Due to Puerto Rico's historic default on their debt payment, the U.S.-controlled island nation has been dubbed "America's Greece,” according to CNN.
1. Default
Puerto Rico is now officially in default after paying only US$628,000 of a US$58 million debt payment that was due Monday. This marks the first default in Puerto Rico's history. Puerto Rico owes about US$70 billion to its creditors. Its governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, has said the government cannot pay all of its debt.
2. Who Is to Blame
CNN says Puerto Rico is in a debt crisis because the government has overspent for years while the island's economy has shrunk. However, the reason why Puerto Rico is so hugely in debt is direct consequence of Washington's foreign policy.
3. Payment Due
The island was supposed to pay a total of US$483 million on Monday. Experts believe Puerto Rico will pay the huge sum, except for US$58 million that's due to the Public Finance Corporation.
4. Who Will Suffer Most
5. Regular Puerto Ricans will suffer the most from the default, not Wall Street, since most of the Public Finance Cooperation debt is held by regular people on the island through credit unions.
5. Economic Crisis
The country's economy is going through some highly grave circumstances as unemployment is double that of the U.S. at 12 percent.
6. Exodus
Tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans are leaving the island for the mainland United States in search of jobs and stability, a situation that CNN is comparing to the 1950s "West Side Story" era.
7. US Does Not Care
Despite being an unincorporated territory of the United States, subject to the whims of Washington's interventions, the Obama administration has no plans to bail out Puerto Rico.