Economy and Crime Spur New Puerto Rican Exodus -- New York Times
SAN JUAN, P.R. — Alexis Sotomayor has many reasons to stay in Puerto Rico: his two children; his mother and their gossip sessions over plates of fried rice; and the balm of salt and sun that leavens his life on the island.
But the artisanal soap business that Mr. Sotomayor built is barely hanging on amid rising costs and taxes, and sales that have sunk by 40 percent in five years. Crime is rampant; his girlfriend was nearly carjacked at gunpoint recently. So last month he boarded a flight to Orlando, Fla., to interview for a job at a rum distillery in the hope of joining the ever-growing Puerto Rican diaspora.
“I don’t see it improving,” said Mr. Sotomayor, a 47-year-old chemical engineer. “I see it getting worse. It’s the uncertainty. What am I going to do — wait until it gets worse?”
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My Comment: A family that I know quite well and who live on the islands (Bahamas) summed up Puerto Rico for me last year .... "Puerto Rico is completely broke, borrowing money for years to pay pensions and benefits while degrading the tax base that supported it all". In short .... a carbon copy of what happened in Detroit but on a grander level with almost everyone living on government handouts.
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