Exploiting the hurricane to privatize Puerto Rico

[Tanuki]

Interesting read. The oversight board (AKA "junta" ) that Sean Duffy's Promesa Act had already established in response to Puerto Rico's debt crisis reminds me of the disastrous GOP takeover of Flint Michigan, that directly led to the water being poisoned.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2017/sep/27/puerto-rico-debt-recovery

"....The decisions made in this moment will have far-reaching implications for Puerto Rico’s future and will shape the daily lives of residents for years to come. As efforts to restore power, potable water, and communication are under way, we must push for a recovery plan that does not exacerbate the already stark inequalities that exist within Puerto Rican society or between Puerto Rico and the rest of the United States.

One of the greatest factors shaping the recovery efforts will be the Fiscal Control Board installed by the federal government as part of the Promesa Act, which oversees Puerto Rico’s finances. The imposition of the Fiscal Control Board, or Junta, means that the local government is hamstrung in terms of its ability to allocate and disperse funds for disaster relief.

While the Junta has authorized $1bn to go towards emergency relief efforts, this number is nowhere near the amount it will take for Puerto Ricans to rebuild. All decisions regarding how Puerto Rico’s infrastructure will be rebuilt will have to be made in consultation with and approved by the Junta, which, ultimately, is in place to make sure Puerto Rico’s debt is serviced. 

 .......

There is fear that the Junta will only allow funds to go towards recovery efforts that allow bondholders to be paid back.Members of the Junta have already been promoting the privatization of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure for some time now, especially its electrical utility company, Prepa, and many feel that the deadly blow dealt by Maria could facilitate privatization efforts that many Puerto Ricans oppose. 

There is also concern that the dictates of the Junta to generate economic growth in order to service the debt could lead to recovery efforts being concentrated in Puerto Rico’s tourist sector at the expense of the rest of the territory. Following catastrophic weather events, San Juan, as the capital city and a major tourist destination, tends to receive greater attention during recovery efforts.

The Junta’s myopic emphasis on restoring economic growth as quickly as possible promises to further exacerbate what will already be an uneven distribution of funds, effort and attention. In such a scenario, Puerto Rico’s low-income, immigrant, and racially marginalized communities that lie off the well-beaten tourist path will undoubtedly suffer.

The White House has announced that it does not intend to request aid for Puerto Rico from Congress until the first or second week of October. This is in stark contrast to the $15.25bn quickly authorized by Congress to aid Texas following Hurricane Harvey.".....(more)

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Sean Duffy's Promesa Act:


 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4900/

[KelleyKramer]

1. Disaster capitalism in action, the more they do it the better they get at the grift

And actually debt blackmail is also a much used and effective disaster capitalism grift (see Ireland, Greece, etc)

So I guess this would be a disaster capitalism 'double tap'

This one disaster will probably net 100+ billion for the robber barons

[stuffmatters]

2. Yep, textbook Shock Doctrine

[Dustlawyer]

3. Sadly, Castro was right when he said that when Puerto Rico needs the US we won't be there for them.

Disaster Capitalism is alive and well. When we bailed out Wall Street in 08 so they didn't have to suffer for their ruining the American economy they had a ready supply of cash during a time when home prices were depressed. In 2010 after the BP oil spill further devastated the Gulf Coast and particularly Florida, bringing prices of homes, condos, hotels, marinas and apartments to all time lows and distressed sales, Wall Street had the cash we gave them and they snapped up these properties for next to nothing.

Wall Street became the biggest landlord in the country, taking advantage of the depression they caused to make huge profits. This gives plenty of incentive to crash the economy again to prey on people and small businesses they made desperate.

We need to start criminally prosecuting these guys and locking them up. It is the only way to stop this crap!