Melf and his family are about to be engulfed by hurricane Irma...uh Maria?

[Diff-chan]

The infrastructure was in terrible shape before the hurricane hit thanks to the fiscal crisis. The hurricane is bad and it’s on an island disconnected from the rest of the country, and it came on the heels of 2 other bad storms, all things considered the response seems to be about as good as can be done. Yea it’d be great if it was farther along but nobody is a magician here unfortunately.

[YellerDog]

Anything from Melf yet?

[Satsuki]

no....I posted a message on his Facebook. I know that doesn't help for shit but I hope if someone sees it they can either respond or let him know that we're worried.

[icarusfall]

The infrastructure was in terrible shape before the hurricane hit thanks to the fiscal crisis. The hurricane is bad and it’s on an island disconnected from the rest of the country, and it came on the heels of 2 other bad storms, all things considered the response seems to be about as good as can be done. Yea it’d be great if it was farther along but nobody is a magician here unfortunately.

Get fucked, the Jones act should have been suspended before the storm even hit.

[James]

And lightly impact American business profits when the only benefit is saving American lives? What kind of anti-capitalist monster are you?

I keep checking this thread for word on Melf and hoping he'll somehow manage to check in online somewhere.

[Diff-chan]

Get fucked, the Jones act should have been suspended before the storm even hit.

Jones Act is a meme. It will be more relevant when the island is back on its feet and people start buying stuff again.

The problem isn’t even supplies, it’s a lack of people to transport them and roads to transport them on. All this shit is connected and takes time.

http://www.newschannel5.com/news/nat...co-s-main-port

[Frogacuda]

What does the debt have to do with the hurricane response?

Because of the statutory peculiarity in Puerto Rico that forces them to prioritize debt payment over essential services.

That's what makes PR's situation so dire. It's not the mere existence of debt, it's that they are unable to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy because of an amendment to an unrelated bill inserted by Strom Thurmond in 1984 for reasons lost to the sands of time.

Those two factors (and the obvious severity of the immediate crisis) make PR's debt situation much more serious than just a dollar amount. It's a situation that requires a swift response from Congress.

And again, might I remind you, that Trump is proposing a MASSIVE deficit hike with his upcoming tax legislation. It's a bad time to be lecturing PR anyway for obvious reasons of optics but it also seems like a hypocritical moment to be debt hawking, don't you think?

[A Robot Bit Me]

Jones Act is waived.

[Diff-chan]

Those two factors (and the obvious severity of the immediate crisis) make PR's debt situation much more serious than just a dollar amount. It's a situation that requires a swift response from Congress.

And again, might I remind you, that Trump is proposing a MASSIVE deficit hike with his upcoming tax legislation. It's a bad time to be lecturing PR anyway for obvious reasons of optics but it also seems like a hypocritical moment to be debt hawking, don't you think?

Congress did pass something about Puerto Rico (PROMESA). They’re not getting a handout nor should they as it would just be a handout to make a bunch of shitty hedge funds whole, not unlike Obama’s actions on TARP.

Federal debt and state debt are different so I don’t see it as hypocritical, sorry.

[Bacon McShig]

Anything from Melf yet?

Nothing direct, but his brother posted a message on FB yesterday saying he had finally gotten word that Melf and his family are OK.