Category Archives: Rants and Raves

Are Acts 20 and 22 Bad for Puerto Rico?

I have been thinking about this for quite some time and would like to hear some other opinions on it. While Puerto Rico is in the midst of major economic woes, there seems to be a rather strange phenomenon going on with what are called Acts 20 and 22 as well as 273. I have heard of these things enough to warrant looking into it some.

Here are the details I found:

These are laws that passed in 2012 with the intent of bringing in investors, money and jobs to the island. Here are some key benefits to investors for each of them.

Act 20: Create export services by alluring outside service entities via tax incentives to relocate to the island
0% Taxes on Earnings and Profit
3-4% Flat Income Tax
0% Property Tax

Act 22: Entice nonresident investors to relocate in Puerto Rico
0% Taxes on Dividends and Interest
0%-10% Taxes on Capital Gains

Act 273: Broaden the scope of banking activities for international financial entities (IFEs)
4% Income Tax on Permitted IFE Activities
0% Property Tax on Real, personal, tangible, and intangible property
IFE Shareholder incentives:
6% Income Tax on Distributions for P.R. residents
0% income Tax on Distributions for non-residents

Basically what this amounts to are some major tax breaks on everything from property, corporate taxes, individual taxes and banking to non-residents of Puerto Rico if they live here for at least half the year. The hope, of course, is that this luring in of investors and businesses to the island would help improve the economy by providing jobs, spending money and improving the island’s infrastructure by buying up old run down assets. But as you may notice, glaringly, these Acts don’t even apply to Puerto Ricans! For Act 22 for example, you are only eligible if you hadn’t lived in Puerto Rico between 1997 and 2012! Why is there no emphasis on building up businesses from within or at least extending the same benefits? These are so obviously geared at outside interests it’s just downright weird.

So given all of that, what’s the verdict? Are these actually working? Does lowering taxes on the wealthy and bringing in wealthy non-residents improve an economy? Well, these laws were written so hastily that while they know that a few hundred people have come to start investments or businesses here in the last 3 years under these acts, they don’t know what the true impact has been and are just going to start studying the impact now. Oh geez, let’s just write a law and THEN hope that it works? Fingers crossed!

Puerto Rico Economic Policy?

But they already know. In general most progressive economists say no, that lowering taxes on the wealthy doesn’t actually improve an economy. What it does is make the rich richer and widen the gap between wealthy and poor. And in this case, it seems to also divide the outside interests and local Puerto Rican interests since there is not an equal playing field. The haves and the have-nots are further entrenched. Trickle down economics has been tried and just doesn’t work.

The basis for a stable economy has always been a strong middle class and these types of tax breaks don’t build up the middle class -especially when it is not available to the general public, you know, to Puerto Ricans! I know quite a few people who would love to take part in these programs but can’t because they were already living here! How backwards is that?! Let’s bring in outside interests that know nothing of the island rather than spurring growth from within of people who know they already love it and don’t want to leave!

In the last 3 years there has been little sign that these sorts of programs have worked at all to help Puerto Rico. The situation in Puerto Rico is even more severe because with so many people leaving the island in search of economic opportunities elsewhere these laws have brought on a type of money grab akin to Detroit by people like John Paulson and Nicolas Prouty who have bought up not only Puerto Rico debt but also huge swaths of property making it even more difficult for local Puerto Rico investments into the community. The whole thing seems to be like building an economy on a house of cards and the stakes just get higher.

And what makes this even more appalling to me is that at the same time that the uber wealthy are swooping in on Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican people who can’t take advantage of these benefits are suffering through austerity measures including high sales taxes, high costs of goods and services (partially due to outdated shipping rules) and shutting down local schools and hospitals all the while being treated as second class citizens without the same rights (voting, bankruptcy) as elsewhere in the states.

These types of tax incentives for the wealthy have been tried before (here’s a long report on the economic history of PR) and brought the large pharmaceutical and other manufacturing companies years ago. But there were no real roots tying these businesses to Puerto Rico. Once the tax benefits expired, the businesses packed up and left. This disrupted so much of society as it took people from the countryside who had worked traditionally on the land and put them in the cities and factories. Once the companies left, the people with no other options were left holding the bag. It seems the same pattern is happening again. It’s a hedge fund party in a economic crisis and the true cost is paid by the locals. The environment is doubly regressive: taxing the poor through higher and higher sales and other taxes and not collecting the fair share from the corporations and individuals that have capitalized on the island -and who are certainly not suffering financially. The financial inequality and disparity only widens.

I have actually met some of the people who have come to Puerto Rico primarily because of these Acts and I understand it from their perspective. They are mainly good people just going where the incentives have led them. They may even truly want to help Puerto Rico. It is not the people I have a problem with and I encourage people to come here who truly want to stay and help Puerto Rico! But I do have a problem with bad policy. And these Acts are bad. They are not holistic, not available and encouraged for local populations, have not been shown to have a real positive impact, do nothing to address the economic burdens that are created, and they are just simply unfair and divisive! They do not bring equal opportunities for all and in fact widen the disparity! Because while these incentives have worked to bring people here, I am not sure it has worked to get them to stay and help the island in a long or sustainable way. If they ever actually make that report that studies the impact of these laws I would love to see how many of these investors stay on the island for more than the 183 day minimum and consider Puerto Rico truly their “home” in anything other than name.

So that’s where my investigations have taken me on Acts 20/22/273. Perhaps in a generally healthy economy, they could stand up to some scrutiny and if they were geared at actually encouraging Puerto Rico ingenuity and entrepreneurship -or bringing back the diaspora of Puerto Ricans from the states even!- I might be able to stand behind them. As they are currently, though, they seem to be just more of the same wealthy elites writing the rules for the rich to get richer on a beautiful tropical island playground for half a year at a time while ignoring the true community and local interests.

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Animal Welfare in Puerto Rico: Interviews with Experts

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Loose dogs roaming the beach in Rincón

Animal welfare in Puerto Rico may be one of the most obvious differences a person from elsewhere notices when they visit various parts of Puerto Rico. Though it is slowly changing (more so in Rincón than some places), you may still see street dogs (known in Puerto Rico as satos), or even loose pet dogs begging for food, mating, and wandering about with pups. Sometimes they look very sickly and occasionally they are hit by cars on the side of the road. They may be causing trouble getting into people’s yards, chasing or killing other animals, dumping trash cans, or barking and fighting with other dogs.

There are also many feral cats fending for themselves and territory and even abandoned horses sometimes in the middle of the road causing traffic issues. And the pet iguanas that were released at some point long ago now outnumber the human population (and are causing some major damage to the island’s flora)!

Our rescued cat, Kitty, came with us all the way from Colorado

I have always had a soft spot for animals and both our old dog Schnoodle and current cat Kitty were shelter rescues from Colorado. So I wanted to know, what is going on here in Puerto Rico, how is it changing, and what are the resources? Rather than attempt to tackle these questions myself, I decided to ask a few experts. Below are the responses from three leaders in animal welfare in the Rincón area. A huge thank you to all of them for taking time to help educate the community on this important issue!

Terrie Hayward, MEd, KPA-CTP, CPDT, CSAT, IAABC

Background/education in animal welfare

For eight years I ran a rescue group in a different part of PR & was the secretary for a group in Samoa previously. I have personally fostered hundreds of dogs (& a few cats) & worked to find appropriate, permanent homes for them.

My background is in education (MEd.) & I still work in education, however now my clients are animals & their caregivers. I’m a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP), & am also certified via the Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CPDT-KA) as well as specializing in Canine Separation Anxiety (CSAT-Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer) & Deaf Dogs & have authored the book, “A Deaf Dog Joins the Family” My business info can be found as follows: positiveanimalwellness.com & on FB.

What are the mission and goals of your organization/group/program?

I work with people & animals to improve upon communication & effect behavioral change using the science of positive reinforcement which is the route to happy, healthy lives for the animals & people who care for them.

Describe the current animal welfare situation in Puerto Rico. How is it similar or different to other places? Are there any special cultural considerations? How has it changed over the years?

Having lived outside of the US for the last 20 years & in many different locations the animal welfare situation is similar to PR in many places (including some spots within the US as well). Education is always the key from care to training to improving the overall quality of life for animals.

What are the best practices as well as new and promising practices regarding animal welfare?

Education, again, is the key. With behavior modification & training, at least half of the training is for the people. As such, providing education & information is not only good for animals & caregivers, but is beneficial to the health & safety of the community as a whole.

TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) is the key to stable cat colonies in spots where there is an overpopulation of outdoor cats. Once there is a stable colony, feeding & monitoring stations can help in the maintenance of the colony. The link above gives additional details as to how & why this protocol works best.

70-90% of animals relinquished to shelters are due to behavioral issues. Simple problems which, when approached appropriately, can easily be avoided &/or modified.

For this reason I always suggest that when folks bring a new animal into the home they work with a certified, professional force free trainer which can set people up to get started in the right direction.

How can individuals help?

There is always something that everyone can do to help with the overall global animal welfare issues: foster, adopt, donate, volunteer.

What does responsible pet ownership mean to you? What should a person do if they can no longer care for an animal?

According to Ken Ramirez, world renowned training & behavior expert, health care, nutrition, environment, and behavior management (training and enrichment) are all necessary parts, which collectively represent a good animal welfare plan.

Caring for an animal is a life long responsibility which means that we are always striving to improve upon the above to enhance the quality of life for the animals we live with.

A lot of the focus is on dogs. Are there any specific techniques or programs regarding the different species? (Cats, horses, iguanas, or other pets for instance pythons, parrots, turtles, etc)

The US Dept. of Fish & Wildlife handles other animal calls (birds for example).

Miriam Juan, President of ARF of Rincón

My name is Miriam Juan, I have been rescuing dogs independently and with ARF of Rincon for the past 15 years. I come from a family that has been rescuing animals all my life, sometimes we would have 20 dogs at home. My parents rescued horses also.

ARF:

Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) of Rincon is an animal welfare organization that services the town of Rincon, Puerto Rico, that started in 1997 in the face of a sad incident. It was started by a handful of devoted volunteers that would rescue and find homes for dogs and cats. Since then, it has evolved to focus on eradicating animal overpopulation. Hence, its year-round low-cost spay/neuter voucher program. It also hosts special one-day Health Day community events where a regional vet administers vaccinations while ARF volunteers schedule spay/neuter appointments. In 2014, a total of 813 pets were rescued, reunited with their families, or adopted. ARF of Rincon also work with a trainer from PAWS. ARF also participates in educational seminar at schools and in low income communities.

Contact info is ARF of Rincon, PO Box 592, Rincon PR 00677, our website is www.arfofrincon.org, our Facebook page is ARF of Rincon. office phones 787-823-7167, 939-697-8161, emergency only 787-629-1246.

Current Animal Welfare Situation in Puerto Rico:

The current animal welfare situation in Rincon is better than ever; we focus on encouraging people to sterilize, vaccinate and provide proper care for their pets. Compared to the rest of Puerto Rico we have seen a big difference in malnourished stray dogs. Cultural considerations we face are the need to change the macho ideas that male dogs do not need to be neutered as well as owners not providing adequate housing such as tied on a very short rope or being exposed to the environments such as direct sunlight and rain.

Ideal Animal Welfare Scenario

Our ideal scenario will be that every pet have a loving home with proper care. No strays in the streets starving and sickly all the while reproducing. ARF has started TNR (trap, neuter, release) for cats however we rely 100% on individual donations because we receive no grants or government support. Law enforcement is not educated enough about Law 154 (Animal Welfare and Protection law), there is also a lack of animal investigators on the western side of Puerto Rico, the responsibility to check the situation and file complaints falls completely on ARF.

How Individuals Can Help

Individuals can help by donating time, money and fostering animals. ARF of Rincon has a set protocol for people that are interested in adoption. There is only 1 shelter on the western Puerto Rico and, sadly, it is a kill shelter, which we try to avoid however we do use their veterinary center for spay and neuter because they provide considerably lower cost.

If a person finds animal, they can contact a local rescue group from the area. If the dog is aggressive or destructive, they should call the municipality or the police. However in our experience; neither are responsive.

Responsible Pet Owners

A responsible pet owner understands that a pet is a family member, will provide vetting and basic care such as food, exercise and quality time.

Other Animals:

In Puerto Rico along the coast line there is a need for better protection of the sea turtles that migrate here to lay eggs we also need to protect the hatchlings. There is also a need for horse rescue in the western area of Puerto Rico.

Areas of need

We would love to find a way to provide low income vetting (veterinarian services) for residents of Rincon.

Thanks to ARF a law was passed in 2011 in Rincon for mandatory registration of pets; however we do not have the tools or money to enforce this law

A side note: ARF has arranged to have 75% of the residents of the low income areas spay/neuter and vaccinate their pets. We have managed to make an agreement with the Family Department to allow residents to foster dogs for ARF as part of their community service hours

Cynthia Calvin, MS, President of DAR

Background and Interest in Animals

Cynthia Calvin – Masters Computer Science. In 2010 I watched a Documentary from the Rincon Film Festival – 100,000 Movie That documentary got me acting for animals in Puerto Rico – prior to that I had no animals of my own and barely noticed animals anywhere in the world. We’d moved to Rincon in 2009.

What are the mission and goals of your organization/group/program?

To read the full mission and purpose, go to: www.darrincon.org/about

We are based out of Rincon but we will help anyone in Puerto Rico rescue/help a dog, cat or horse. Homes, forever or permanent, are the hardest thing for us to find.

Defensa Animal de Rincon is a Puerto Rico based non profit working to increase sterilization rates among cats and dogs on the island while improving all animal lives through educational programs, awareness and offering assistance to animal rescuers and is funded 100% Via Donations.

Describe the current animal welfare situation in Puerto Rico. How is it similar or different to other places? Are there any special cultural considerations? How has it changed over the years?

It is pretty much the same as the documentary noted above shows it. However, because ARF has been around for so long doing amazing work, Rincon has many tourists with money who visit and rescue on their own and Rincon now has 3 non-profit Rescue Groups today. The situation in Rincon is not bad like the documentary shows and not bad like the rest of the Island.

We started Defensa because at the time we started it, 2014 – ARF had a policy to only help Rincon animals (that may have changed) and because ARF did not rescue horses. Defensa will help anyone help an animal anywhere in Puerto Rico and we will help with horses. However, we do nothing (normally) without an individual leading the rescue. We help with Vet services and marketing for adoption – so that people can rescue independently.

We do not ask for adoption fees. This is controversial, but in our experience – if you let the rescuer/foster decide on the best forever home you won’t be giving an animal to someone who isn’t going to take care of it. Also, money is not required to give an animal rescued from the streets a beautiful forever home. Also, the amount of time in bookkeeping it takes to follow up on adoption fees and all that goes with ‘micro managing rescues’ is not something that worked for us. We have found there are people with money to donate who can’t adopt/rescue/foster and there are people without money who can adopt/rescue/foster. I’ve never felt people should profit from rescuing animals – but on the other hand I’ve always felt if people could figure out a profitable business for rescuing it would the solution. We would like to help someone open a shelter/pet shop/grooming facility in Rincon (to show off any street rescued animal) we just haven’t found that someone.

What would the ideal scenario of animal welfare in Puerto Rico look like?

The Island government starting a free Spay/Neuter program.

The City governments starting free spay/neuter programs. I say Spay only sometimes because it avoids the whole issue with chopping off the balls. If you don’t want to chop off the boys’ balls then spay all the females! (Editor’s note: In Puerto Rico this seems to stem from a tendency culturally to not want to literally and figuratively “emasculate” their animals. And this has a large impact on why animal populations can quickly become out of control.)

The Cities starting animal registration / tagging services

The body that oversees Vet licensing allowing Vets from outside PR an easy way to get a temporary license to hold free spay/neuter clinics. Currently they don’t respond to requests and don’t care about the need. Therefore, free clinics can not legally happen.

What are the best practices as well as new and promising practices regarding animal welfare?

I don’t know. The situation is so screwed up in PR, you are just trying to keep your head above water – best practices – for me at least – are a dream I don’t have time to think about. I think about the animal on the streets with no home, no water, no food – or worse, the horse tied on a hope in the sun with no water, no food, no care.

How has and can the larger system help?

Spay, neuter, money and programs -the missing piece for dogs and cats.

Horses – the missing piece is a law that would allow a rescue group to TAKE a neglected horse. Horses have value and it is illegal to help a horse without the owner’s permission. I have taken photos of horses that look like the are going to drop over dead to the Rincon police station and they say … Sorry nothing we can do without owners permission – and owner says … sorry, the horse is just ‘old’. LAWS for seizing horses are really needed. Horse owners would straighten up if they feared their horse could be taken from them. And I’m not talking about A1 care – I’m saying owners should be required to keep horses with water and grass and feet trimmed (tick free) – bare minimal care is lacking and (if they can’t provide at least that it) should be illegal!

How can individuals help? How can someone find an animal to adopt? What shelters are there? What should a person do if they see a sato or loose dog? What if it is aggressive or destructive? Are the police responsive?

For the full description: Visit darrincon.org/rescue

PLEASE DON’T LEAVE a sick, injured, neglected or reproducing animal on the streets. It is just adding to the problem. It is cruel to the animal. Animals reproduce, get sick and suffer on the streets.

Remember: You Can Take The Animal Out of Puerto Rico

Flying animals from Puerto Rico to the USA or Canada is easy and not that expensive when you consider it is likely saving that animals life. We are here to help darrincon@gmail.com

Use The DAR Open Rescue Program Facebook.com/DARRincon. With this system, DAR can pay for initial Vet services (minimally vaccinations and sterilization) and provide an audience/marketing to find a home. You can also contact DAR through email when you find an animal in need with all the relevant information. darrincon@gmail.com

You Can Assist With Endangered, Mistreated or Dead Animals -by calling the local police, city hall or 911. Law 154 protects animals from abuse. We have found if you are polite and persistent, you will find a law official willing to respond.

Numbers you can call in Rincon –

The Rincon Police 787-823-2020

Rincon City Hall 787-823-2180

Public Works (dead animal pick up) 787-823-2882

As a LAST RESORT …. You Can Take The Animal To a Kill Shelter

We hate even putting this down as an option. But if you can not do one of the above options, PLEASE DON’T LEAVE a sick, injured, neglected or reproducing animal on the streets. It is just adding to the problem. It is cruel to the animal. Animals reproduce, get sick and suffer on the streets. Please don’t turn your back on any animal in need you see in Puerto Rico. Around Rincon, Villa Michelle in Mayaquez (787-834-4510) is a shelter that most always will take in an animal. But Villa Michelle is NOT A No Kill Shelter.

If the animal is a horse, rooster, pig, bird, turtle or fish contact the Defensa Facebook page or follow the instructions on the rescue link.

Roosters contact Jose from SOS Gallos

Beachfront or Ocean issues contact the DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) at or 787-999-2200

Or contact Fish and Wildlife

What does responsible pet ownership mean to you? What should a person do if they can no longer care for an animal?

Feeding, watering and not putting an animal on a rope is good enough for me. Find a friend in the States to take your animal if you can’t keep in in PR (read rescue page above) because there are NO no-kill shelters accepting animals that we have ever found/heard of in PR

Anything else?

We are also actively fighting ‘cock fighting’ – because it is wrong to force any animal to fight. Traditions become outdated. When they fight these birds, they give them horrible lives of living in a tiny cage day in and day out. They toss them in bags and haul them to fights. They then toss them on the streets, beaches or trash cans when they die in the fight. No argument for tradition will ever sit right with me. Not speaking up for a helpless animals will ever sit right with me. When you see something that is unfair and cruel – to animal or human – you should say something – even if you can’t do something – spread the word. That is our motto at Defensa. Not everyone can foster or rescue an animal – but if you care you can spread the word. Thank you for spreading the word!

Thank you again to Terrie, Miriam and Cynthia for helping to shed a little more light on the complicated issue of animal welfare in Puerto Rico. Below is a list of resources and rescue organizations that I found while researching this topic. If there are others, please let me know and I will add it to this list. I hope it helps!

List of Resources and Rescues in Puerto Rico

All Sato Rescue

ARF- Animal Rescue Foundation of Rincón

Barks of Hope –leo@barkofhopes.org

Defensa Animal de Rincon -DAR

Humane Society of PR

Island Dog

The Sato Project — Featured on CNN!

Save a Gato

Save A Sato

Second Chance Animal Rescue

SOS Gallos

Villa Michelle

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Solar Power…or Not?

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The cabin is coming together nicely. We have been chugging through some of the tasks that we can tackle on our own like the tar paper, hurricane clips, lag bolts, collar ties, the stairway and making new trails.

Cabin Currently with stairs and tar paper

We are always thinking and planning two or three steps out, however. We are trying to decide what to do for siding and windows and doors. But the big question that has been on our mind is should we go with solar energy or regular grid-tie energy.

When we first started building the cabin we thought solar was our only option since the cabin is so far from any road and tucked up in the jungle. Then we talked with the electrician who built our pedestal and moved the electricity from the old wood house to our cabana and he said he could do it. And all underground too! No unsightly wires hanging in the trees. So this gave us a second option. We have done some research online and visited some solar stores in Puerto Rico as well. But we are still having a hard time making a decision.

Britton checking out some solar panels in Puerto Rico

Each option has its pros and cons and they sort of cancel each other out.

Here are the pros for each option as we see them:

Pros for Regular Electric:
Cheaper to set up (at least half the cost)!
Can use as much electricity as needed without worry of running out
More familiarity
Easier to connect for expansion/building other things
Done by professional -one stop shopping and less hassle for us
Not as many parts to understand/fix if they break
No load on the roof for the panels
Aesthetics (no panels showing)

Pros for Solar:
Not dependent on the expensive energy of Puerto Rico which is currently around 30 cents KW -one of the highest costs in the U.S. and abroad
Make us more conscientious about energy usage if we only had so much
Off-grid living at its finest
Latest technology
Eco-conscious/green
Learning opportunity
Could be used in other applications as well
Never have to worry about power outages when everyone else loses power

We were actually just about set to do solar, but then we saw the price tag and how little energy it would actually generate. From Maximo Solar in Aguadilla we got a quote for about $6000 for 1.5 KW/day (assuming 5.5 hours of sunlight). This included pretty much everything including the batteries, inverter, panels, charge controller, and wires. But it did not include the mounting hardware or the battery rack and it did not include installation (which would mean a big learning curve for us).

The most energy efficient fridges use about 1 KW a day and all the other appliances (lights, fans, laptop, point-of-us water heaters, etc) would probably fall under the rest, but we would need to be very energy conscientious. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but leaves little wiggle room for a long stint of cloudy days though Rincon is sunnier than many other places on the island. We found other systems online that are slightly less costly, but the shipping to Puerto Rico is outrageous (a rant for another day!).

We could all learn more from plants: the ultimate solar energy converters

So we are still sort of weighing the pros and cons and thought we’d put it out there to see if there were any other perspectives we were missing. One of our friends said to do whatever it takes to get solar in order to get out from under AEE’s (the Puerto Rico Electric Company) thumb. But we really haven’t had that much of a problem with them. It’s a tough call. Hmmm. What do you think?

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Puerto Rico’s 11.5% Sales Tax: Highest in the U.S.

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Puerto Rico will begin an 11.5% islands-wide sales tax July 1, 2015. This will make it the highest sales tax in the U.S. (see this chart for what other states/area charge) and doesn’t even include the municipal sales taxes that are charged additionally.

I have recently been reading a blog/site called War Against All Puerto Ricans about the influence of American politics on the island and it spells out a not-so-pretty picture of colonization throughout Puerto Rico’s history up to the current economic issues facing modern Puerto Rico. Of course, the New York Times has a slightly different version and perspective on what should be done for the debt issues here. I have been trying to unravel what exactly is happening and what would be the best way to help, but I still don’t exactly understand what is going on nor how to fix it. For the most part, I try to steer away from politics and news (especially bad news).

None-the-less, we are people who live here and so therefore have a lot of “word on the street” conversations. And while most things take forever to happen, this sales tax increase from 7% to 11.5% happened very rapidly and took some people off guard. Most people we’ve talked to aren’t optimistic that it will solve anything and many think the entire government is corrupt and should be thrown out. The economic woes of Puerto Rico have been going on for a long time. Back when we first visited the island in 2005 there was no sales tax at all and shortly after our visit they instituted it for the first time ever. It was supposed to solve the then-economic crisis. Apparently it did not.

I am still trying to figure out why there would be tax benefits like Act 20 and 22 that give investors 0% capital gains tax that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy and then institute such a hugely regressive sales tax (adversely affecting the poor) as this one without at least amending those Acts. I know they are also trying to set up a value-added tax so that items are taxed at all stages of production, but it just seems like kicking around in quick sand.

Pre-sold paint and other supplies clogged up the store

This latest huge sales tax increase did have the effect on many people, including us, of going out and buying a bunch of stuff prior to the bump in price. It was like Christmas in June! The stores were packed even on a Monday in the middle of the day. At Home Depot where we tried as best we could to buy the things we would need for the cabin, the whole back of the store was filled with orders waiting to be picked up or delivered!

In general for us, we are looking at this tax increase as an opportunity to further hone our skills at limiting consumption and waste. An economy that is built on debt, exploitation of people and resources and mass consumption is sick and hurting anyway! So this gives us further reason to keep growing our own food, making our own things, trading and buying locally and using the informal economy instead of the box stores and corporations as much as possible this day and age.

And I don’t think we are the only ones. Puerto Rico already has a hard time just collecting the 7% tax as many vendors sell only in cash and don’t report or turn in any of the taxes. I can only imagine that collecting an unpopular tax like this one will prove to be even more of a futile endeavor to improving the economy.

Our yard economy is still doing great! These beautiful pomarrosas are fruiting

And the chickens are giving us 8-10 eggs a day that we can sell or trade locally

And there is nothing like home-grown bananas

Who knows what’s to come with the economy of Puerto Rico, but we are in it for the long haul. For better or worse, we love this island and we want it to succeed and prosper. Just maybe we need to redefine those terms to focus on the success of people and the planet rather than just the money. But hey, if all hell really breaks loose at least there’s plenty of abundance on the island if you just know where to look.

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Lifetransplanet

Colorado, Puerto Rico and life elsewhere on the planet.

Category Archives: Rants and Raves

Are Acts 20 and 22 Bad for Puerto Rico?

Solar Power…or Not?

Puerto Rico’s 11.5% Sales Tax: Highest in the U.S.