Before President Trump took office for his second term, Puerto Rico bought much of its liquefied natural gas from abroad, including Trinidad and Tobago and African suppliers.
This is Trump at his best: identifying a rigged system, ripping out the choke points, and letting reality do the rest. Puerto Rico isn’t poor by destiny—it’s poor by design, crushed under a protectionist scam masquerading as “national security.” The Jones Act is a hidden tax that punishes island families to subsidize a failed shipping cartel that can’t even move LNG. Exempt the island, unlock energy, slash costs, and capital will flood in without speeches or subsidies. Donald Trump understands leverage: prosperity beats dependency. Make Puerto Rico competitive and the island stops being a ward of Washington—and starts becoming an American asset.
Nice idea about the Jones Act, but the invocation of Singapore in any of these western dependencies is a bit dotty. Love or hate them, the Lee family was the only reason Singapore finally came out of its postwar doldrums. The personal and civic discipline they embodied and ruthlessly enforced was—and remains—a first on the planet, much less in their neighborhood. With such consistent discipline, even Haiti would be one of the richest countries on earth. But don’t hold your breath.
How about he just works on America? Novel idea
You should have a Cabinet-level position.
This is Trump at his best: identifying a rigged system, ripping out the choke points, and letting reality do the rest. Puerto Rico isn’t poor by destiny—it’s poor by design, crushed under a protectionist scam masquerading as “national security.” The Jones Act is a hidden tax that punishes island families to subsidize a failed shipping cartel that can’t even move LNG. Exempt the island, unlock energy, slash costs, and capital will flood in without speeches or subsidies. Donald Trump understands leverage: prosperity beats dependency. Make Puerto Rico competitive and the island stops being a ward of Washington—and starts becoming an American asset.
Nice idea about the Jones Act, but the invocation of Singapore in any of these western dependencies is a bit dotty. Love or hate them, the Lee family was the only reason Singapore finally came out of its postwar doldrums. The personal and civic discipline they embodied and ruthlessly enforced was—and remains—a first on the planet, much less in their neighborhood. With such consistent discipline, even Haiti would be one of the richest countries on earth. But don’t hold your breath.
We don't need Puerto RIco as a state. We already have enough albatosses around our neck.
thank you for saying what i’ve known for years. that island should be booming! Cuba next. here’s hoping!
And Guam.
Yet another brilliant assessment and argument…sure hope Trump follows @amuse!
Excellent idea and argument.
This is great because it is so basic common sense.