Hi, everybody. Today, I want to talk with you about the crisis in Puerto Rico - and why it matters to all of us.
Puerto Ricans are American citizens, just like folks in Maine or Oklahoma or New Mexico. And over the last decade, Puerto Rico has suffered through a deep and painful recession - but unlike the rest of the United States, it hasn't recovered.
Today, the island continues to face a crippling economic crisis. Schools are closing. Power is being cut off at homes and hospitals. Teachers have to choose between turning on the lights or turning on the computers. Doctors can't get medicine to treat newborns unless they pay in cash. And as the Zika virus threatens both the island and the mainland, workers dealing1 with mosquito control to help protect women and their unborn babies are at risk of being laid off.
Right now, Puerto Rico is spending about a third of its tax revenue on debt payments - far more than anywhere else in America
