Puerto Rico's Hell

As of today the island is about 50% with electricity. Boil water advisory still in effect.

 

The local news did an update on PR.
The work has all but stopped. What a shame.

 

Ok it’s not all trump and directives not to help PR. Although there was a definite emphasis on response to Harvey in Houston and even Irma in FL. As a priority over PR. But... Part of the struggle with helping PR is their antiquated system of land and title work. And federal or US property/real estate attorneys who are trying to help face resistance from the Puerto Rican notaries. Despite it being a great deal, don’t buy a beach house in PR because the real property laws there are crazy.

 

As a Commonwealth of the US, Puerto Rico does not have all that much local autonomy in regard to the response and recovery effort. The infrastructure, the financial system and other key components of government/financial services are effectively the responsibility of the US government.

Puerto Rico Government

Puerto Ricans are US citizens but treated by the current administration as second class citizens.

 

The US let PR act mostly like an independent (2nd world) nation for decades. Now the resulting nepotism, cronyism, corruption, etc. has been exposed.

There have been several reports on how the electric company, a monopoly, basically ran off with the profits without any plans for improvements and emergencies.

 

Not sticking up for Trump, because as an outsider, he has glaring inadequacies, BUT....

Wouldn't it be nice is the people who would normally be tasked with dealing with these things (All facets, not just emergency response) could operate, or at least (offer to) with some degree of autonomy? In my world, that's called doing your fucking job. Yes, some things require high-level activation, but that's the function of a cabinet; to give guidance as no one person can do everything well if at all. Oh wait, there's still God knows how many people awaiting appointment to the president's cabinet because our government isn't doing its job. You'd think the people who oppose this president would at least want the people to be taken care of, but apparently that doesn't align with opposition. There is an element at work that cares nothing for you or I, and could pull a hair for the people of PR, simply to see the bad press for the president. If the resistance element would get out of the way, the guy might still do a shitty j0b, but at least it'd be his fault, and that of his cabinet.

 

This report is from January so I don't know if they have taken care of this but at that point 45 didn't even have nominees for 245 crucial positions and there as many jobs that have 'acting directors and managers' but they don't have the official positions.
This isn't the fault of anyone but 45 or the people he has put in charge of figuring out who to appoint.
There are some people who suggest this is intentional, that it is a way of cutting into the government, making it more ineffectual without drawing attention to the fact you are doing it.
I really don't know if I can give 45 that much credit.

 

Like I said, people don't matter as long as the agenda moves forward.

 

Trump praises Puerto Rico response as "unsung success" in Hurricane Florence briefing - CBS News

Is TRump really this delusional?

Is he knowingly grasping at straws,
or trying to divert attention away from his larger problems,
or does he actually believe that the US did a good job in Puerto Rico?



$10 Million From FEMA Diverted to Pay for Immigration Detention Centers, Document Shows

At the federal level 10M isn't a huge amount of money....but taking any money from FEMA to fund ICE sucks. What in the hell is this ridiculous obsession with illegal immigrants from Mexico, Central America, & South America? Many/all of TRump's real estate developments involved numerous sub-contractors; the likelihood that none of them employed illegal aliens is zero. And what about his hotels?

What other chipping away at FEMA funding is taking place?