Essay On Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico, with its beautiful beaches, widely visited rainforest, and tropical climate might seem like a paradise to many people. Yet, according to pbs.org, “50,000 Puerto Ricans a year are leaving for the U.S.”. Such statistics show the substantial emigration of Puerto Ricans towards other states and countries. According to economist Heidi Calero, “…the people who are leaving are young people, they are professionals, those who are working, or at working age…”. This creates what is known as a brain drain, a phenomenon that occurs mostly in developing countries, in which the most highly educated people decide to leave in search of better job opportunities. With such a massive exodus of people, one question emerges: why would people want to

Based on cultural, linguistic and social differences, leaving the island is difficult. Yet, the pressure on the locals caused by the increasing taxes and inflation is great enough for people to desire to leave. Corruption in the government and bad political economic decisions brought the island’s public debt up to $73 billion, almost 100 % of Puerto Rico’s gross national income. This debt has caused major economic changes in the government, which has decided to apply new tax laws. There has been an increase in taxes for businesses, which in turn raises prices for customers who also have to pay individual taxes themselves. The load of the public debt has become increasingly burdensome for each individual, and as it adds up to the need for jobs, it becomes another major force that drives people out of the

The lack of jobs is the most common reason for people to leave, especially when there seems to be plenty of job offers elsewhere. Corruption and bad economic decisions by the government have caused an economic crisis in Puerto Rico that has caused inflation and an increase in taxes, thus becoming a great burden for each Puerto Rican resident. As the economy worsens and employment is nowhere to be found, crime rises, and fear for one’s life is mixed with the worry about one’s provisions. It is up to each individual and to the political administrators to take up the lead and bring Puerto Rico out of its