The resemblance between Puerto Rico's debt problems and the situation in Europe is uncanny. The island and its leaders can learn three important lessons from the Greek crisis – first and foremost that it is no use pretending that debt reduction can be avoided.
NEW YORK – There was a time when it might have been said that Puerto Rico, in the midst of a wrenching debt crisis, was returning to its Latin roots. After all, Latin American governments were once world leaders in over-indebtedness. But the United States’ public debt now stands at over 100% of its GDP, and Detroit has just gone through bankruptcy. Perhaps Puerto Rico is, at last, becoming more American.
NEW YORK – There was a time when it might have been said that Puerto Rico, in the midst of a wrenching debt crisis, was returning to its Latin roots. After all, Latin American governments were once world leaders in over-indebtedness. But the United States’ public debt now stands at over 100% of its GDP, and Detroit has just gone through bankruptcy. Perhaps Puerto Rico is, at last, becoming more American.