The island is culturally, linguistically, and ethnically different from the rest of the U.S. – it makes no more sense to be part of the U.S. than would other Caribbean or Latin countries. That sort of thing is what signals the difference between a cohesive country, and an empire. The U.S. resembles an empire more and more as time goes by. I’d love to see them become independent and wealthy, in the manner of Hong Kong or Singapore. But they’ll probably devolve into just another Latin American money pit. I don’t know what the answer is – in fact, there is no answer. The place has been corrupted by over a century of welfare. It’s got to change its culture, and that isn’t easy. But it shouldn’t be your problem, my problem, or the problem of other Americans. Justin: I hate to say it, but you’re probably right. The chances of Puerto Rico becoming the next Hong Kong or Singapore are slim to none. But let’s pretend you’re in charge of Puerto Rico. Howwould you start the rebuilding process? Howwould you turn it into the next Hong Kong? DOUG: After defaulting on all the government debt to clear the deck? I would then abolish all welfare programs, of whatever nature, for both individuals and corporations. I’d get rid of their local income tax and all regulations of whatever description. If you want it to boom like Hong Kong or Singapore, you have to put the same conditions that those places have in place. And those are the conditions.
It’s necessary to totally free marketize the place. That would attract companies and entrepreneurs from all over the world. Institute
The place doesn’t need some changes around the edges... It needs total and radical reform, top to bottom. And it could become – very quickly – the leading edge of the entire world’s economy.
gold as money. Going even further, I’d take all the government’s assets – of any type, including national sovereignty – and put them in a corporation, distributing publicly listed shares to the citizens. Theoretically, the people own the government and its assets. But that’s a meaningless concept, unless you can take that dead capital public in major stock markets. The government wouldn’t do anything but provide police and a court system. But, perversely, those two things are too important to leave to the type of people that wind up working for the government – they always become centers of corruption. They should be privatized, too. There’s a lot more to say about this plan – it’s something I’ve been trying to sell to failing states for many years now. It would be a total non-starter in Puerto Rico, simply because it’s part of the U.S. The place doesn’t need some changes around the edges... It needs total and radical reform, top to bottom. And it could become – very quickly – the leading edge of the entire world’s economy. It could be turned into Dubai on steroids. But it won’t be. Well, as Einstein said, after hydrogen, stupidity is the most common thing in the universe.
American Consequences | 35
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