What planet is FOX’s John Stossel on? This weekend, Stossel had Republican and pro-statehood Puerto Rican governor Luis Fortuño on to discuss the “economic miracle” or Puerto Rico. Stossel proudly stated in his fluff interview with Fortuño that the Puerto Rican economy was growing due to Fortuño’s austerity measures.
The fact that Stossel didn’t even address the fact that Puerto Rico under the Fortuño administration has been stuck at double-digit unemployment with a shrinking labor force is an issue with his lack of journalism. Just create a more balanced view the next time and stop the overhyping. Basic fact checking could take you far.
According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Puerto Rico’s GDP in 2010 was -5.8%(the last recorded year, which was worse than the island -3.7% in 2009, which was worse that the island -2.5% in 2008).
As the CIA says:
Puerto Rico has one of the most dynamic economies in the Caribbean region, however, growth has been negative for the past four years, and unemployment has risen to nearly 16% in 2011. The industrial sector has surpassed agriculture as the primary locus of economic activity and income. Mainland US firms have invested heavily in Puerto Rico since the 1950s. US minimum wage laws apply. Sugar production has lost out to dairy production and other livestock products as the main source of income in the agricultural sector. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income with estimated arrivals of more than 3.6 million tourists in 2008. Closing the budget deficit while restoring economic growth and employment remain the central concerns of the government.
Also this graph shows that the island’s GDP has been going down since 2005.
Another financial analysis by an independent group states the following:
The official PR Planning Board macroeconomic forecast for 2012 estimate a modest recovery of less than 1%. US Stimulus funds received in 2008-2010 in the amount of $4.8BN have led to an increase in Personal Income within a period of reduction in GDP, exports, investment and credit concession.Our main concern is that given high and increasing levels of debt, prolonged structural recession, reduction in pharmaceutical exports due to patent expiration and need to strengthen the banking system and credit flows while addressing real estate loan portfolios and market price adjustments, US financial regulatory institutions, private sector leaders and the Government of Puerto Rico need to aspire to and implement a comprehensive and high quality policy strategy, focusing on integrated macroeconomic, fiscal and financial system performance and proposing changes in structural impediments to optimal investment, labor market participation, reductions in operational costs and improved human capital investment returns.
Puerto Rico’s economy is climbing out of its marathon recession at a slighter quicker pace than expected this year.That was the word Thursday from the Planning Board, which said the economy is on pace to grow by a modest 0.9 percent during fiscal 2012. That is narrowly ahead of the agency’s earlier estimate of 0.7 percent for the year, which ends June 30.The upturn will mark the first annual growth in Puerto Rico’s economy since the onset of the local recession in 2006.Puerto Rico’s economy contracted 1 percent in fiscal 2011 after shrinking 3.8 percent in fiscal 2010, 4 percent in fiscal 2009, 2.9 percent in fiscal 2008 and 1.2 percent in fiscal 2007, according to Planning Board numbers.The island economy was last on positive footing in fiscal 2006, when it posted 0.5 percent growth, down from 1.9 percent the previous year.The Planning Board said Thursday it expects the economic rebound to gain ground in fiscal 2013, projecting growth to edge up to 1.1 percent.“We have seen the light at the end of the tunnel for some time,” Planning Board President Rubén Flores Marzan said. “But now we are essentially pulling out of the tunnel.”
Franky Benítez 
Even the Obama administration is claiming the economy is slowly getting better in the U.S. Face it, it’s just politics. But what are the other parties here in Puerto Rico offering up as a solution to getting people back to work. It’s easy to focus on the current administration’s failure to jump start the economy, but what solutions do the PDP or the Independent party have to offer? Yes, it is the stupid economy!
The issue in this post is NOT about what other political parties are doing, it is about how the mainstream media tries to present journalism when in fact it is just pushing a campaign agenda. I agree with you that other parties aren’t effective either, I just find it sad and dishonest when political leaders like Fortuño and Obama try to fleece voters,
Most of the so called mainstream media is biased towards the progressive party and Obama’s administration is getting favorable press just about everywhere. The only conservative media is Fox News so yes they are giving Fortuno a favorable interview. If anyone is so gullible as to believe news medias are neutral…well, money talks and bs walks. I hate to admit it but the U.S. is becoming somewhat of a fascist state. Big corporations and Wall-street are controlling much of our government. Our government is in so much debt it is now at the mercy of big money. All parties are guilty for putting all of us in such dire straits.
Fact is that media uses that, and tries to justify someone’s opinion and validate it. All mainstream media is at fault.
I’ll tell you what he’s on: money (and lots of it). These corrupt capitalist louts are so intoxicated by their personal wealth that it matters not if everyone else around them is floundering. Many scientific studies are coming to light now indicating that money is indeed (as has long been thought) a corrupting psychological agent.
I recently went further into this on a post at my blog (Metaphysics of Money):
http://www.obsidianeagle.com/2012/02/metaphysics-of-money.html
Thanks for sharing that!
Thing is you do not have to be a capitalist to be wealthy and intoxicated with the power it brings. Corrupt governments and it’s officials get rich by fleecing the people. A combination of capitalism, debt free democratic governments and a limited amount of social programs is the way to best achieve a good standard of living for most everyone. Unfortunately every society will have “poor people” who just do not want to contribute to society and will stay in the “welfare class”.
Check out this video about the interview you mentioned, and i’ll let you all put the pieces together on what are his real intentions.