demonstrated time and time again that its government is incapable of responsibly handling its finances. This is yet another such instance,” said Rep. Tom McClintock, California Republican and a member of the House committee with oversight on Puerto Rico.
Now, there is no doubt that Puerto Rico suffered massive hurricane damage this year. But for the Puerto Rican government to take a rake-off at this time is the very definition of government corruption, which deserves not to be assisted in any way, shape, or form.
What's more....
I wonder why we aren't hearing about this in the Liberal or other media? What redeeming value does this island provide to the United States, per se? What would be the down-side if [we] just cut it loose? I've never understood why we keep it in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteBecause there's money to be made
DeleteWhitefish, hmmm?
That's Ryan Zinke's home town, isn't it?
Wonder why the right wing rabies media didn't report this money grab.
Whitefish made some cursory repairs that later failed and they lit out of tow with the dough.
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DeleteThe reply was to Berg and your answer is irrelevant.
DeleteThe point is that Puerto Rico has a history of transferring funds to various political and financial entities.
You can research the history of their bond indebtedness, the Jones shipping act and the history of Puerto Rico when industry decided to leave and discard it. Berg implies that the residents are just a bunch of leaches.
Not so.
In fact we probably have one of MAGA's cabinet officials working a scheme when the island is dire condition.
My comments were interrogatives in search of how the possession of PR benefits the U.S. I didn't mention or refer to the "residents", per se but you did. Was that a slip?
Delete@ JonBerg:
DeleteTypically, for Nostradumbass, it's just another distraction. i.e. If you ain't got nothing else pound the table.
@ 1:31 AM EST 12/7/17
DeleteIt appears that "Nostradumbass" has just crawled back in his hole.
FT,
Deletewe also have a responsibility to treat its citizens as well as we treat ourselves
To a point.
But it seems that the government of Puerto Rico is financially corrupt -- with hand extended to the federal government in Washington.
Adage (paraphrase): "Those who receive gifts from their rich uncle come to hate their rich uncle." Envy, I suppose. In any case, I've seen this type of thing come to pass over and over again -- among my friends and within my family.
That said, Samaritan's Purse appears to be on charity to which to donate for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico. Of course, to get Puerto Rico's electrical-power grid up and running will not be accomplished by Samaritan's Purse.
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DeleteFT,
DeleteWell, I do think the the Puerto Rican government is more corrupt that the government here on the United States mainland. I will try to provide my reasoning on that matter later today. But right now I have to dash out to work in a few minutes.
I understand about PROPORTIONALITY.
Question....Do you understand my point HERE:
About the electrical grid in Puerto Rico:
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)—Spanish: Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE)—is an electric power company and the government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico responsible for electricity generation, power transmission, and power distribution in Puerto Rico.[369] PREPA is the only entity authorized to conduct such business in Puerto Rico, effectively making it a government monopoly. The Authority is ruled by a Governing Board appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico, and is run by an Executive Director.
Therefore, if the island is in crisis, government employees should not be receiving bonuses. Instead, the electrical grid should be given priority.
Also see my comment HERE?
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DeleteFT,
Deletewhat could we hope to do about it anyhow?
A few ideas:
1. Donate to some of the private groups actually helping the Puerto Rican people.
2. Learn a lesson from the mess in Puerto Rico -- particularly with regard to the government monopolizing utilities.
I would also point out that all of us here in the blogosphere often post about things we cannot remedy.
-----------------------
Considering all that's going on in the world right now this particular issue strikes me as "small potatoes"
Perhaps. But "the big potatoes" are being well covered and, frankly, blogged to death.
Also, variety is refreshing.
Furthermore, is it not Biblical to be concerned about "small potatoes"?
-----------------------
As for the matter of what is significant and what is not, you have your opinion about the definition of significance, and I have mine. All of us bloggers run our own blogs as we see fit. How boring the blogosphere would be if all of us followed each other in lockstep!
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DeleteFT,
DeleteI'm a bit sensitive about Puerto Ricans, because I had such pleasant and rewarding experiences working with them –– and their famiies –– when I taught in New York City so many years ago.
AHA! I knew something was going on with your insistence here -- even to the point of nearly saying "You shouldn't be posting on this topic."
Ahem!
Anyway, I've never personally known any Puerto Ricans.
You might want to consider that you have made the logic fallacy of part-to-whole with your statements about Puerto Ricans and Latinos:
4. Part-to-Whole: Where someone asserts that what is true of part of something must also be true of the whole thing together.
It is best to assess individuals as opposed to ethnic groups -- although it is human nature to be wary of The Other.
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ReplyDeleteI hoped someone would point this out, and I'm delighted and surprised that it turned out to be you FT. "WHERE has our sense of PROPORTION gone?" is precisely the correct question to ask. My answer is, it is a sense which responds to exercise; collectively, we have not done so, so it has atrophied.
DeleteI'm sure neither of us would claim Puerto Rico is in good shape financially, but allowing sensationalist headlines to muddle out priorities does nothing to help.
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DeleteSince when do government employees get Christmas bonuses?
DeleteBoth Mr. AOW and I worked for the government (I for the county and he for the state), and we didn't get Christmas bonuses.
When we worked for private industries, we did get Christmas bonuses of some sort. In fact, both Mr. AOW and I were stunned the first time we got Christmas bonuses upon our switch from government employee to private-industry employee.
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Delete"Since when do government employees get Christmas bonuses?"
Deletehttps://www.pf-cpa.com/christmas_bonus.html
so, 1969 I guess.
It's called an "xmas bonus" which we think of as a discretionary thing, seems like it's more routine and expected in PR. Maybe it's similar to how we see tipping in England differently to how you see it in America.
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DeleteFT,
DeleteAs far as I know, government employees here never received Christmas bonuses -- and this happened at least in the early 1970s when Mr. AOW and I both worked for governments (local and state). I think that same was true for my mother, who worked for the federal government since 1934. I could ask Mom except that she's been gone since 1987.
But I do agree with this:
Life in these Ubited states truly WAS a great deal more pleasant and less fraught with acrimonious divisiveness than it is today –– and has been since the tragic debacle of the nineteen-SICK-sties.
Hmm. I had a big financial crisis this fall too. Planned to spend $$$ on something else and had to pay for the crisis. This isn't hard to figure out, guys. Great fuel for undermining the hardhearted bureaucracy.
ReplyDeleteBaysider,
DeleteThank you for understanding the point of my choosing this particular topic for this blog post.
I wonder why the point escaped some other commenters at this thread.
I also wonder if the "government employees" received their bonuses -- Christmas or otherwise -- because those particular employees are at the top of the food chain.
Pretty sure government union employees in net non-contributor welfare debt generating states like Illinois and California also get Christmas bonuses.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm not sure what the point of this post is. If an economic shithole like California is hit with some devastating calamity (earthquake, tsunami, new Taylor Swift album, etc.) should we be upset if government employees get a Christmas bonus?
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DeleteTC,
DeleteGovernment Christmas employees in California get Christmas bonuses? Maybe they call them "holiday bonuses."
PS: I am not upset about Puerto Rico -- just pointing out that any government entity has no discretion about spending.
I get triple pay for working a holiday if it's overtime... and this year, it's overtime :)
DeleteTC,
DeletePrivate industry?
Either cut them off or buy them off.
ReplyDeleteThe Free Nation of Puerto Rico has a nice ring to it.
Ed,
DeleteEither cut them off or buy them off.
I would add to that: "unless there is immediate and successful reform of their government bureaucracy."
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DeleteFT,
DeleteI do not personally buy into collective guilt.
As I understand the post-hurricane situation in Puerto Rico, it is particularly awful precisely because the government there did't do its due diligence about the aging, fragile electrical-power infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteNow Puerto Rico cannot "get up and running" without the electrical power upon which the island's tourist industry relies. See Puerto Rico travel vanishes, complicating Hurricane Maria's wake (October 24, 2017).
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DeleteFT,
DeleteI don't see a logic fallacy with what I said.
Moreover, we here in the U.S. Mainland take for granted that our electricity will be restored quickly. And it usually is! In large part because the system is properly maintained year round.
As my wise father used to say (about the D.C. bus system, but the analogy with Puerto Rico's electrical grid applies:
"Most breakdowns can be avoided if there is proper maintenance beforehand."
That's also true of a house!
PS: Dad bemoaned the deterioration of the DC bus line once the government took it over: breakdown after breakdown, off load after off load during rush hour. In fact, Dad took early retirement from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) because of the lack of regular maintenance once the government controlled the maintenance schedule. Many other master mechanics did the same (early retirement).
We here in Texas have a problem with the DemocRats in the Legislature.
ReplyDeleteTexas receive moneys from the Oil Company's Offshore Oil Rig and Land Drilling. Which the Republicans have put in a fund called "The Rainy Day Fund". Such fund has been around for a long time-it's just since the Republicans have been in control - the fund has not been raided and is a healthy sum. The Dems have been trying to get at it for some time now. Even as the recovery from [Harvey] is burdensome, the Dems are screaming about the need to raid the fund. The Dems have held screaming tantrums News Events for several "crisis" these past few years.
As a Country we even have secret Gov. Departments receiving funds that are distributed to various recipients. Does the Consumer Protection Department (or some such name) make the news as to where the funds are distributed. Isn't this Department under the radar as we in the event gathering collection of just ourselves know about- but not the general public?
The IRS collects our tax funds - but only a portion makes its way to the Congress. There is a portion that is diverted to select organizations not know to the mass public.
Poor Puerto Rico is at least transparent. Even though fruitless as to looking forward to the Rainy Day Needs of the Island well being of the inhabitants.
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DeleteAbout the electrical grid in Puerto Rico:
ReplyDeleteThe Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA)—Spanish: Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE)—is an electric power company and the government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico responsible for electricity generation, power transmission, and power distribution in Puerto Rico.[369] PREPA is the only entity authorized to conduct such business in Puerto Rico, effectively making it a government monopoly. The Authority is ruled by a Governing Board appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate of Puerto Rico, and is run by an Executive Director.
Therefore, if the island is in crisis, government employees should not be receiving bonuses. Instead, the electrical grid should be given priority.
Congress plays Santa Claus with "my" money 365 days a year, you'd think they could take one day off for Christmas.
DeleteGovernment bureaucrats don't meet my definition of the needy or deserving.
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DeleteWarren,
DeleteEXACTLY!
From American Thinker:
ReplyDelete...Unless there is some cultural factor at work that I don't understand, it has to be the mentality of government bureaucrats who see themselves as first in line whenever government resources are being spent. Inside the bureaucracy, the needs of bureaucrats come first, and let's face it: a Christmas bonus really makes the holiday season festive....
Again, a festive Christmas for whom, exactly?
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DeleteFT,
DeleteIt cites the same article in the body of my blog post, then adds a bit of commentary, which may range more broadly than Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is just another Democrat/Progressive run ghetto.
DeleteHow much of that $100 mil do you think will end up back in the coffers of crooked politicians. (think La Mordidita. Literally, the little bite, in slang it means a system of bribery and pay offs)
Warren,
DeleteThey'll probably tend to the tourist areas, which have ties to the island's government, then let the rest of the island suffer.
Warren is right and Free Thinke is right.
DeleteAOW hit the nail on the head.
When the opposition plays the game they muddy the waters to keep the masses from distinguishing the difference. It is called Crony Capitalism-which turns the majority of the Dems "Subjects" against Capitalism.
Back in the day the South had a word for the corrupt play =Carpet Baggers.
TS/WS, call it/them whatever you choose. The game is the same, as far as I can see, back to the Roman Empire. Bread and circuses, bribery, payoffs, kickbacks, nepotism, keep the proles satisfied. Rumors, lies, agents provocateur. All means to an end, money, power, perversion.
DeleteAdmitted, both sides play the game and there are a lot of corrupt Republicans, but the Democrats are institutionally corrupt!
Pre Roman actually.
DeleteAfter Octavius avenged his Uncles Death,
was given the name of the Great Avenger "Agustus".
The alliance with Marc Antony was not predicted, and changed their plans. From then on they chose to be the right arm of leaders instead of becoming Leaders.
They were so evil and wicked that the Romans did not teach the Roman children about these slimmy demons.
I researched this stuff for over ten years-went back in time and found these so called humans and traced them back to the Future.
They were not called Equestrian-or Etruscan, but chose a similar name to muddy the waters as to be accepted be the people in the region.
I can't spell it right, it goes something like Etuscians (that is close enough for discussion)the spelling is a lot longer.
Now are referred to as Ancient Romans.
Julius won the people over and they had him killed by their recruit Brutus.
Tomb Robbers were caught in the 1960's with artifacts of these wacoos - until then they were erased from history by the Romans.
And today they have infiltrated every Government of the Whole Wide World, and every Secret Society.
That is why I give you all a hard time about the "Good Ole Boys" Network.
The Lower Levels are honorable People and do not know about the Power and Wealth and Perversion that goes on at the Top.
Power and the wealth follows, all along with Perversion.
The Dems will be more than happy to make PR folks even more unhappy. They are flooding Florida with tens of thousands and surely will turn Florida into another Red Democrat hell hole thus ensuring we will have a Kamela Harris or a Booker for Pres in 2020
ReplyDeleteWarren said it best above:
ReplyDeleteCongress plays Santa Claus with "my" money 365 days a year, you'd think they could take one day off for Christmas.
Government bureaucrats don't meet my definition of the needy or deserving.
PS: No, Warren and I have not discussed this post privately.