Digital Town Hall Coming Up

On November 3rd, the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico will cast a historic vote to show definitively whether or not the majority of Puerto Rico voters support the territory’s admission as a state of the Union. In preparation, we have scheduled another in our series of Digital Town Halls: The Economics of Statehood for 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 21st.

Register here

While most of the discussion surrounding Puerto Rico statehood revolves around the political implications of its admission, there is an equally important conversation about the economic implications of statehood.

The economics of statehood

Full political equality for the people of Puerto Rico through statehood will generate an opportunity for a fundamental restructuring of Puerto Rico’s economic model. The new model will need to provide the institutional stability necessary for any long-term sustained economic development plan.

As a result, statehood has the potential to finally unleash the island’s full economic potential for the benefit of island residents as well as America as a whole.

Unfortunately, most discussion about the economic impacts of statehood have been rather shallow. They’ve focused mostly on how paying federal income taxes would impact the local economy (local perspective), or what the cost to the national government for providing equality in federal programs will be (mainland perspective).

This Town Hall event seeks to open a broader discussion about the wide range of economic opportunities that statehood for Puerto Rico represents, and their potential to benefit both the Island and the U.S. mainland.

The speakers

We’re excited to bring together a pair of experts for the Town Hall.

Mike Fellman, an economist and policy expert, has worked at the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.