# data[].attributes.body
kinda get a little opinon based

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work

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good

# data[].attributes.body
yes

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commissioner Scott goblet
bio pharmaceuticals

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yes

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to show the neglect

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language is specif not vogue or extreme  

# data[].attributes.subject
language is specif not vogue or extreme  

# data[].attributes.body
seems a little biased off opinion

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good

# data[].attributes.body
William ramiez

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political communications manger manger

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a month after

# data[].attributes.body
works

# data[].attributes.body
Fifty-eight percent of the island’s children live in poverty. The unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, twice as high as the U.S. and more than any other state, and has continued to grow after the devastation. Since 2008,

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The United Nations' poverty expert will visit Puerto Rico today to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the structural issues it unveiled. The storm exposed the brutal and historic neglect of the island and its 3.5 million U.S. citizens.

The ACLU and other organizations advocated for the U.N. to visit the island and submitted a letter urging them to do so back in early October. The U.N. poverty expert will meet with communities, local groups, and government officials on the ground in Puerto Rico. He will report back his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

While Puerto Rico " belongs to but is not part of" the world's richest country, its poverty rate is almost double of Mississippi's, the U.S.'s poorest state. Fifty-eight percent of the island's children live in poverty. The unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, twice as high as the U.S. and more than any other state, and has continued to grow after the devastation. Since 2008, over 34,000 homes have been foreclosed on, and a record-breaking 5,424 families lost their homes in 2016.

Puerto Rico's legal status is complicated, and it helps exacerbate circumstances that lead to poverty and civil rights issues. And these have only worsened since the hurricane. Since the Supreme Court in the Insular Cases determined that Congress owns Puerto Rico, the U.S. can rule over Americans living on the island without granting them the full constitutional rights enjoyed by those living in the states. This affects health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, fair access to government resources that help vulnerable communities, and many other issues.

How and when Puerto Rico recovers from Hurricane Maria is important for these 3.5 million U.S. citizens' civil and human rights. Without adequate assistance and support from the United States, the country that "owns" them, these American citizens won't be able to fight to fully participate in our democracy.

In an effort to understand the importance of the U.N.'s visit and get a sense of what post-Maria life is like on the island, I interviewed William Ramirez, the executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico.
This interview has been condensed and edited. Why is the United Nations' poverty expert visiting Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is generally invisible to the world. Most of the time it feels like we don't exist in the collective consciousness. We're not a part of the United States, and we're not our own country. That puts us in a difficult position. You can see that in how the federal government and the Trump administration have responded to us after Hurricane Maria. We got such a cold response because we are not seen as part of the states even though we are U.S. citizens.

Being recognized by the U.N. for this visit is key to keeping up the public and media attention we need to bring forward action to help us recover as soon as possible. We're going into 4 months now. There are many people that are sick and have died unnecessarily because of post-hurricane conditions.

I'm hopeful that the visit will highlight and put into perspective the fact that what Hurricane Maria really did was unveil the extreme poverty that has been growing in Puerto Rico due, in part, to austerity measures imposed by an unelected fiscal control board and as a consequence of unequal treatment and attention from the federal government and Congress.
What is life like in Puerto Rico right now?
There's a lot of sadness and trauma right now. Everyone has to get used to a new normal. Days are for preparing for the night, and nights are longer. You can make a list of all the things you want to do, but then there's a massive power outage that will disrupt your plans. Every day is an improvisation. We don't have the luxury of thinking about tomorrow.

Small things you take for granted have a big impact. Stoplights don't work, and not all streets have cops directing traffic. There are longer traffic jams than normal. With so many folks and businesses without power, it gets very dark at night and it's dangerous. You can't even see people when you are walking, you bump into them.

You can't trust all restaurants because how do you know that their food is fresh or that they didn't lose power at some point? There are a lot of diseases going around. A lot of businesses are closed and will not open their doors again.
Can you see and feel the federal government's presence on the ground? If so, how?
I don't see them in the way you'd expect. For instance, I see the federal government in the militarization of the police. There are officers with military gear out in the streets. They're not local police. You'd think that what happened here was not a catastrophe but an insurrection. They will stop you at traffic stops, and they are carrying automatic weapons and will search you or your car without warrants or cause.

The government imposed a mandatory and indefinite curfew that appeared to be targeted to certain segments of the population - especially the poor. People without power can't cook at home, so they have to go out to get food after curfew. Who is most likely to be in this situation? Someone poor or with limited resources that cannot afford a power generator, for example.

The population of a federal prison here went without water for four days. Homelessness is becoming an even bigger problem. Some schools are still closed.

Health care was a mess before the hurricane. It's even more of a mess now. Hospitals aren't equipped to service patients and doctors are leaving. There's an even greater exodus of doctors now.

These are just a few examples of the civil and human rights issues going on now on the island.

Is the federal government providing the help people need?

For some people they are. Some communities that are well off got food and supplies, but there are poor areas the government hasn't visited. Our office was closed for a month, so we worked from my house and would go out to devastated communities and try to help get them what they need.
Is reporting about Hurricane-related deaths accurate? Has the government been transparent about this important figure?
The local government tries to play down how bad things were. They were not counting many deaths they should have. Some people died because hospitals had no electricity or didn't serve patients well. Or they didn't have medications available. The government reported them as deaths due to pre-existing conditions. It's probably closer to 500 deaths, and the number will keep growing.

President Trump also played it down. But one death is a tragedy. Thousands of people shouldn't have to die to know that something is wrong and that things need to change. Trump didn't see the real situation when he was here. He went from the airport to a church and to a press conference. The same goes for Vice President Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan. They didn't meet with the real people who were affected.
Where do we go from here? What does Puerto Rico's future hold?
We could claw back to normal, but that wasn't good to begin with. Puerto Rico is a love affair. You love it, and because you love it, you take it for better or worse. You love it for what it is. It's hard to leave it behind.
What can people in the U.S. do to advocate for the 3.5 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico?
Contact and tell your representatives in the House and Senate to assist Puerto Rico in this time of need.

These U.S. citizens are having a really hard time. It's a lot worse than people think. It's not just the physical destruction, but the soul of Puerto Rico that has been hit hard. We can't lose the spirit to fight, but it's heartbreaking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hurricane Maria Exposed the U.S.'s Long Neglect of Puerto Rico

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The United Nations' poverty expert will visit Puerto Rico today to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the structural issues it unveiled. The storm exposed the brutal and historic neglect of the island and its 3.5 million U.S. citizens.

# data[].attributes.body
he adds facts and his opinion

# data[].attributes.body
the central intelligent agency

# data[].attributes.body
authors is a economist and his sister lives in Puerto Rico

# data[].attributes.body
everything spelled right and punctuation is right

# data[].attributes.body
IT was published a month after words

# data[].attributes.body
In the U.S Census Bureau
the U.S commerce Department bureau of economic analysis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September, destroying homes, crops and communications. Many weeks later, power had only been restored to fewer than 20 percent of homes. A third of the population lacked reliable drinking water.

I am an economist and have followed the hurricanes' impact with great interest because my sister lives in Puerto Rico. She was off the island and preparing to fly back when Irma hit. Her friends in Puerto Rico all tell her the same message: "Don't come back now."

I began wondering: If the damage is that great, how much will overall U.S. gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation be affected by the devastation in Puerto Rico?

The answer surprised me: not at all.

Tracking Puerto Rico

U.S. government statistics generally do not include Puerto Rico's numbers in national totals, even when they track them.

For example, the U.S. Census Bureau has tallied Puerto Rico's population since 1910. It even lists the island's almost 4 million people alongside the populations of the 50 states. However, the island's inhabitants are not counted among the total 326 million in the United States - unless they move to the mainland.

One of a country's most important statistics is gross domestic product, or GDP, which estimates the size of its economic pie. The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis tracks U.S. GDP at a detailed geographic level. If you want to know the GDP of Oshkosh, Wisconsin (US$10 billion in 2016), or Altoona, Pennsylvania ($5 billion), the government has you covered.

What the bureau doesn't track is Puerto Rico's GDP. This is particularly strange since it does keep tabs on the GDP of four smaller U.S. territories, publishing annual figures for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Mariana Islands. The press release discussing GDP in these territories does not explain why Puerto Rico isn't on the list.

One reason might be that Puerto Rico calculates its own numbers. However, it does not compute GDP, like the mainland. Instead, the island estimates GNP, gross national product. While the two figures sound alike, they are not comparable.

GNP measures what Puerto Ricans produce no matter where they live. This means it includes a Puerto Rican resident of New York City who builds houses, for example. GDP tracks what is produced within a country's borders irrespective of citizenship or immigration status of the worker. For the U.S., this means GDP includes the many Mexicans who work in California's farms and vineyards.

No matter what the reason, not counting Puerto Rico's GDP means the territory is not considered part of the U.S. economic pie, which means most people on the mainland will remain unaware of how the devastation there is affecting the economy.

AP Photo/Carlos Giusti

Unemployment and prices

Important unemployment and inflation data are produced by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both figures are vital to understanding if people have jobs and how much it costs to live in any given community.

Like population, the bureau calculates unemployment figures for Puerto Rico. Each month the bureau releases a national figure, whose rise and fall often moves financial markets. However, Puerto Rican numbers are not included when calculating the national total. This means the hurricanes' destruction of jobs and businesses will have no impact on U.S. unemployment rates and will be overlooked by traders and most people.

Hurricanes Irma and Maria have also raised the price of food and other necessities on the island. But again, the increased costs of living will have no effect on U.S. mainland inflation, since none of the 87 cities where the government gathers prices is in Puerto Rico.

An interesting side note is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico as part of its New York-New Jersey region (along with the Virgin Islands). The point of these regional offices is to provide an economic view of one area. This makes it odd that Puerto Rico is not part of a geographically closer region like the Southeast, which includes Florida.

A snub and a silver lining

In terms of key economic statistics, Puerto Rico doesn't count to the United States. This is strange since Congress made all Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens 100 years ago.

The Central Intelligence Agency illustrates this distinction nicely in its amazing statistical resource known as the CIA World Factbook. The factbook provides a fast and simple method of tracking key statistics needed to understand the political, economic and military capability of every country that is part of the United Nations, plus 75 other areas like Antarctica and Gibraltar.

Naturally the CIA has an entry for the U.S. It also has a separate one for Puerto Rico, which its analysts described as "a self-governing commonwealth in political association with the U.S."

Exclusion or inclusion in key economic statistics is important. Being excluded means politicians in Washington have less incentive to fix Puerto Rico's economic problems. No matter how bad the economic situation becomes on the island, exclusion means there is no impact on U.S. national statistics that could swing an election. And Puerto Ricans, living on the island, have no say in the U.S. general presidential election.

If there's a silver lining to being snubbed by the U.S. government, it's being equally ignored by the Internal Revenue Service. Puerto Rican residents of the island do not have to pay U.S. federal income taxes on their earnings. So at least there is one upside to being overlooked by Washington - though it's not much help since Puerto Ricans are seeing their earnings plummet in the wake of two catastrophic hurricanes.

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Why Puerto Rico 'doesn't count' to the US government

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September, destroying homes, crops and communications. Many weeks later, power had only been restored to fewer than 20 percent of homes. A third of the population lacked reliable drinking water. I am an economist and have followed the hurricanes' impact with great interest because my sister lives in Puerto Rico.

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Puerto Rico needs a change in tax policy to keep this active manufacturing sector alive.  “We owe the island’s residents our steadfast and long-term commitment to a full recovery.”

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Goteborg warned that critical drug shortages could hit U.S. consumers in just a few months if the island’s electrical grid isn’t restored soon.  He said the FDA is focused on 30 “medically important” drugs manufactured in Puerto Rico, including 14 that are made exclusively in plants on the island.

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Goteborg warned that critical drug shortages could hit U.S. consumers in just a few months if the island’s electrical grid isn’t restored soon.  He said the FDA is focused on 30 “medically important” drugs manufactured in Puerto Rico, including 14 that are made exclusively in plants on the island.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Puerto Rico's economy was in distress before the island was slammed by hurricanes Irma and Marie, and it is struggling mightily now to recover. But new tax policies also are needed for this U.S. territory to have a fighting chance at long-term economic recovery.

Damage to the island from the hurricanes was overwhelming, destroying homes and crippling businesses already suffering in the island's fragile economy.

"By every measure, this was an epic event of historic destruction that will require our sustained commitment to our fellow citizens on the island," Food and Drug Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told Congress in testimony last week. "Puerto Rico was a singular tragedy that challenges the FDA in unique ways." And it affects all of us.

Puerto Rico is a manufacturing hub with half of its economy devoted to manufacturing. One third of the island's GDP comes from making medical products, primarily biopharmaceuticals, and the island has a growing biotech sector. About 8% of all medicines that Americans consume are produced in Puerto Rico. In addition, 50 medical device plants there make everything from pacemakers to blood collection devices.

Altogether, manufacturing directly employs about 74,000 people, with more than 160,000 working in indirect supplier and support jobs. They are good, high-paying jobs that are crucial to supporting Puerto Rico's middle class. Unless these manufacturing facilities recover and stay in Puerto Rico, the beating heart of the economy would be irreparably damaged.

As part of its tax reform measure, Congress could help to rebuild the island's economy with new policies that would underpin its vital manufacturing sector.

While most of the island is still without power, most of the pharmaceutical plants are operating but at a substantially limited capacity. Most are operating on diesel-fueled generators that were never created to keep a large manufacturing plant operating indefinitely.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Puerto Rico's economy was in distress before the island was slammed by hurricanes Irma and Marie, and it is struggling mightily now to recover. But new tax policies also are needed for this U.S. territory to have a fighting chance at long-term economic recovery.

# data[].attributes.body
the U.S. Census Bureau has tallied Puerto Rico’s population since 1910. It even lists the island’s almost 4 million people alongside the populations of the 50 states. However, the island’s inhabitants are not counted among the total 326 million in the United States – unless they move to the mainland.

# data[].attributes.body
If there’s a silver lining to being snubbed by the U.S. government, it’s being equally ignored by the Internal Revenue Service. Puerto Rican residents of the island do not have to pay U.S. federal income taxes on their earnings. So at least there is one upside to being overlooked by Washington – though it’s not much help since Puerto Ricans are seeing their earnings plummet in the wake of two catastrophic hurricanes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September, destroying homes, crops and communications. Many weeks later, power had only been restored to fewer than 20 percent of homes. A third of the population lacked reliable drinking water.

I am an economist and have followed the hurricanes' impact with great interest because my sister lives in Puerto Rico. She was off the island and preparing to fly back when Irma hit. Her friends in Puerto Rico all tell her the same message: "Don't come back now."

I began wondering: If the damage is that great, how much will overall U.S. gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation be affected by the devastation in Puerto Rico?

The answer surprised me: not at all.

Tracking Puerto Rico

U.S. government statistics generally do not include Puerto Rico's numbers in national totals, even when they track them.

For example, the U.S. Census Bureau has tallied Puerto Rico's population since 1910. It even lists the island's almost 4 million people alongside the populations of the 50 states. However, the island's inhabitants are not counted among the total 326 million in the United States - unless they move to the mainland.

One of a country's most important statistics is gross domestic product, or GDP, which estimates the size of its economic pie. The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis tracks U.S. GDP at a detailed geographic level. If you want to know the GDP of Oshkosh, Wisconsin (US$10 billion in 2016), or Altoona, Pennsylvania ($5 billion), the government has you covered.

What the bureau doesn't track is Puerto Rico's GDP. This is particularly strange since it does keep tabs on the GDP of four smaller U.S. territories, publishing annual figures for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Mariana Islands. The press release discussing GDP in these territories does not explain why Puerto Rico isn't on the list.

One reason might be that Puerto Rico calculates its own numbers. However, it does not compute GDP, like the mainland. Instead, the island estimates GNP, gross national product. While the two figures sound alike, they are not comparable.

GNP measures what Puerto Ricans produce no matter where they live. This means it includes a Puerto Rican resident of New York City who builds houses, for example. GDP tracks what is produced within a country's borders irrespective of citizenship or immigration status of the worker. For the U.S., this means GDP includes the many Mexicans who work in California's farms and vineyards.

No matter what the reason, not counting Puerto Rico's GDP means the territory is not considered part of the U.S. economic pie, which means most people on the mainland will remain unaware of how the devastation there is affecting the economy.

AP Photo/Carlos Giusti

Unemployment and prices

Important unemployment and inflation data are produced by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both figures are vital to understanding if people have jobs and how much it costs to live in any given community.

Like population, the bureau calculates unemployment figures for Puerto Rico. Each month the bureau releases a national figure, whose rise and fall often moves financial markets. However, Puerto Rican numbers are not included when calculating the national total. This means the hurricanes' destruction of jobs and businesses will have no impact on U.S. unemployment rates and will be overlooked by traders and most people.

Hurricanes Irma and Maria have also raised the price of food and other necessities on the island. But again, the increased costs of living will have no effect on U.S. mainland inflation, since none of the 87 cities where the government gathers prices is in Puerto Rico.

An interesting side note is that the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico as part of its New York-New Jersey region (along with the Virgin Islands). The point of these regional offices is to provide an economic view of one area. This makes it odd that Puerto Rico is not part of a geographically closer region like the Southeast, which includes Florida.

A snub and a silver lining

In terms of key economic statistics, Puerto Rico doesn't count to the United States. This is strange since Congress made all Puerto Ricans U.S. citizens 100 years ago.

The Central Intelligence Agency illustrates this distinction nicely in its amazing statistical resource known as the CIA World Factbook. The factbook provides a fast and simple method of tracking key statistics needed to understand the political, economic and military capability of every country that is part of the United Nations, plus 75 other areas like Antarctica and Gibraltar.

Naturally the CIA has an entry for the U.S. It also has a separate one for Puerto Rico, which its analysts described as "a self-governing commonwealth in political association with the U.S."

Exclusion or inclusion in key economic statistics is important. Being excluded means politicians in Washington have less incentive to fix Puerto Rico's economic problems. No matter how bad the economic situation becomes on the island, exclusion means there is no impact on U.S. national statistics that could swing an election. And Puerto Ricans, living on the island, have no say in the U.S. general presidential election.

If there's a silver lining to being snubbed by the U.S. government, it's being equally ignored by the Internal Revenue Service. Puerto Rican residents of the island do not have to pay U.S. federal income taxes on their earnings. So at least there is one upside to being overlooked by Washington - though it's not much help since Puerto Ricans are seeing their earnings plummet in the wake of two catastrophic hurricanes.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Puerto Rico 'doesn't count' to the US government

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September, destroying homes, crops and communications. Many weeks later, power had only been restored to fewer than 20 percent of homes. A third of the population lacked reliable drinking water. I am an economist and have followed the hurricanes' impact with great interest because my sister lives in Puerto Rico.

# data[].attributes.body
While Puerto Rico “belongs to but is not part of” the world’s richest country, its poverty rate is almost double of Mississippi’s, the U.S.’s poorest state. Fifty-eight percent of the island’s children live in poverty.

# data[].attributes.body
The unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, twice as high as the U.S. and more than any other state,

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The United Nations' poverty expert will visit Puerto Rico today to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the structural issues it unveiled. The storm exposed the brutal and historic neglect of the island and its 3.5 million U.S. citizens.

The ACLU and other organizations advocated for the U.N. to visit the island and submitted a letter urging them to do so back in early October. The U.N. poverty expert will meet with communities, local groups, and government officials on the ground in Puerto Rico. He will report back his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

While Puerto Rico " belongs to but is not part of" the world's richest country, its poverty rate is almost double of Mississippi's, the U.S.'s poorest state. Fifty-eight percent of the island's children live in poverty. The unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, twice as high as the U.S. and more than any other state, and has continued to grow after the devastation. Since 2008, over 34,000 homes have been foreclosed on, and a record-breaking 5,424 families lost their homes in 2016.

Puerto Rico's legal status is complicated, and it helps exacerbate circumstances that lead to poverty and civil rights issues. And these have only worsened since the hurricane. Since the Supreme Court in the Insular Cases determined that Congress owns Puerto Rico, the U.S. can rule over Americans living on the island without granting them the full constitutional rights enjoyed by those living in the states. This affects health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare, fair access to government resources that help vulnerable communities, and many other issues.

How and when Puerto Rico recovers from Hurricane Maria is important for these 3.5 million U.S. citizens' civil and human rights. Without adequate assistance and support from the United States, the country that "owns" them, these American citizens won't be able to fight to fully participate in our democracy.

In an effort to understand the importance of the U.N.'s visit and get a sense of what post-Maria life is like on the island, I interviewed William Ramirez, the executive director of the ACLU of Puerto Rico.
This interview has been condensed and edited. Why is the United Nations' poverty expert visiting Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico is generally invisible to the world. Most of the time it feels like we don't exist in the collective consciousness. We're not a part of the United States, and we're not our own country. That puts us in a difficult position. You can see that in how the federal government and the Trump administration have responded to us after Hurricane Maria. We got such a cold response because we are not seen as part of the states even though we are U.S. citizens.

Being recognized by the U.N. for this visit is key to keeping up the public and media attention we need to bring forward action to help us recover as soon as possible. We're going into 4 months now. There are many people that are sick and have died unnecessarily because of post-hurricane conditions.

I'm hopeful that the visit will highlight and put into perspective the fact that what Hurricane Maria really did was unveil the extreme poverty that has been growing in Puerto Rico due, in part, to austerity measures imposed by an unelected fiscal control board and as a consequence of unequal treatment and attention from the federal government and Congress.
What is life like in Puerto Rico right now?
There's a lot of sadness and trauma right now. Everyone has to get used to a new normal. Days are for preparing for the night, and nights are longer. You can make a list of all the things you want to do, but then there's a massive power outage that will disrupt your plans. Every day is an improvisation. We don't have the luxury of thinking about tomorrow.

Small things you take for granted have a big impact. Stoplights don't work, and not all streets have cops directing traffic. There are longer traffic jams than normal. With so many folks and businesses without power, it gets very dark at night and it's dangerous. You can't even see people when you are walking, you bump into them.

You can't trust all restaurants because how do you know that their food is fresh or that they didn't lose power at some point? There are a lot of diseases going around. A lot of businesses are closed and will not open their doors again.
Can you see and feel the federal government's presence on the ground? If so, how?
I don't see them in the way you'd expect. For instance, I see the federal government in the militarization of the police. There are officers with military gear out in the streets. They're not local police. You'd think that what happened here was not a catastrophe but an insurrection. They will stop you at traffic stops, and they are carrying automatic weapons and will search you or your car without warrants or cause.

The government imposed a mandatory and indefinite curfew that appeared to be targeted to certain segments of the population - especially the poor. People without power can't cook at home, so they have to go out to get food after curfew. Who is most likely to be in this situation? Someone poor or with limited resources that cannot afford a power generator, for example.

The population of a federal prison here went without water for four days. Homelessness is becoming an even bigger problem. Some schools are still closed.

Health care was a mess before the hurricane. It's even more of a mess now. Hospitals aren't equipped to service patients and doctors are leaving. There's an even greater exodus of doctors now.

These are just a few examples of the civil and human rights issues going on now on the island.

Is the federal government providing the help people need?

For some people they are. Some communities that are well off got food and supplies, but there are poor areas the government hasn't visited. Our office was closed for a month, so we worked from my house and would go out to devastated communities and try to help get them what they need.
Is reporting about Hurricane-related deaths accurate? Has the government been transparent about this important figure?
The local government tries to play down how bad things were. They were not counting many deaths they should have. Some people died because hospitals had no electricity or didn't serve patients well. Or they didn't have medications available. The government reported them as deaths due to pre-existing conditions. It's probably closer to 500 deaths, and the number will keep growing.

President Trump also played it down. But one death is a tragedy. Thousands of people shouldn't have to die to know that something is wrong and that things need to change. Trump didn't see the real situation when he was here. He went from the airport to a church and to a press conference. The same goes for Vice President Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan. They didn't meet with the real people who were affected.
Where do we go from here? What does Puerto Rico's future hold?
We could claw back to normal, but that wasn't good to begin with. Puerto Rico is a love affair. You love it, and because you love it, you take it for better or worse. You love it for what it is. It's hard to leave it behind.
What can people in the U.S. do to advocate for the 3.5 million U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico?
Contact and tell your representatives in the House and Senate to assist Puerto Rico in this time of need.

These U.S. citizens are having a really hard time. It's a lot worse than people think. It's not just the physical destruction, but the soul of Puerto Rico that has been hit hard. We can't lose the spirit to fight, but it's heartbreaking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hurricane Maria Exposed the U.S.'s Long Neglect of Puerto Rico

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The United Nations' poverty expert will visit Puerto Rico today to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the structural issues it unveiled. The storm exposed the brutal and historic neglect of the island and its 3.5 million U.S. citizens.