Will be nice if people lay this at Obama and Hillary's feet in the election...even thought it isn't all their fault.

Excellent description of their situation!

Mao's opinion is an interesting question. I suspect he'd go with "proud" since it makes him look better.

Except we pay our bills...for now.

Let them default. With very few exceptions, governments should not borrow money period. Anyone purchasing unbacked government debt assumes the risk of default and should not be bailed out if that risk becomes reality. The prospect of a bailout encourages irresponsible behavior by governments and bond investors alike. On the other hand, if the default is allowed to stand, the PR government will find it very difficult to borrow any additional money and will be forced to live within its means, without the necessity of any further action by the rest of us.

Don't forget the Northern Marianas!

No, they voted to remain a protectorate, as they have the last five times it's come up for a vote. They don't want the responsibilities of a state, and they don't have the pride and determination to take the risk of becoming an independent country.

I'd get rid of it by re-enacting the Homestead Act.

They did vote on statehood about the time Obama took office -- and voted for it. Congress should have admitted them by now, but won't because the island would vote Democratic.

Statehood would resolve the whole budget mess by imposing a requirement to balance the budget.

I have the same thoughts about our federal government... realistically, start selling the land, it has millions of square miles of it here in the west. Can it all be sold at once? of course not, but nothing would be hurt by just setting up an on-going program to start divesting of all of the real estate holdings, use the proceeds to directly reduce the national debt.

I'm sure many a millionaire would pay a premium for relatively untouched lands with beautiful mountain views.

Add the incentive of a Gulch with several years of tax abatement...

Like any dependent welfare class of people... the deeper we dig into our pockets, the less they want to do and the more they want.

Cuba is close by.

They have always wanted welfare and protection, but never really wanted the financial obligations.

Why do we care? :)

Another bailout Obamanation with freshly printed "money" is the first thought that occurred to me while reading the article. .

Puerto Rico's govt was financially irresponsible (copying the Federal govt)...if they are rewarded with a chapter 9 bailout, then the remaining states in the union are incentivized to be irresponsible and it is a race to bankruptcy and a chapter 9 bailout bottom...the slide to collapse and chaos accelerates...prepare...

I recently turned down a lucrative offer to build cannabis growing facilities in PR (legally) but the flying back and forth from the west coast, as well as having to be there a lot, led me to back out.
The last time I was there was after the Cuban missile crisis when I was a midshipman practicing naval assaults storming the beaches of Vieques, Roosevelt Roads had a substantial naval facility and was a welcome respite for our squadron. And time moves on, not always forward.

Puerto Rico would be such a nice place, if it weren't full of Puerto Ricans......

I love it. PR has given us a real-life, living, and colorful demonstration of the welfare state. The blame, of course, will be placed on individuals and the excuse given that only if they had better people running the system who had more powers, all would be fine. I can hear Atlas Shrugged now: "It's not my fault!" he [Lawson] yelled. "It's the fault of the rich who still had money, but wouldn't sacrifice it to save my bank and the people of Wisconsin! You can't blame me!”

This is what happens when you live beyond your means. P.R. may be a territory of the US, but is more resembles a third world country, yet it supports first world safety nets. Until they correct the root cause of their problem, nothing will change. Let them fail and maybe a restructuring will force common sense on them.

The Monroe Doctrine is being replaced (or has been replaced) with the Lee Chan Yaun (or in modern Mandarin, Li Xiannian) Doctrine... which stems from the good ol' Mao Tse Tung (Mao Zedong) doctrine - if you can't conquer them at war, conquer them some other way - in this case, buy them out.

Capitalism in action, brought to you by a nefarious Communist society, which still believes in "Workers of the World, Unite".

...and Mao would either be abjectly horrified... or very, very proud...

They over extended themselves as a territory just like the states and the usa government so what is the big deal.

They just like the states and the usa government are getting their just deserts.

the best part of living in P.R. is that they don't need heat in their homes and they can live off of the see all the while drinking rum to soften their misery