El Censo 2020: la importancia de hacernos contar

A estas alturas del juego, no nos debe sorprender la enorme desconfianza que tenemos los puertorriqueƱos con el gobierno estatal y federal. Ambos nos han fallado en grande, y mucho de eso se manifiesta en nuestra bajĆ­sima tasa de participación en el Censo Decenal – un cuestionario del censo que, desde el 1910, realiza el gobierno federal en Puerto Rico cada diez aƱos para medir nuestra población y otros importantes aspectos demogrĆ”ficos.

Weekly Review – July 16, 2020

This week take a look at the Unemployment Compensation program in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FOMB’s certification of PREPA’s fiscal plan, and the importance of making data-based decisions when assessing risk and determining how and when to open industrial sectors.

Unemployment Compensation

Great uncertainty lies ahead for the 50 million Americans that have relied on emergency unemployment compensation to meet basic needs after unexpectedly losing their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the extra unemployment assistance is scheduled to end by July 31.

Weekly Review – July 9, 2020

This week we take a look at how the economic austerity discourse has come to dominate the debate about municipal reform in Puerto Rico, peeling back the layers of the official narrative and explaining why it is necessary to change it. Also, with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging in the mainland, the team at CNE is wondering about how Puerto Rico is spending the $13.9 billion it has been allocated in federal funds to address the effects of the pandemic.

Superar la austeridad en la administración municipal

Luego de cuatro aƱos de haberse aprobado la ley federal PROMESA, y cerca de quince aƱos consecutivos de medidas de austeridad fiscal, nuestro vocabulario de la gestión pĆŗblica ha adoptado conceptos y tĆ©rminos generalmente asociados con el sector empresarial. Desde entonces se procura ā€œoptimizarā€ recursos, mejorar la ā€œeficienciaā€ en la prestación de servicios y alcanzar la ā€œautosuficienciaā€ en las distintas dependencias pĆŗblicas.

Weekly Review – July 2, 2020

There has been a lot going on recently at the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (ā€œPREPAā€). This week we dedicate a special edition of the Weekly Review to highlight two recent transactions executed by PREPA that together could have a material adverse effect on Puerto Rico’s electricity sector.

PROMESA, 4 years later

Four years after the enactment of PROMESA, Puerto Rico still faces massive debt and economic challenges – now, further exacerbated by the 2017 hurricanes, the series of earthquakes that have rattled the island since December 2019, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, the Center for a New Economy (CNE) warned the measures being considered by Congress would not address the underlying issues affecting the island.

Weekly Review – June 25, 2020

This week we focus on two important issues for Puerto Rico. First, we take a look at recent court decisions holding that Congress cannot discriminate against the residents of Puerto Rico and Guam in the application of the Supplemental Security Income program. Second, we highlight some of the difficulties inherent to case tracking and contact tracing.