RADIO (WNYC): Escaping a ‘Death Spiral,’ Inside Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Crisis

Originally published/recorded by The Takeaway radio show here.

The following was played on WNYC, NPR, and more than 200 radio stations around the country as part of The Takeaway’s syndicate network.

Puerto Rico is $72 billion in debt. It’s a number that’s so large that Puerto Rican Governor Alejandro García Padilla said yesterday that there is simply no way to pay it.

While this U.S. territory tries to figure out how to get out of what Padilla calls a “death spiral,” Puerto Rico’s turmoil has significant ramifications for the already-reeling world economy. The case of Puerto Rico is especially pressing here on the mainland, where individual investors hold a large portion of the debt.

Justin Vélez-Hagan, founder of the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, explains just how bad the situation is, and what it could be mean for the world economy.