Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As a person that lives near Detroit, I don't think PR's so called "decline" could come anywhere near the D. Being that Detroit holds the records for the tallest abandoned building, the largest bankruptcy filing, highest crime rates, and many other depressing statistics, I seriously doubt that there's any place in any other first world country that can surpass (or stoop) past Detroit.
I agree with you but PR is big trouble. The culture needs to change a bit. Too many people relying on Government assistance. Tourism? I think they do a good job with tourism and make a pretty penny. Now the question is, Does the Government invest the 100's of millions from tourism back into the beaches, bike paths and infrastructure? I say no. As a whole like any state in the union they have to be business friendly. Low taxes to lure companies in. Take a look at what Texas is doing and what my state of NY is doing. You want to model Texas's game plan.
I agree with you but PR is big trouble. The culture needs to change a bit. Too many people relying on Government assistance. Tourism? I think they do a good job with tourism and make a pretty penny. Now the question is, Does the Government invest the 100's of millions from tourism back into the beaches, bike paths and infrastructure? I say no. As a whole like any state in the union they have to be business friendly. Low taxes to lure companies in. Take a look at what Texas is doing and what my state of NY is doing. You want to model Texas's game plan.
Forget the beaches and bike paths, this money should be invested back into their schools. I'd also say infrastructure. I've crossed bridges that make me say a prayer each time I cross. There are wires sticking out that probably are used to hold up something...
Forget the beaches and bike paths, this money should be invested back into their schools. I'd also say infrastructure. I've crossed bridges that make me say a prayer each time I cross. There are wires sticking out that probably are used to hold up something...
There was recently an article in Caribbean Business about this - apparently the US Dept. of Transportation has found that over 30 bridges in Puerto Rico are structurally unsafe.
There was recently an article in Caribbean Business about this - apparently the US Dept. of Transportation has found that over 30 bridges in Puerto Rico are structurally unsafe.
If you have the link for this article, please post it.
It is truly, truly frightening driving over a bridge or under an overpass with my children in the car or in a tapón (traffic jam) and seeing the wear and tear the bridges here have taken. All you can do is pray. I often think about the poor families of the Minneapolis bridge collapse and thank God when across. Very, very scary.
The difference between Puerto Rico and other Caribbean countries, is PR is a US territory. Meaning it should be doing far better than most of the Caribbean. But thats not the case, they are many Caribbean islands doing better than PR, including DR, Bahamas, Trinidad, Barbados. Also, similar to Detriot, PR was the pearl of its region in its hey day (1950s-70s) , now its on economic decline, with a declining economy and population, higher crime and poverty.
Weird. Saying PR is the Detroit of the Caribbean implies the rest of the Caribbean is in better shape than PR which certainly does not appear to be the case across the board. It doesn't seem to be at the very bottom the way Detroit is.
The difference between Puerto Rico and other Caribbean countries, is PR is a US territory. Meaning it should be doing far better than most of the Caribbean. But thats not the case, they are many Caribbean islands doing better than PR, including DR, Bahamas, Trinidad, Barbados. Also, similar to Detriot, PR was the pearl of its region in its hey day (1950s-70s) , now its on economic decline, with a declining economy and population, higher crime and poverty.
DR? You mean as Dominican Republic?.....according to the CIA the per capita in DR is $9,800 that's not even half of Puerto Rico and their currency is very weak. $1 U.S. DOLLAR = 42.45 Dominican Pesos......you rather get paid in U.S. dollars or Dominican Pesos?
Bahamas has a population of 350,000 people (that's not even half of 1 million) and they economy mainly relies on tourism. You can sustain it mainly on tourism because of the small population.
Puerto Rico has 4 millon residents, maybe if you want to kick out 3.7 million people out of the island to the states then the 300,000 people can rely just on tourism and have a per capita of 30,000 like the Bahamas which property is very expensive because lets face it the rich tourists owns the Bahamas. You can't compare those little islands to Puerto Rico because none of them don't even have 1/3 of Puerto Rico population.
If Puerto Rico only has 350,000 residents, I would move there tomorrow and get in the tourism business and rely of upper class/rich foreigners like they do in the Bahamas and live on that......but that's not the reality in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico can't rely on just tourism to support 4 million residents.
Imagine all the space we would have in Puerto Rico if only 350,000 residents live there compare to 4 million now. .......so you are comparing apples to oranges when you make that comparison.
Not sure it is bad enough to call it the "Detroit" of the Caribbean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aab7855
The entire Caribbean for the most part is going through the same types of things as PR, it's definitely not alone in its problems and perceived decline. Jamaica? Haiti? DR? Trinidad? Among others, these places are not well off...
How does one even throw all of these nations together when their economic situations are not the same?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cowboymoe
The difference between Puerto Rico and other Caribbean countries, is PR is a US territory. Meaning it should be doing far better than most of the Caribbean. But thats not the case, they are many Caribbean islands doing better than PR, including DR, Bahamas, Trinidad, Barbados. Also, similar to Detriot, PR was the pearl of its region in its hey day (1950s-70s) , now its on economic decline, with a declining economy and population, higher crime and poverty.
Agree overall...and similar can be said for the U.S. Virgin Islands. One would assume that the territories would be doing better than the independent nations, but that is not always the case.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
