Hold firm, Paul Ryan!

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew visited San Juan, Puerto Rico, this week with one message: He hopes “help” is on the way. Lew has sent a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan with an imperative sentence concerning a bailout of Puerto Rico’s dysfunctional political class: “Congress must pass legislation for the president to sign into law by the end of March.”

The legislation, Lew says, should allow Puerto Rico to “restructure” its $70 billion-plus debt. Ryan last month said he wanted to have plans by the end of March that would allow for a “responsible” solution to Puerto Rico’s problems. I hope that doesn’t mean Ryan will cave. The responsible solution for Puerto Rico is to vote out of office the politicians responsible for buying votes by over-spending, and to fire their cronies who fill over-staffed offices at taxpayer expense.

Our WORLD Magazine cover story last month laid out the details. If Ryan holds firm, will some Puerto Ricans lose services in the process? Will some bondholders lose money? The answer to both questions is yes, but voting and investing foolishly has consequences. And it’s not as if Puerto Rico is helpless. The commonwealth has so many natural attractions that tourism itself could bring in billions in revenue if officials applauded entrepreneurship and cut the bureaucracy that makes Puerto Rico one of the worst places in the world to get construction permits and register property.

If Paul Ryan and his fellow Republicans buckle under media pressure and liberal “compassion” (which means enabling bad behavior rather than helping to bring about real change), they will not only hurt Puerto Rico long-term but the entire United States. From companies to industries to cities like Detroit and (down the road) over-spending states like Illinois and California, the refusal to make hard choices earlier leads to greater hardship later. Creating a new bailout precedent will turn trouble into tragedy.