It Has Got To Stop. It Has Got To Stop. All Rights Reserved. The continued erosion of Puerto Rico's business and economic competitiveness resulting from an ever-growing set of legislated labor fringe benefits that only add increased cost to businesses bottom lines has got to stop. Almost daily we read stories about the high cost of doing business in Puerto Rico and the uphill battle it is to attract new companies to the island.
Economists warn of the dangerous erosion of our economy's competitiveness.
In administration after administration, good, well-intentioned government officials in charge of our economic development rack their brains grappling with this issue. Yes, there are more things we can do to create more incentives to attract companies that create jobs. In Puerto Rico we have twice as many paid legal holidays as in the states, many more legislated sick and vacations days than any state, forced severance pay after 90 days of employment, and legislated double pay for overtime, instead of time and a half as in the states. Imagine how much higher they are than in Latin America and the Far East. Almost invariably, however, bureaucrats and legislators fall into the trap of thinking that the basic problems of Puerto Rico's economic competitiveness can be cured with a little tinkering with the tax code or some other incentive.