Kinja reply list

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FauxhemianRhapshodyHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:48am
It’s funny to me that we seem to have forgotten that debtors have the right to default. That’s part of the risk that lenders take, why they are paid interest, and why credit ratings are important. When an institution makes a loan, they have a responsibility to themselves (and their own shareholders) to perform their due diligence to ensure that they are making wise investments. If Puerto Rico (or Greece, or any nation for that matter) can’t pay, they shouldn’t have to. We need to bring risk back to the financial system.
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  TaternutsAnonFauxhemianRhapshody
  7/28/15 10:52am
  Well, the reason the gov of PR is considering these sorts of proposals is because of they simply don’t pay anything, they’ll have a hell of a time accessing debt markets in the future.
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  Tio BalaFauxhemianRhapshody
  7/28/15 10:57am
  Don’t really know about Puerto Rico, but Greece is a wholly different animal. They don’t want to default because that almost surely would lead to being kicked out of the Euro (or from a more technical standpoint, the Euro would leave Greece. And no, semantics do matter in this case.). Rather, the Greek governments have been asking for the last five years for more money and have not produced any real effort to turn around their economy.
  
  When debtors file for any bankruptcy protection, they need to have a turnaround plan approved by the Court. In this case, the bailout from the Troika clearly outlined many reforms and structural changes that Greece should undertake. Forget about privatizations, we’re talking about taxing the ship owners, the Orthodox Church and fight the endemic corruption. The creditors have been pushing for changes in the Civil Code since 2010. The only time it was discussed in the Greek Parliament was last week, 5 years, Bn € 310 and a 50% haircut in bonds held by the private sector later. Greece already pays lower interest on its long term debt as a percentage of its GDP than Portugal, Ireland, Spain and most Eastern European countries that are in the Eurozone. Plus, it has a higher GDP per capita than 8 of the countries that have bailed out Greece.
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Sean BrodyHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:35am
selling $4bn worth of public buildings

This is always in there. Sell us all of your good stuff.
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  StenchofaburnerSean Brody
  7/28/15 10:39am
  It’s always their preferred solution: privatize. Specifically, sell to our friends and business relations who are at the ready with a small wad of cash to take over. It’s been exactly the same recipe they used on the Greek bailout earlier this month. The financial institutions put privatizations as a top condition to move forward.
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  AliHajiSheikSean Brody
  7/28/15 10:39am
  I'm sure they will be happy to rent them back at an entirely reasonable rent.
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EldritchHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:39am
There is something uniquely disgusting about cutting education. A good education is one of the best things we can give children and civilization as a whole. But an educated population is a hated idea by the craven suits who want to keep the plebs docile and dumb so they can more easily screw them over. This is an abhorant proposal.
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  AssFault on the Highway to HellEldritch
  7/28/15 10:43am
  Not to mention, this will hurt so many of PR’s working women, who now have to pay for childcare or quit jobs to take care of their kids.
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  Wruff Truff FruffEldritch
  7/28/15 10:55am
  Really wish I had gone into investment banking when I was younger. I didn’t because I feared I’d become even more of a conservative asshole than what I was upon graduating high school. Had I known I’d do a 180 in life and become an anti-racist, pro-woman, pro-LGBT liberal who is a bit off kilter while becoming a banker, too, I’d probably have massed up enough weaponry to have shot up Wall Street several times over. And right now, I don’t think that would be a bad legacy if that’s how one of my lives went in a parallel universe.
  
  All that to ask: Why is it that these losers who commit mass murder aren’t taking out the assholes that are truly ruining society?
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PeteRRHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:35am
Good to see you still around.
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  Itto OgamiPeteRR
  7/28/15 10:41am
  Agreed. Could we get a weightlifting article up in here? I’m starting to lose my motivation.
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  KittywompusPeteRR
  7/28/15 10:44am
  A lot of people hate Hamilton Nolan but I like him because I imagine his alligator profile pic saying these things in an English accent.
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The Ghost of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ AKA BabyStepsHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:49am
…and drastically cutting public spending, particularly on education...

This does not surprise me at all. Whenever these people speak of structural adjustment they always end up savaging public sector spending. It has been like this since forever.
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  toothpetardThe Ghost of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ AKA BabySteps
  7/28/15 10:59am
  Their greatest victory was convincing us that capitalism has nothing to do with growing capital.
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  The Ghost of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ AKA BabyStepstoothpetard
  7/28/15 11:04am
  or that “yes, you can do it too!”
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toothpetardHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:36am
drastically cutting public spending, particularly on education.

Another small consideration for our Job Creators.
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  ReverandRichardWayneGaryWaynetoothpetard
  7/28/15 10:39am
  All the better to eliminate competition for the wealth to be bequethed to the Job Creator’s decendents.
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corey3rdHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:37am
Nice to see that the hedge funds that owe money want them to sell all their buildings. This report should hold the same weight as a loan shark offering to break kneecaps.
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  Icecold Daviscorey3rd
  7/28/15 10:42am
  So, pretty serious weight then?
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  Setzer777Icecold Davis
  7/28/15 10:47am
  Yeah, definitely a warning to take seriously...
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kingdom2000Hamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:50am
The more ignorant a populace, the easier it is to control. Its been the standard for most monarchies and dictatorships for several millenniums. It works and because of that the rich and the GOP that follows their orders have the standard bearer for reducing access to education for at least the last 50 years.

I am bit surprised that “raise taxes” was one of the recommendations. I guess the fat cats that are owned the debt already have their tax shelters setup so are not concerned about it.
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  neuroradical4kingdom2000
  7/28/15 11:23am
  I’m pretty sure the suggestion is mostly to raise taxes on middle class and poor folks
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TheDiscordianHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 4:07pm
The hedge funds called for Puerto Rico to avoid financial default – and repay its debts – by collecting more taxes, selling $4bn worth of public buildings and drastically cutting public spending, particularly on education...

But not taxes on financial institutions or the wealthy people who run them, of course. Tax the poor, they can afford it!

Here’s a better solution. Use Immanent Domain Seize any assets on Puerto Rican soil that are owned by those financial institutions and then offer to sell them back. If they complain, just call it a debtor tax and point out that you’re following their suggestion.
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otterbirdHamilton Nolan
7/28/15 10:58am
Why is the proposed solution never, “Well, consider this a lesson to you”? (I mean a lesson to the hedge fund lenders, who apparently think high returns should not come with any risk, ever.)
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