PR does not appear able to mange itself. In the face of increasing hurricane risjk and severity the question is wheter or not the population on the island is sustainable.
Sounds a bit like Venezuela, spending more than revenues to support social programs.
There is about 4 million people.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rican_government-debt_crisis
The Puerto Rican government-debt crisis is a financial crisis affecting the government of Puerto Rico.[a] The crisis traces back its history to 1973 when the government began to spend more than what it collected. To cover that imbalance, the government issued bonds rather than adjust its budget. That practice continued for four decades until 2014 when three major credit agencies downgraded several bonds issues by Puerto Rico to "junk status" after the government was unable to demonstrate that it would be able to pay its debt. The downgrading, in turn, prevented the government from selling more bonds in the open market. Unable to obtain the funding to cover its budget imbalance, the government began using its savings to pay its debt while warning that those savings would eventually exhaust and that it would thus eventually be unable to pay its debt. To prevent such scenario, the United States Congress enacted a law known as PROMESA, which appointed an oversight board with ultimate control over the commonwealth's budget. As the PROMESA board began to exert that control, the government sought to increase revenues and reduce its expenses by increasing taxes while curtailing public services and reducing worker's benefits. Those measures further compounded the crisis by provoking social distrust and unpleasantness in the general population.
In August 2018, the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico reported the Commonwealth had $74 billion in bond debt and $49 billion in unfunded pension liabilities as of May 2017, according to a debt investigation report.[2...
Cessation of federal subsidies[edit]
For much of the 20th century Puerto Rico was subject to favorable tax laws from the US federal government, which essentially acted to subsidize the island's economy. In 1996, US President Bill Clinton signed legislation phasing out important parts of the favorable federal tax code over a ten-year period ending in 2006.[21][22] The end of the subsidies led to companies fleeing the island which itself subsequently led to tax shortfalls. At first, the Puerto Rican government tried to make up for the shortfall by issuing bonds. The government was able to issue an unusually large number of bonds, due to dubious underwriting from financial institutions such as Spain's Santander Bank, UBS, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup.[23][24][25][26] Eventually the debt burden became so great that the island was unable to pay interest on the bonds it had issued.
Mismanagement and disparity[edit]
Some newspapers, such as El Vocero, have stated that the main problem is local government inefficiency rather than lack of funds.[k][l] As an example, the Department of Treasury of Puerto Rico is incapable of collecting 44% of the Puerto Rico Sales and Use Tax (or about $900 million), did not match what taxpayers reported to the department with the income reported by the taxpayer's employer through Form W-2s, and did not collect payments owed to the department by taxpayers that submitted tax returns without their corresponding payments.[m][29][30] The treasury department also tends to publish its comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFRs) late, sometimes 15 months after a fiscal year ends, while the government as a whole constantly fails to comply with its continuing disclosure obligations on a timely basis.[31][n] Furthermore, the government's accounting, payroll and fiscal oversight information systems and processes also have deficiencies that significantly affect its ability to forecast expenditures.[o]
Similarly, salaries for government employees tend to be quite disparate when compared to the private sector and other positions within the government itself. For example, a public teacher's base salary starts at $24,000 while a legislative advisor starts at $74,000. The government has also been unable to set up a system based on meritocracy, with many employees, particularly executives and administrators, simply lacking the competencies required to perform their jobs.[p][q]
There are 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, which budget $2.2 billion a year, with mayors' salaries alone costing $4.8 million.[34] Thirty-six of these have a budget deficit, putting 46% of the municipalities in financial stress.[35] Each municipality’s elected legislature, usually including 1,000 to 1,500 members, receive per diems and expense money.[34] Just like the central government, the municipalities would issue debt through the Puerto Rico Municipal Financing Agency to stabilize its finances rather than make adjustments. In total, the combined debt carried by the municipalities of Puerto Rico account for $3.8 billion or about 5.5% of Puerto Rico's outstanding debt.[r]
During the New Deal, appointed Governor Rexford Tugwell created the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority by nationalizing the island’s private utilities.[16] The state monopoly provides free electricity to local governments, which prompted the Mayor of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, to build an ice-skating rink.[16] PREPA, which uses oil-fired power plants, has had opaque purchasing practices, and has resisted wind and solar power projects, has a debt of $9 billion.[16]
PREPA has had poor bill collection practices, with FTI Consulting estimating that the utility had improperly given away $420 million of electricity and that the island's governments were $300 million delinquent in payments.[16] In 2012, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority was forced to sell the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport to private buyers after PREPA threatened to cut off power over unpaid bills.[16] In 2014, the Puerto Rico Energy Commission was established.[16]
Disparity in federal social funding[edit]
More than 60% of Puerto Rico's population receives Medicare or Medicaid services, with about 40% enrolled in Mi Salud, the Puerto Rican Medicaid program.[37] There is a significant disparity in federal funding for these programs when compared to the 50 states, a situation started by Congress in 1968 when it placed a cap on Medicaid funding for United States territories.[37] This has led to a situation where Puerto Rico might typically receive $373 million in federal funding a year, while, for instance, Mississippi receives $3.6 billion.[37] Not only does this situation lead to an exodus of underpaid health care workers to the mainland, but the disparity has had a major impact on the finances of Puerto Rico.[37]
List of states and territories of the United States by population