The causes of hunger in Puerto Rico range from a number of significant and complex problems, but nothing is worsening the problem faster than its economic conditions and more recently, natural causes.
In 1898, the Spanish-American War brought an end to nearly four centuries of colonial rule. The United States acquired the island of Puerto Rico, now regarded as a U.S. territory. In 1917, Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship, and similarly to inhabitants of states in the U.S., they hold democratic elections for local and state governments and have their own constitution.
In recent years, Puerto Ricans have dealt with deteriorating infrastructure, a 45 percent poverty rate, severe water pollution, lack of educational resources and a massive public debt crisis. A byproduct of most of these problems is the prevailing issue of hunger in Puerto Rico.
Economic Turmoil
Puerto Rico is more than $70 billion in debt and as of 2016, public debt accounted for 92.5 percent of their entire GDP. These circumstances are unique: understanding how they acquired such debt requires understanding the basic history of their economic policy as well as a few key events that have taken place over the last century. What has transpired can be compared to that of a domino effect.
The first “domino” to fall, by and large, was government overspending. Unlike states in the U.S. that are mandated to create and present balanced budgets, Puerto Rico is not. This resulted in overall spending significantly exceeding that of its tax-generated revenue.
Puerto Rico’s tax collection is one of the lowest in the world, deriving just 9.5 percent of its GDP from taxes in 2016. The CIA World Factbook report ranked the island 215 out of 220 countries in terms of taxation revenue, ranking only above Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria.
Secondly, for decades, due to its lack of statehood, the island was able to serve as a tax shelter for U.S. businesses, particularly pharmaceutical companies. During this time, economic prosperity reached a peak for the island. However, as of 2006, Congress eliminated these tax breaks entirely, resulting in total economic devastation for the island after most businesses moved back to the mainland.
There is also a rapid rate of skilled professionals leaving the island for the U.S. Many estimates assert that almost one doctor per day leaves the island, sometimes as many as two or three.
The economy has contracted each year since and recovery is unlikely. The GDP real growth rate has become one of the slowest in the world, at 0 percent in 2015 and then falling to -1.8 percent in 2016.
The final, and perhaps largest, hurdle the island must resolve in regards to its debt is that unlike other U.S. states, Puerto Rico cannot legally file for Chapter Nine Bankruptcy. This means that they are not only, by all definitions of the word, bankrupt, but that they also have no safety net or alternative resolution.
Agriculture, Trade and Commerce
Historically, agriculture has only accounted for 0.8 percent of Puerto Rico’s GDP. However, following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in September 2017, it is estimated that it only took the storm a few hours to destroy $780 million worth of crops or about 80 percent of the island’s total supply. This prompted immediate food shortages and inflated food prices, causing poverty and hunger in Puerto Rico to instantly become a new reality for thousands of residents.
Trade and commerce, as well as the supply of aid, were affected in the aftermath of the storm, specifically in relation to the Jones Act of 1920. The act mandates that all goods shipped to and from the island (or between any two U.S. ports) must be on guard, U.S. vessels that are operated by Americans. As a result, foreign logistics companies wishing to do such business have to pay a special tariff.
When considering Puerto Rico’s poverty rate, this is devastating to those experiencing hunger in Puerto Rico. Inevitably, Puerto Ricans will continue to pay significantly more for consumer goods and services than those who live on the U.S. mainland.
Hurricane Maria’s Role in Puerto Rico Hunger
Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. The death toll reached 48 as of October 14, 2017, with 117 individuals remaining unaccounted for. In addition, an estimated 85 percent of the island remains without power, about 1.2 million people are without access to clean drinking water and the preexisting issue of hunger in Puerto Rico is only becoming worse.
Since then, President Donald Trump and his administration have maintained that all relief efforts are being exhausted to the fullest extent possible. This narrative conflicts with many accounts from Puerto Rican government officials, who have said the response at the federal level has been slow-moving and inadequate.
Governor Ricardo Rossello has publicly stated on multiple occasions that the territory is in desperate need of further federal assistance, describing the situation as a “humanitarian crisis.” Carmen Yulin Cruz, the Mayor of San Juan, has also made headlines in the recent weeks following her televised plea to the federal government, saying “I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying … you are killing us with the inefficiency.”
Initially, Mr. Trump cited geographical concerns that present significant logistical problems to be the cause of this. “This is an island, surrounded by water, big water. Ocean water,” Trump said in a September 2017 speech in Washington, D.C.
However, during a press conference while visiting the island, he was quick to cite the island’s budget crisis, saying, “I hate to tell you Puerto Rico, but you have thrown our budget a little out of whack. We have spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico.”
Additionally, while the administration did temporarily exempt the territory from the Jones Act, this exemption expired on October 8, 2017.
In a recent survey conducted by the New York Times, just over half of the U.S. population is unaware that individuals born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Fortunately, many informed U.S. citizens support providing aid to Puerto Rico: among those who are aware that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, 81 percent think aid should be provided.
– Hunter Mcferrin
Photo: Flickr
North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2017
With rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, news coverage has been primarily focused on potential military action between the two countries. However, the United States has been making attempts at promoting human rights, democracy and freedom of information within the country. The latest attempt is the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act.
North Korea is notorious for being one of the world’s most oppressed, fascist countries in the world today. Under the rule of Kim Jong-Un, basic freedoms have been restricted to the point where they are practically non-existent. Enslavement, torture, rape, forced abortions and imprisonment are among the severe human rights problems within the country. Perceived opponents of the North Korean government and North Korean refugees who are sent back to the country have no choice but to go to prison camps where they are met with starvation, abuse and forced labor.
Chongsong Women’s Prison Camp
At a women’s prison camp in Chongsong, North Korea, women are subjected to psychological, physical and sexual abuse. Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with eight women while they were imprisoned. The women told them that among the abusers were prison guards and police interrogators from both the People’s Security Agency and State Security Department of North Korea.
“My life was in his hands, so I did everything he wanted and told him everything he asked,” said one of the women interviewed by the Human Rights Watch. “How could I do anything else?” The woman in this interview had been raped several times by a People’s Security Agency agent while he was questioning her after she was sent back from China to North Korea in 2010.
Earlier this month, the United Nations condemned North Korea for the country’s “long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross violations of human rights.” Koro Bessho, Japan’s U.N. ambassador, called out North Korea’s capital city Pyongyang for its history of abuse and expressed that the country needs to properly address its longstanding issues with human rights violations. Leaders representing nations all around the world are taking it upon themselves to help those in North Korea affected by this issue.
North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act
H.R. 2061, also known as the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2017, was introduced to the House of Representatives in April of this year. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida’s 27th congressional district sponsors the bill, and it currently has 16 co-sponsors. H.R. 2061 seeks to provide $10 million each year during the years 2018-2022 to promote human rights and freedom of information in North Korea as well as provide humanitarian assistance to North Korean refugees.
Through the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act, the President would have the authority to electronically share non-government controlled information inside North Korea, increasing its availability and presence. The President could also provide grants for the allocation of devices that would receive this information and create a grant program designed to develop and distribute methods; the grants could also go towards products that would allow North Koreans easier access to outside information.
H.R. 2061 would allow the Broadcasting Board of Governors to broadcast music, movies, TV and popular cultural references, and they would broadcast in Korean to North Korea about laws, rights and freedoms given through the North Korean Constitution.
In accordance with the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act, the State Department would be tasked with providing updates on the status of U.S. broadcasting in North Korea, whether it has met the 12-hour-per-day goal for broadcasting, and a plan for overcoming difficulties in having communication with North Korean citizens. In addition, the State Department would provide reports on efforts made to reunite Korean American citizens with their relatives in North Korea.
H.R. 2061 has made some progress in Congress; the bill passed in the House of Representatives in September and is currently moving through the Senate. With such a trajectory, there’s hope for the bill yet.
– Blake Chambers
Photo: Flickr
Promoting Women’s Empowerment in Egypt
Women Empower Women
U.N. Women tells the story of an Egyptian woman named Maissan Hassan, who is the program manager for the Women and Memory Forum (WMF). Since 1995, WMF seeks to tell the stories of Arab women without any bias or negative perceptions.
Hassan grew up with her mother telling of the inequalities she experienced regarding her career choice and her inability to choose a husband. Her mother battled these inequalities and became a professor at a university.
Hassan was inspired by her own mother’s life story and wished to document the trials and experiences of other women.
Not only does WMF record both oral and written histories on Arab women, but they also establish the Women and Memory Library and Documentation Centre to provide a designated resource center for gender and women’s studies. These stories empower Egyptian women and girls to seek their own dreams and join the battle against gender disparities.
To spread the word and gain female empowerment, WMF and other NGOs held two events in 2014 called “Women’s Rights and the State: Insight into the Egyptian Feminist Movement” and “Revolutionizing Gender Education: Lessons from Egypt.”
Education
Advocacy and education work hand-in-hand to gain women empowerment in Egypt. UNICEF and education officials from Egypt partnered with UNGEI to hold a conference in support of gender equality in Egyptian schools.
As one of the first to gain partnership with UNGEI, Egypt has focused on improving early childhood programs through training teachers and creating a child-centered curriculum since 2006. The conference also identified the value in informing parents and gaining families’ support in equal, quality education to end gendered stereotypes.
With UNICEF financially supporting community schools and UNGEI advocating for higher female attendance, Egyptian schools began to witness a leveling of the gender gap in 2012. While the primary school enrollment rate was 105 percent male, it was 99 percent female. This ratio proves a near success in the efforts to provide females with an education equal to that of males.
Labor
In turn, USAID partnered with the government of Egypt to end restrictions on women’s economic participation. The 2015 Global Gender Gap Index stated that 79 percent of men participate in the labor force, while only 26 percent of females participate.
To address such a disparity, USAID implemented the Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) project, which aids women with business strategies and guides them toward opening their own businesses. In the encouragement of entrepreneurship, women create more jobs in Egypt and gain leadership roles without needing to battle the male hierarchy.
Even further, USAID promotes women empowerment in Egypt by granting scholarships to female undergraduates and graduates in fields related to business, science, and engineering. Since 2014, USAID has given over 600 of these scholarships.
Through the tireless efforts of NPOs, a shift in the role and confidence of women within Egyptian communities has prevailed.
– Brianna White
Photo: Flickr
The Freedom Act of 2017 and Burma Human Rights
While Burma has taken steps towards becoming a full democracy, the country operates under a constitution in need of reform. Drafted in a convention boycotted by the National League for Democracy, Burma’s constitution fails to fully recognize the rights of ethnic minorities and guarantees the military’s nominees one-fourth of the seats in parliament. Due to the rule that more than three-fourths of parliament must agree in order to amend the constitution, this means that no changes can be made to the constitution without the support of the military.
The Rohingya
The military’s involvement in government is especially concerning for Burma’s large population of various ethnic groups, particularly the Rohingya, who they are engaged in a violent civil war with. In the past two months, over 600,000 Rohingya people have been displaced from their homes. In what is essentially an ethnic cleansing, the military is persecuting the Rohingya by burning down their homes, raping women and young girls and torturing and killing prisoners and civilians.
Many civilians have become refugees but most do not have access to basic care. Over 95 percent are drinking contaminated water and many are starving before they even cross the border. Refugee camps are growing quickly and so are the rates of malnutrition and disease, particularly in children.
The Bill’s Goal
The goal of the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2017 is to end the suffering of the people of Burma and establish a democracy that will respect their human rights. If this act is passed, $104 million will be used to assist the victims of Burma’s military and to help those who are displaced to return home.
The act also states that the U.S. government will demand accountability for all who have committed crimes against humanity and lays out a plan for economic restoration as well as assures its intentions to place economic sanctions, visa bans and trade restrictions where necessary.
This act would greatly benefit the refugees who are currently starving and the aid groups who are stretched too thin to help. It would also prevent future genocide and help put an end to the ethnic cleansing and persecution of the Rohingya people.
– Jenae Atwell
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Empowerment in El Salvador: Hope Against the Odds
El Salvador is a tiny conservative country in Central America and also one of the world’s deadliest countries for women in the world. In fact, the country has the highest murder rate in the Western Hemisphere. Women’s empowerment in El Salvador is a task made all the more difficult given the highest rate of women murdered in the country.
The Plight of Female El Salvadorians
In 2016, one in every 5,000 women was killed according to the Institute of Legal Medicine. This figure did not and could not take into account the females killed, dismembered and buried in clandestine locations.
Criminal gangs, known as maras, are the largest impediment to women’s empowerment in El Salvador. The government has periodically attempted to establish truces with the gangs but the bitter rivalry between Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 youth gangs has left little room for hope of an end to war and conflict.
Spurred by mass deportations of gang members from the U.S., the problem of gangs began affecting El Salvador at a sensitive time in its history when civil society was recuperating. The government lacked any strategy to reintegrate or psychologically support these gang members, who found the only recourse in turning to abduction, killings and extortions. The same gangs today inflict sexual violence and assaults on women from all walks of life.
Sexual and LGBTQ Assaults
Because abortion is illegal in El Salvador under any circumstances, including rape, victims of sexual assaults face heavy penalties and are subject to authorities’ prejudices. Earlier this year, a teen rape victim was sentenced to 30 years in prison after having a stillbirth, the same amount of time given to gang members convicted of murder.
According to the UNHCR, seven transgender women in El Salvador were killed in the country but some local LGBT organizations placed the number as high as 17 in the first four months of 2017. Lack of investigation and prosecution of violence against the LGBT community by police and gangs alike has engendered a culture of impunity and threatened efforts for all women’s empowerment in El Salvador.
One Salvadoran transgender activist, Karla Avelar, has spoken out against such violence despite receiving many threats and surviving three assassination attempts.
Other Salvadoran women are far from silent; rather they actively uplift themselves to plant seeds of independence and empowerment.
For instance, a Salvadoran woman is at the heart of legally challenging restrictions on refugees seeking a better life in neighboring countries. After President Trump issued executive orders to curtail immigration and refugee resettlement in the United States and cast doubt on the role of the United States as a safe country for refugees, many Central American migrants living in the United States made the dangerous border crossings to seek asylum protection in Canada.
One of these persons was a Salvadorian woman identified as “ABC” in court documents escaping persecution and facing removal proceedings in the United States. After ABC was denied entry to Canada under the Safe Third Country Agreement, many groups filed challenges to the Agreement to prevent her deportation from the United States to El Salvador.
Global Encouragement of Women Empowerment
In El Salvador, rural women cooperatives are encouraging the participation of women in agriculture. With the support of international and local government initiatives for women’s empowerment in El Salvador, such as Ciudad Mujer, many rural women are finding a way out of poverty through increased access to public services, income levels and even provisions for child care for working women.
One of the 26 such cooperatives, Mujeres en Acción (Women in Action), has been supported by the U.N. Women to encourage women to become entrepreneurs. Other women are partaking in economic empowerment through cooking businesses.
HOPE
Salvador’s HOPE is a Christian-based, non-profit based in Melbourne, Australia working to uplift Salvadorans from the traps of poverty. According to the organization, HOPE is just the beginning of changing the living and working conditions of women in El Salvador. It works with the civil society and local NGOs in El Salvador “to positively influence, impact and empower people through the establishment of programs that promote development and self- sustainability.”
HOPE also runs several Women’s Empowerment projects that provide education, training and support to women as well as challenge the gender stereotypes that perpetuate violence against women.
The Women’s Empowerment Project
Another initiative, the Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP), has combated the marginalization and vulnerability of Salvadoran women by providing them with workshops, counseling and other services “that aim to strengthen their self-confidence, improve their leadership and communication skills as well as develop business management techniques.”
Women’s empowerment in El Salvador remains a work in progress and is compounded by the violence inflicted against them by corrupt police officials and gang members. The rights of women in El Salvador and elsewhere are an integral part of the fight for universal human rights and fundamental freedoms and need to be extended for women’s economic, political, social and cultural empowerment.
Salvadoran women are actively mobilizing and breaking down barriers to participate in public life; they should be encouraged and aided by the United States and the international community to empower their communities and care for their families.
– Mohammed Khalid
Photo: Flickr
Five Important Facts About Water Quality in Cote d’Ivoire
Here are five facts about water quality in Cote d’Ivoire:
With continued support from organizations like these, water quality in Cote d’Ivoire is sure to improve in the coming years, thus improving the quality of life for the nation’s citizens.
– Olivia Bradley
Photo: Flickr
Food Program Initiatives in The Gambia
One of Africa’s smallest countries, The Gambia is plagued by desertification, political corruption and rampant poverty. But thanks to the contributions of numerous agencies, the government has been able to make rapid advancements, with a clear-cut, long-term plan for food program initiatives in The Gambia. Providing increased support in the agricultural sector and expanding resources will benefit both the private and public sector, leading to economic prosperity.
According to the CIA World Factbook, crop failures caused by droughts between 2011 and 2013 have increased poverty, food shortages and malnutrition. Furthermore, The Gambia has one of the highest infant mortality rates in West Africa. Another issue that impedes The Gambia’s agricultural growth is climate change, which has hindered poverty alleviation.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization launched the “Improving Food Security and Nutrition in the Gambia, Through Food Fortification” project on September 26, 2017. Its purpose is to improve education about nutrition and increase micronutrients, as well as allocate funding towards the following projects:
Vice President Fatoumata Jallow-Tambang, who launched the project, says that these food program initiatives will pave the way for increased capabilities in the public and private sector. She claimed that such projects will increase essential micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, zinc and folic acid among others. Increasing micronutrient deficiency control has been a core principle of food program initiatives in The Gambia. The government has taken many steps to do so, which include revising a 2006 food fortification and salt iodization regulation that was enacted to provide food fortification.
Other food program initiatives in The Gambia that have steadily increased awareness at a local level include the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel Initiative. The operation is a four-year project funded by the European Union, the FAO and The Gambia. It aims to tackle poverty by “ending hunger, improving resilience to climate change and using a landscape approach.” Furthermore, the project targets rural farmers, a pivotal component of controlling land degradation and deforestation. The initiative also serves to empower local communities by establishing “community woodlots, community managed forests and promoting joint forest park management,” according to Regional Forestry Officer Ebou Janha.
The Gambia struggles with illiteracy, with more than half of the country unable to read or write. This new approach tackles the importance of reaching out to students in the classroom to educate them on how to properly manage natural resources and to actively become engaged in their communities. One additional component includes promoting environmental management.
Patta Kanyi, Focal Person at the Agency for the Development of Women and Children emphasized the importance of educating local communities on the proper usage of cooking stoves to reduce the effects of climate change and lessen the need for wood.
Such practices make The Gambia’s objective of eradicating poverty more attainable. The efforts being made to combat such hardships are truly remarkable. By building more robust communities through partnerships with inter-governmental organizations and the private sector, The Gambia has become a trading partner with developed countries. The attempt to involve rural farmers in forest management will be crucial for maintaining a sustainable environment. The food program initiatives in The Gambia demonstrate the objectives this country has in eradicating poverty for good.
– Alexandre Dumouza
Photo: Flickr
Best Plans and Solutions: Helping the Poor in China
Ways of Global Aid
Universal ways of helping the poor in China include increasing opportunities for compulsory education, making donations, releasing farmers from the line of poverty and building up nonprofit projects, such as the Hope Project and the United Nations Development Programme. Several strategies also require public attention to improve the living status of people in poverty.
To begin, it is incredibly important to understand the origin of poverty — the root cause of the poor — rather than just give donations. Money can release the problems of daily life in the short term while teaching proper ways of increasing income and helping improve the morals of the rich can lead to sustainable happiness in the long run. Recruiting helpful volunteers, providing complementary services and helping individuals point-to-point are supplemental ways of helping the poor in China.
Propagation is another effective way to provide help to the poor in China. Due to unexpected misfortunes such as employment loss, family misfortune, or business failure, the public works to survive the temporary difficulties, and then assist the poor in recovery.
Participating in a charitable institute or nonprofit organization and promoting legislation and discussions on hot topics can also help to reduce poverty within labor populations.
Identifying Poverty in China
Since the cutoff line of poverty increases year to year, the natural growth rate of annual income for any involved people does not represent the actual improvements of their living conditions. As a result, conclusions are arbitrarily made towards people under the poverty line. For instance, many reasons may cause the poor to suffer from severe diseases or psychological problems, such as taking drugs or undergoing bad treatment, but these factors may not be considered by the general population tests.
So providing helpful aids requires specific analysis, while solving problems urges practical use. Global support in collaboration with whole-hearted programs that promote self-dignity suggests better treatment and higher efficiency are all methods that will help to save the poor in China.
In large cities or small villages, and despite the quick growth of the economy, poverty can exist in any unnoticed corner. For organizations to help save the poor, they must focus on collaboration with people urgently in need — institutes attempting to help the poor in China (especially in remote, rural areas) are expected to provide resources while the people on duty provide encouragement to the impoverished.
The Chinese government has a five-year plan to eliminate poverty, but this is a relatively short-term goal. They should really focus on alleviating the unbalance of social wealth, improving existing environments and legal rights, and providing opportunities such as healthcare, education, employment insurance, and sufficient welfare to truly aid the poor in the long-term.
– Xin Gao
Photo: Flickr
Five Important Facts About Indigenous Education in Mexico
Indigenous communities make up 12.6 percent of Mexico’s total population. Despite their significant numbers, this population faces much higher rates of poverty, poorer health outcomes and lower life expectancies than their non-indigenous counterparts. As of 2015, 80.6 percent of indigenous peoples in Mexico lived in extreme poverty, and as a result, indigenous education in Mexico suffers.
Five Facts About Indigenous Education in Mexico
If the globe and Mexico continue such positive efforts, the indigenous nation of Mexico should see even more of an increase of educational success stories, services, and overall improvement of indigenous education.
– Olivia Bradley
Photo: Flickr
What is the Relationship Between Poverty and Learning?
Poverty and learning are often talked about together, mostly because it is agreed upon that education is an avenue out of poverty. On an individual level, education can be the difference between a life below and a life above the poverty line. On a societal level, educating girls is seen as the closest thing to a silver bullet for eradicating poverty. Education can improve food security, improve health standards and improve gender equality. However, poverty impacts education just as much as education impacts poverty; poverty has a direct impact on a child’s ability to learn.
The Relationship Between Poverty and Learning
Poverty affects children on several levels, including physical, social-emotional and cognitive. According to the NIH, “the stresses of poverty lead to impaired learning ability in children from impoverished backgrounds.”
Physical
Children’s ability to concentrate is affected by poor nutrition and poor health. Additionally, prenatal drug use, environmental toxins and long-term exposure to stress and violence can impact physical health and cognitive ability before birth and are more common in low-income households.
Social-Emotional
Children living in poverty often see themselves as victims of a system, lacking their own autonomy or ability to make choices that actually affect their lives. This poor sense of agency affects their focus, initiative and engagement in the classroom.
Cognitive Development
Long-term exposure to stress hormones as a result of living in or near poverty, violence and trauma affects brain development. In particular, children living in poverty exhibit lower executive function (impulse control, emotional regulation, attention management, task prioritization, working memory, etc.) because their energy is focused on basic survival functions.
Limitations of Schools in Low-Income Areas
Schools located in lower-income areas have deficiencies that create their own barriers to learning for students. For example, even when tuition is free, there are other potentially prohibitive costs associated with attendance such as textbooks, school supplies, uniforms and transportation. Coupled with the loss of income from sending a child to school who could otherwise be working, there are distinct economic barriers to sending poorer children to school.
Schools in lower-income areas are also typically overcrowded and have limited resources and infrastructure. There are fewer books and computers to go around, and teachers may be unqualified to teach their subjects or may be burnt out from operating under prolonged resource strain.
Possible Solutions
There are many possible solutions for improving the relationship between poverty and learning. Incentives for qualified teachers to teach in low-income areas could be implemented. Disadvantaged schools could receive better resources and funding. More schools could be built in rural areas and better transportation to schools could be instituted. Funding and implementation for early-childhood programs for identified at-risk students could also go a long way toward improving learning outcomes for students living in poverty.
Education may be one of the keys to reducing and eradicating poverty, but only quality education, tailored to meet the unique needs of poor, malnourished and/or traumatized children will be truly effective in this and break the poverty/education cycle.
– Olivia Bradley
Photo: Flickr
Addressing Hunger in Puerto Rico
The causes of hunger in Puerto Rico range from a number of significant and complex problems, but nothing is worsening the problem faster than its economic conditions and more recently, natural causes.
In 1898, the Spanish-American War brought an end to nearly four centuries of colonial rule. The United States acquired the island of Puerto Rico, now regarded as a U.S. territory. In 1917, Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship, and similarly to inhabitants of states in the U.S., they hold democratic elections for local and state governments and have their own constitution.
In recent years, Puerto Ricans have dealt with deteriorating infrastructure, a 45 percent poverty rate, severe water pollution, lack of educational resources and a massive public debt crisis. A byproduct of most of these problems is the prevailing issue of hunger in Puerto Rico.
Economic Turmoil
Puerto Rico is more than $70 billion in debt and as of 2016, public debt accounted for 92.5 percent of their entire GDP. These circumstances are unique: understanding how they acquired such debt requires understanding the basic history of their economic policy as well as a few key events that have taken place over the last century. What has transpired can be compared to that of a domino effect.
The first “domino” to fall, by and large, was government overspending. Unlike states in the U.S. that are mandated to create and present balanced budgets, Puerto Rico is not. This resulted in overall spending significantly exceeding that of its tax-generated revenue.
Puerto Rico’s tax collection is one of the lowest in the world, deriving just 9.5 percent of its GDP from taxes in 2016. The CIA World Factbook report ranked the island 215 out of 220 countries in terms of taxation revenue, ranking only above Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia and Syria.
Secondly, for decades, due to its lack of statehood, the island was able to serve as a tax shelter for U.S. businesses, particularly pharmaceutical companies. During this time, economic prosperity reached a peak for the island. However, as of 2006, Congress eliminated these tax breaks entirely, resulting in total economic devastation for the island after most businesses moved back to the mainland.
There is also a rapid rate of skilled professionals leaving the island for the U.S. Many estimates assert that almost one doctor per day leaves the island, sometimes as many as two or three.
The economy has contracted each year since and recovery is unlikely. The GDP real growth rate has become one of the slowest in the world, at 0 percent in 2015 and then falling to -1.8 percent in 2016.
The final, and perhaps largest, hurdle the island must resolve in regards to its debt is that unlike other U.S. states, Puerto Rico cannot legally file for Chapter Nine Bankruptcy. This means that they are not only, by all definitions of the word, bankrupt, but that they also have no safety net or alternative resolution.
Agriculture, Trade and Commerce
Historically, agriculture has only accounted for 0.8 percent of Puerto Rico’s GDP. However, following the devastation of Hurricane Maria in September 2017, it is estimated that it only took the storm a few hours to destroy $780 million worth of crops or about 80 percent of the island’s total supply. This prompted immediate food shortages and inflated food prices, causing poverty and hunger in Puerto Rico to instantly become a new reality for thousands of residents.
Trade and commerce, as well as the supply of aid, were affected in the aftermath of the storm, specifically in relation to the Jones Act of 1920. The act mandates that all goods shipped to and from the island (or between any two U.S. ports) must be on guard, U.S. vessels that are operated by Americans. As a result, foreign logistics companies wishing to do such business have to pay a special tariff.
When considering Puerto Rico’s poverty rate, this is devastating to those experiencing hunger in Puerto Rico. Inevitably, Puerto Ricans will continue to pay significantly more for consumer goods and services than those who live on the U.S. mainland.
Hurricane Maria’s Role in Puerto Rico Hunger
Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. The death toll reached 48 as of October 14, 2017, with 117 individuals remaining unaccounted for. In addition, an estimated 85 percent of the island remains without power, about 1.2 million people are without access to clean drinking water and the preexisting issue of hunger in Puerto Rico is only becoming worse.
Since then, President Donald Trump and his administration have maintained that all relief efforts are being exhausted to the fullest extent possible. This narrative conflicts with many accounts from Puerto Rican government officials, who have said the response at the federal level has been slow-moving and inadequate.
Governor Ricardo Rossello has publicly stated on multiple occasions that the territory is in desperate need of further federal assistance, describing the situation as a “humanitarian crisis.” Carmen Yulin Cruz, the Mayor of San Juan, has also made headlines in the recent weeks following her televised plea to the federal government, saying “I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying … you are killing us with the inefficiency.”
Initially, Mr. Trump cited geographical concerns that present significant logistical problems to be the cause of this. “This is an island, surrounded by water, big water. Ocean water,” Trump said in a September 2017 speech in Washington, D.C.
However, during a press conference while visiting the island, he was quick to cite the island’s budget crisis, saying, “I hate to tell you Puerto Rico, but you have thrown our budget a little out of whack. We have spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico.”
Additionally, while the administration did temporarily exempt the territory from the Jones Act, this exemption expired on October 8, 2017.
In a recent survey conducted by the New York Times, just over half of the U.S. population is unaware that individuals born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens. Fortunately, many informed U.S. citizens support providing aid to Puerto Rico: among those who are aware that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, 81 percent think aid should be provided.
– Hunter Mcferrin
Photo: Flickr