The Future And Economy of Puerto Rico

The Future And Economy of Puerto Rico

I am currently in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, which is a “U.S. Territory”, a commonwealth.  Which means it is a self-governing unit voluntarily grouped with the US. This post will be directed to Puerto Rico as it is a prime example of the current system being employed and can also be applied to all parts of the world since it has to do with capitalism and how it affects the economy.

The Future And Economy of Puerto Rico and of the world is in bad shape and in this post we will look at why, even in the US, Detroit being a great example and speaking of Detroit, this island is heading towards that direction and I believe the people must collectively steer the ship in another direction. So let’s dive into the economy of this island.

The land and food

This island has a rich history in growing coffee, pineapples, sugarcane. and tobacco. This island is rich with fertile soil and warm tropical weather year round. perfect for growing an abundance of food. But it is staggering to find that 85 percent of the food is imported. So much land that goes unused here to have that much imported. So what we have is food filled with pesticides and chemicals with a deterioration of nutrition being imported here.

On average, food products imported from the mainland U.S.—the island’s main food supplier—travel 2,800 miles from the source of production to the dinner table. At the very least, they must spend three days at sea. Products coming from China, the second major food supplier, travel some 9,500 miles, a nearly month-long voyage. The transportation of food cargo costs at least $300 million a year.

What cause does this have with the islands bad economy. Well very simple, I don’t need to have a major in economics to figure this one out. We are buying imported goods from other countries thus the money goes out and never stays in. We have all this unused land going to waste because the people have forgotten their roots and their connection to the earth.

The people have become dependent on getting hand outs from the government by the means of food stamps, thus they go on purchasing the imported food, hence, you have the dwindling down of the economy. I think the mentality is why grow food when they can give you a magic card that gets you that food. If the people would empower themselves  and grew their own food, that would be the start of regaining independence. Instead of importing, they should be exporting.

Corporations

But let’s go further shall we and get further to the root of the problems of their economy and as I said the economy we face with all over the world.  The towns known as pueblos here that once flourished and thrived with small locally own businesses, now has turned into a ghost town thanks to the emergence of large corporations such as Walmart and the such, with many fast food places all over the place. As many as three McDonald’s per small towns. The same applies to the imported food. People are purchasing imported goods from these large corporations who pay their workers a pittance for their labor.

Again, what we have is all the money being imported out. Just a little money left over to pay the people who then use what money they have left to purchase from these same corporations that keep the money out and so we struggle further with debt and struggle to live as we continue to plummet in unemployment. Therefore leading to poverty and in turn leads into a high crime rate which is what this island has and what many impoverished countries are facing even in the USA, all thanks to capitalism as people will do anything to survive, even if that means robbing and murdering their own grandmothers as they go on trying to chase the “american dream”. Of course, corrupt governments come into play with all of this as well.

Capitalism

Let’s call this system what it truly is and that is Corporatism. The system we have is downright bullshit and it was built for the rich to maintain their status and for the poor to be slaves. We have become slaves to corporations and to the government which is a corporation in itself. We are now on the totem pole, struggling to provide for our families because we are busy propping the rich up above us. We are making the richer rich, while the poor continues to deteriorate.

They have built empires under our labor, while we continue to build piles of debt and go no where. While they keep feeding us the same old line that if you truly work hard enough, you can get out of that hole that we have dug ourselves into and join them in prosperity. This system is a parasite leaching off the poor with the rich benefiting from it, as we see this in this island and around the world and so now we have a dependency on a corrupt government who only favors corporations that they are in bed with, not realizing the government is a corporation themselves.

At one time here in Puerto Rico, you had US corporations buy large amounts of land in order to grow what was Puerto Rico’s backbone of the economy, sugarcane. They would pay off their workers, who were the natives of this land, a measly wage while these corporations made millions by exporting the sugarcane.

We see a similar trend now with all these corporations making millions off the work of the minimally paid workers, but let’s call them for what they really are, wage slaves.

We must stop supporting these corporations and stop supporting the corrupt government. We must take back the power they have derived from us and empower ourselves to move forward. Here I wrote why cannabis hemp could be Puerto Rico’s new sugar cane. But I think it is the people from the island who should be in control of the land and it’s products produced by hemp, not an outside entity.

Entrepreneurship

I strongly believe we must do what we love. We must take the initiative  to start controlling our fate and our world. It all starts with producing for ourselves. Starts with growing your own food, starts with supporting your locally owned businesses. I think this world needs more entrepreneurship, which is what most of us want but don’t have the capital for it as they continue to bleed us out.

They impose licenses and taxes for many things to start your own small business and I believe that is bullshit. This is how they have enslaved us. You either have sufficient capital, I.E. be rich enough or saving your money through out the years which is becoming harder by the day or you are poor and must work now for the capitalist which goes back to the system of “capitalism”. That to me is the problem we are facing in this economy. Let’s free ourselves from the shackles. We have participated in this farce long enough. We must obtain our freedom back. We must get our true independence back.

Going back to the ghost town and all those empty stores collecting dust. Why are they collecting dust. They remain relics, just ruins rotting in time. When just like the massive abandoned houses and land, we could take it and build something better. It all starts with the people and us taking back control.

Independence and statehood

This island, being a commonwealth could vote for statehood or independence, which has the island split with different political affiliations. Those who believe in statehood, believe the government of the USA will come and fix this island and create new jobs. Little do they realize that the government of the USA would do everything it can to exploit the island and ensure they raise the taxes even higher creating a gentrification of the poor, even under the current government. That is what we are currently seeing as many flee for greener pastures to the US.

As for those who believe in independence think that they can be free from the united states and be known as an independent country as they want to vote for a man to lead the island as their president as they currently just have a governor running the island.

But little do they realize, you never know what type of leader you get in that case. You might get a dictator who can make things worse. People always seek for a leader to come lead them and take responsibility for how they live their lives, when they should start leading themselves. Then you have those who want the island to remain and get the best of both worlds, sort of.

So what do I think would be best for this island and pretty much the world.

Transcend politics

As of July 13th 2019, I have revised this post, originally I proposed Anarchism, I wrote a blog entitled what anarchy means to me which can be read by clicking here, where I elaborate on what anarchism to me is. But my perspective now is that I don’t feel the people here or anywhere for that matter are responsible enough for that.

However, I still feel that the people need to start taking that responsibility and Free themselves from the dependence of the governments. Build a sustainable world as I wrote in visions of a sustainable future. We must be the change and spread the change.  The land is the foundation and is something we need to take back.

On this island and the whole world in general I still feel Independence is the right course. I believe the people should take responsibility cultivating a different mindset that they can continue to grow and pass on to the future generations. Join each other in solidarity to lead their own lives and produce for ourselves. Sollidarity is another component strongly missing.

I still feel that we don’t need a government who only is out for their own benefits as they enslave and oppress the people. We think we need them as that is all we know. but to be truly fruitful world we must obtain our independence in order to have true freedom and to have a prosperous economy. 

Time to evolve from this artificial prison they have put us in. Every 4 years we vote for someone else thinking it will change something. All it leads to is minor reforms and we don’t need that. What we need is a radical change in the way we think and how we view each other and this paradigm.We don’t need them, the very few and powerful who just exploit us. We need each other!

I think if we need a government, it has to be a government for the people, not for the corporations. We need people in charge who truly give a damn about change. Not with filling their pockets. I think we need more communities and community leaders just like tribes and the tribe chief. There has to be a better way, which is why we need new ideas and perspectives.

Cannabis and producing

As I mentioned before, I truly believe Cannabis Hemp could be the key to a sustainable future. I believe can produce for each other with this wonderful plant. we can build homes, clothes, it can be our medicine. It can provide everything. It was called the billion dollar crop and I think we can surely do so much with this land here. Going back to what I was saying about the land, I feel that this island should take the opportunity to cherish all this valuable land so we can all thrive together.

In conclusion

People think we would have a mad max type of world with no government, but that is exactly what we have with the government. We are running around like savages as they made this into a dog eat dog world. It’s all about competition with each other. A new world is possible, we just have to open our minds and our arms to embrace new ideas.

We must stop supporting these large corporations, we must take control of our lives and in the direction in which we are going and stop with the worshiping of political so-called leader. We must shift our consciousness now.

Ultimately, we are responsible for the economy. You alone decide the fate on how you choose to go on with it. We must stop allowing ourselves to be exploited by the corporations and the government.  Now is the time to assume responsibility, so that future generations won’t find themselves deeper in the hole that we have dug.

Over to you. What do you think of the economy in Puerto Rico? What do you think is the best thing for Puerto Rico. Would love to hear from you. Please Leave any comments down below.

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