President Reagan Seals the Fate of Puerto Rico and Tropical Storm Maria
Robert Dayton
CEO | COO | President | GM | BOD| P&L | JV and Manufacturing | High Growth CE0
In 2014, I built up a successful leveraged manufacturing platform, including a company that produced electrical contacts (CTI, Inc.) provided to Eaton Corporation for its plants in Puerto Rico. I have many friends on the island and my thoughts and prayers go out to them.
In the early eighties President Reagan passed a little-known legislation that offered huge Federal Tax advantages to American businessmen to operate a manufacturing business in Puerto Rico. He was always suspicious of Cuba’s communist government and wanted to have a large population of Americans on PR for a reason to have a military presence in PR.
Electrical power distribution businesses all moved production of power grid and industrial power distribution products to Puerto Rico. These products are labor intensive to build and relatively easy to export to the US and Europe from PR. This law is still in effect. Many of the largest power distribution companies such as Eaton, produce most of their products in PR, having built up a huge investment in infrastructure including a very deep and well-trained management and employee work force.
What does this mean to the 3.5 million residents without power in PR? One can conclude that much of the equipment needed to restore power to the island will be available locally, but only after the roads are cleared of debris. The earlier storm, Harvey has created even larger requirements for repairing the electric grid and infrastructure in Texas and Florida.
Consider that some of Eaton’s competitors also manufacture in Mexico, in and around Mexico City. The recent historical earthquake will slow up supply of electrical power grid products needed to restore power in Texas and Florida that are built in Mexico.
Decisions driven by presidents, politicians, and business men and women have a long-term effect on our safety and ability to react to National emergencies. Who could forecast that President Reagan’s decision in 1984 to reinforce National security would have a huge effect 34 years later, on our ability to respond to two natural events such as record hurricanes and earthquakes?
Robert Dayton
https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/dayton44
Retired
7 年Please move this topic to Fox News
CEO | COO | President | GM | BOD| P&L | JV and Manufacturing | High Growth CE0
7 年Gentlemen: Many people can draw many positive ideas from this article First President Reagan accomplished a lot by offering a tax advantage for Puerto Rican's for prosperity. This is a very profitable business that offers great jobs for the island. PR did offer a good opportunity to keep a watch on Cuba. PR has been the worst hit by floods and may go weeks or months without electricity . Having the products on the island will insure that they can have immediate access to the parts needed instead of waiting for it to be flown in. Today it was announced that it will be years not months to restore the infrastructure . They don't have food and no refrigeration. It may be more than a coincidence that TX ,Florida were hit with floods and then MEXICO City had an Earthquake on the anniversary of their last bad Earthquake . It depends on your personal believes and I believe that God worlds in mysterious ways. He will provide for the 3.5M people in PR by having the resources to get electricity to an island that will be starving in a few more days. President Reagan was a great man who was made fun of when elected but kept going just the same . Winston Churchill was called an idiot when in school. I post on LinkedIn to help and inform people
Recruiter at Koch Industries
7 年The conclusion this article makes is nonsense.
Seeking new opportunities.
7 年Better yet don't post this stuff on LinkedIn.