The island of Puerto Rico, which is a commonwealth of the United States, has slowly plunged into an seemingly insurmountable $72 billion debt load and spike in unemployment, that is causing a mass exodus of native Puerto Ricans from the island to the mainland U.S.
Aside from tourism, Puerto Rico doesn't offer much in terms of commerce, leaving many politicians to call for a U.S. government bailout of the island. Politicians contend that the only way of bolstering Puerto Rico's economy is for the U.S. government to fund infrastructure and government projects on the island.
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is one of those politicians calling for a government bail out of Puerto Rico.
During a recent campaign stop in Orlando, Florida, Bush called for the bailout, even saying that he would support the "prospect of bankruptcy."
"I think we ought to have structured recasting of their debt and structured recasting of their social obligations," Bush said.
Asked whether that would include the prospect of bankruptcy, a legal option Puerto Rico does not currently have, Bush replied, "If it is a way to get out of the spiral they have — yeah, yeah, I would support that."-OS
Bush, who also supports statehood for Puerto Rico, is obviously courting the growing Hispanic community in central Florida, which is mostly comprised of Puerto Ricans that tend to vote Democrat.
