“Puerto Rico” on The Daily Caller

Puerto Rico, plagued by iguanas for years, is taking a violent stand against the ubiquitous reptiles. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service is extending tax payment deadlines for some individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Irene. (more)

Puerto Ricans are a rock-solid Democratic voting bloc, and President Barack Obama is giving them a big hug by completing this week’s US Air Force One swing state tour of Florida and North Carolina with a Tuesday stop-off on the island. (more)

For the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, rum is much more than a tasty beverage. Thanks to the federal rum excise tax cover-over program, which was established in 1917, rum is an essential economic engine that brings jobs, local government revenue and business activity to America’s Caribbean territories. The benefits to the territories — fiscal stability and self-reliance — are clear. The positive impact for U.S. taxpayers, particularly as the United States addresses the budget crisis and debt ceiling, is just as pronounced. (more)

The Obama administration says it can’t decide whether U.S. taxpayers should be on the hook for $6 billion in tax increases levied by Puerto Rico, but businesses are eligible for the disputed tax credits in the meantime. (more)

I recently visited my wife’s family in Puerto Rico. I returned home with a better understanding of Republicans’ anger over the enormous amount of federal aid given to Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory whose residents don’t pay federal income taxes. Though not a majority, a significant number of the Puerto Ricans I’ve observed don’t care about learning English, the Pledge of Allegiance or the national anthem. (more)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico’s nonvoting congressional delegate was the biggest spender last year in the U.S. House of Representatives, a nonpartisan foundation says. (more)

Our nation is not yet out of the economic woods. Americans are trying to regain their footing and businesses are still searching for reassurance before they make long-term investments. In this environment, it is crucial for Congress not to restrict growth in any corner of the nation. Yet there is an economic threat to the U.S. territory of the Virgin Islands with ramifications for businesses and local governments nationwide. (more)

The Obama administration is eying a secretive tax deal critics charge is an indirect bailout for Puerto Rico to the tune of billions of taxpayer dollars. (more)

1.) Has the Great Walking Back of Promises (TM) begun? — House Speaker John Boehner has been in possession of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s bejeweled gavel for less than 24 hours and already his party is modifying its promise to cut $100 billion in spending before the fiscal year is over. “A few House Republican aides admitted to TheDC that the party had slipped up in failing to correct the $100 billion figure – first thrown out in the ‘Pledge to America’ document released in late September – before this week,” writes Jon Ward. The more important goal, say Republicans like Rep. Paul Ryan, is to reduce spending to a level last seen in 2008, an apparent golden age of fiscal restraint. Also, says Ryan, the fiscal year began three months ago, which means “[w]e are halfway through the fiscal year right now,” and cutting $100 billion from the budget would be almost as difficult as figuring out how many months are in a year. Why did Republicans not walk back this promise on, say, September 23, 2010, the day after the Pledge was announced? Because Congress critters are terrified that the Tea Partiers will drizzle their coagulated blood on the Tree of Liberty. And metaphorically speaking, you know they will do it, too. (more)

A fourth victim died early on Wednesday as a result of a blowtorch attack by an island man on his family during a New Year’s dinner. (more)

As our country weathers one of the worst economic recessions in its history, the tax debate in Congress continues. The outcome of these negotiations will have huge consequences for the coming year. To see why this debate is so important, we need only look to Puerto Rico to appreciate the effects of both good and bad tax policy. (more)

Let’s say you’re an elected leader faced with a tough decision about how to revive the lagging economy. (more)

Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuño has proposed tax cuts that could be a huge boon to the island’s stalled economy, but there is a dark side to his proposal involving a huge tax increase on major employers that could cost the island hundreds of thousands of jobs. (more)

At the depths of a lingering economic downturn and the darkest times of the Cold War, Ronald Reagan inspired Americans and indeed millions worldwide to continue in the struggle for democracy, economic freedom, and individual liberty. Reagan (whose one-hundredth birthday anniversary we’ll celebrate this February) cheerfully encouraged freedom-loving people everywhere to triumph over despair, big government and oppressive tyranny. One of the many who answered the Gipper’s call was a young student from Puerto Rico who began his career in public service volunteering in Reagan’s Washington, D.C. campaign office. In 2008, that young Reagan Republican, Luis Fortuño, was elected governor of Puerto Rico. (more)

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to America’s economic challenges. States and territories are working hard to stabilize their local economies, provide essential services for residents, and keep budgets balanced. This means ensuring local leaders are empowered to use smart economic strategies and public-private partnerships that reduce their dependence on federal assistance. The U.S. Virgin Islands has found good answers, but unnecessary federal intervention risks halting the territory’s progress. (more)

Rum and politics have made a fiery mix since America’s earliest days, when a young politician named George Washington won election to the House of Burgesses in colonial Virginia with the help of spiked punch at the polls. (more)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – As the U.S. military prepares for the first war crimes trial under President Barack Obama, its most high-profile case against the planners of the Sept. 11 attacks is stuck in political and legal limbo. (more)

NEW YORK — Angel Roldan has plenty of Puerto Rican pride, even though he moved away from the island at age 2. His street vendor’s stall on E. 116th Street, the heart of the Puerto Rican neighborhood of East Harlem, was filled with red, white and blue merchandise for the city’s annual Puerto Rican Day parade Sunday, the day-long party honoring the heritage of nearly 800,000 New York residents. (more)

In an effort to build an extortion case against Joran van der Sloot, the FBI gave the suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway the money that he used to fund the trip to Peru where he allegedly attacked and killed Stephany Flores, says a private investigator. (more)