How Puerto Rico's sinking economy is crushing the American dream

David Bogaty owner of WorldNet explains that Puerto Rico's government does not support entrepreneurship which is a main cause for their sinking economy. David explains that if Puerto Rico's government would have more structured government support for entrepreneurship, this has the potential to boost 14 billion dollars into the economy. David also explains that in the 2017 Global Entrepreneurship Index, Puerto Rico ranked 41 out of 137 countries and has dropped six positions since last year.

David has proposed 3 key fixes

1. Refocus government on economic growth,  "What we need to move our economy forward is more and more structured government support for entrepreneurship. Our government should be funding more incubators and accelerators. University of Puerto Rico, which is publicly funded, should be investing heavily in entrepreneurship education".

2. Reduce Taxes that are hostile to start-ups, businesses in Puerto Rico must pay a tax on gross revenue of up to 2% that goes to municipalities. "Talking about repealing this tax is taboo, because the municipalities are always hurting for money." "We need to change that mind-set. The tax is crushing for start-up businesses, especially those that bring in revenue but aren't profitable yet."

3.Reform the government bidding process, "our government agencies require entrepreneurs to use a competitive bidding process that discourages innovation. Officials come up with the solutions they want and to win the work; companies have to submit the lowest price bid. We would do better with a system that tells us what problems government needs to solve and asks us to submit innovative solutions in the areas where we have expertise. Government should choose solutions based on which ones will truly advance our economy, or at least drive government efficiency."

"The changes I suggest require political will — a true desire to build a stronger Puerto Rico for our children. They require sacrifice and political risk by our politicians, but they would transform a seemingly hopeless situation into one in which Puerto Rico controls its own destiny."

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/20/how-puerto-ricos-sinking-economy-is-crushing-startups.html