Republicans in Washington are blocking any action at all on the debt crisis in Puerto Rico, taking their cues from lobbyists for bond investors. Now political analysts think that this strategy of stonewalling could cost the Republicans their competitive position in Florida and perhaps other East Coast states where Puerto Ricans are moving to escape the high unemployment in Puerto Rico. It doesn’t take much to tilt the political balance of a state like Florida, and as many as half a million Puerto Ricans could end up moving to the U.S. mainland before the financial crisis in the island territory is resolved.
The bank bailout fund in Italy may not look like a big success from the outside, but some political leaders in Portugal are looking to copy the Italy plan to relieve pressure on Portuguese banks.
