Anti-Amnesty

3-13-13 WOSO Commentary

It seems that every new administration faced with the need to raise funds comes up with the strategy of offering an amnesty. This administration is headed in the same direction.

I am totally against further amnesties for the following three reasons:

First of all, I am convinced that there are citizens out there that accumulate debts in order to pay when the periodic amnesty appears. I would call them amnesty payers. Others who are relatively up to date stop paying pending invoices in order to take advantage of the amnesty law.

Secondly, amnesties are unfair to those who timely comply with their obligations and this unfairness will lead some to not be as responsible.

Thirdly, if we want a society of law and order, then we have to enforce strict compliance with all our laws.

Bottom line, amnesties hurt Government cash flows in the long run, incentivate irresponsibility, and do great harm to the creation of a society of law and order. 

In closing, I want to clarify that my anti amnesty position is not to say that tax evaders who voluntarily come forward, or taxpayers who are facing financial hardships, should not be able to negotiate reasonable plans in accordance with the particular facts of each case.   

Active Aging

2-20-13 WOSO Commentary

A recent article in El Nuevo Día of February 4^th titled “More Stress, Longer Life” confirms what I have read and how I continue to focus my life. Although the common understanding is that a life without stress is the principal ingredient for a long life, studies going back as far as 1921, indicate the opposite -.those who said they avoided stress, took things easy, and retired early had the tendency of dying younger.

We all know persons who generally live a stressless life with precious few commitments. We should not judge, and we must accept that they are indeed happy. Nevertheless, I cannot help feeling sad that talent and experience is not being put to use for the good of the community.

As I see it, we need to do what makes us happy, but thank God, this El Nuevo Día article reafirms that commitments, challenges, and social involvement, even though they often create stress, are favorable traits that lead to a longer life. More importantly, these traits lead to a better society. 

Bilingualism

3-17-13 WOSO Commentary

Bilingualism is one of those things that we in Puerto Rico should all be for and yet we cannot unite to accomplish something that is clearly good for everyone. .  

For some unexplained reason the NPP has never successfully implemented the vision of a bilingual Puerto Rico. Is not the ability to speak English well a necessary step if we are to become a State? 

If I headed the Popular Democratic Party and wanted to win over some of the statehood advocates and the undecided votes, would not a successful program to have everyone learn English be a real plus?  

English is the global language of commerce and at least for the forseeable future, the most important language to know if one wants to communicate with others around the world.  I will never forget approaching a discussion of business lawyers from the Scandanavian countries and discovering that the conversation was in English.

We want to attract vistitos to Puerto Rico and yet our road signs are exclusively in Spanish, even those signs that point out an imminent danger for the driver.

I know that bilingualism cannot be accomplished overnight, but what baffles me is that no attempts have been made to reach a consensus on the topic nor to start implementing in a major way such a vision. For the good of our children, I hope we can reach a consensus soon on this.

Este es Jorge Gonzalez deseando que pases un buen dïa!  

  

Chinese in San Lorenzo

5-29-13

My commentary of last Wednesday May 22^nd was on the excellent experience my wife Pinky and I had upon visiting San Lorenzo with the Fondo de Mejoramiento. My only constructive criticism was that the excellent museum did not have the description of the exhibits in English. As you know from past commentaries, I have been harping on the need for Puerto Rico to be a bilingual society in which our young and old feel comfortable in both Spanish and English.

In Monday’s El Nuevo Día, there was an interesting article on a recent program at the Municipality’s new virtual library that brought a Chinese professor to teach 20 public high school students Mandarin over a ten week period. At the end of the ten weeks, the students had to write a 70 word essay in Mandarin explaining their experience with this new language.

What I found particularly interesting was that the Chinese professor does not speak Spanish and so the course was in English and Mandarin. The students, therefore, received a very practical experience on the importance of English.

The experience was a complete success and the course will be offered again in August and extended to 10^th graders..   

One has to applaud the Mayor of San Lorenzo for this bold initiative that utilizes three languages to open horizons for its students. Bilingualism should be our very doable goal; trilingualism should be our dream. Que tengan un buen día!.

WOSO Weekly Commentary

Unity and Action

12/12/12

The killing of the young public relations person in Guavate as chillingly described by one of the four participants is mind boggling and for me is another example that stiffer penalties will not work.

Similar to the assailants of the young Dutch student from Baldwin, the killers were involved in car jacking and murder which brings in the FBI, the Federal Court, discretion in denying bail, and the death penalty.  The casualness with which they decide to find someone to car jack – “Es un buen día para un car jack” or “I need money to pay the rent” is indicative of how little they consider the consequences either because they believe they will not get caught or because it is just not an important consideration.

We all know that in the long run education and economic development are the real answers, but in addition to addressing these two areas that will take time, what do we do in the meantime?  I do not frankly know the answer, but others have implemented plans that have worked so we do not have to reinvent the wheel. We need a plan under which all decent citizens unite and we need a plan that is implemented. Martin Luther King once said, what worries me is not the screams of those who are bad, but the silence of those who are good. Taking this a step further, I would add, what worries me are not the acts of the criminals but the inaction of the law abiding citizens.  We need to unite; we need to act. 

WOSO Weekly Commentary

Action for the Common Good

12-5-12

My cousin Eduardo Gonzalez recently described an image of Puerto Rico that accurately despicts the main challenge we face. Puerto Rico is like a boat with each side rowing in opposite directions so that the boat is going around in circles. In the center of that boat we have the latest elected captain (governor) trying to break that viscious circling or cycle. Others have said that we are like a ship with the one’s who lost jumping off and tying or anchoring the boat so as to ensure that the ship does not move forward.

I have recently listened to a number of conversations wherein those favoring the outgoing party are debating whether to give the incoming administration a chance or whether to bail out (sell their business and move to the United States) or just hunker down with great pessimism, non-involvement and may be even active sabotage of the new administration’s program.

Unfortunately, Puerto Rico is not the only country suffering this malady. In the US, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky said in 2010, and I quote, “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”  In other words, we want to be the captain of the ship next time, regardless of the ill-will created and the damage to the country. Ironically, assuming the strategy works so that my captain is elected next time around, this attitude and strategy will most probably ensure that the new captain of the ship will inherit a damaged economy and society and a new sabotaged captain making the ship’s progress improbable.   

Can we set aside our partisan and status differences in order to work for the common good? That is the question and the challenge. I hope and pray that we meet this challenge and I urge each of you to see what you can meaningfully do for the common good in the different public or private roles available to you. 

WOSO Weekly Commentary

Thanksgiving

11-28-12

I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. I did …combining volunteer work, exercise and family – it does not get any better.

The morning through lunch was spent at the San Juan Marriot at the Thanksgiving luncheon organized and paid for by San Juan Rotarians and headed by Sol Bravman as part of our community service activities.

Some 600 children from the 11 islandwide chapters of Boys and Girls Club and from the Instituto Psicopedagíco enjoyed the traditional thanksgiving lunch preceded by musical presentations provided primarily by other children. The lunch is served by volunteers with the cooperation of the Hotel staff whose General Manager, also a San Juan Rotarian, and his wife were present. Their two children helped decorate the ballroom with balloons and were part of the serving line of volunteers. We did not break last year´s record of serving the 600 children in 14 minutes, but we were close.

A very positive moment was the joint participation of the outgoing and incoming Secretaries of State, Kenneth McClintock and David Bernier. I emphasize JOINT because they came in, presented, joined the service line and left together. A great message for the kids and something we direly need more of in Puerto Rico where collaboration by political leaders on behalf of our community is a rare commodity.

In the afternoon I walked by myself a wet and empty golf course in Dorado as I worked to meet one of my New Year resolutions of lowering my handicap to 14. I met my weight goal of 155 pounds by Thanskgiving. I do not think I will meet my year end golf handicap goal of 14, but I am sure going to try.

In the evening my wife Pinky put together a spectacular dinner for the 9 family members in Puerto Rico – we missed the five in England and the three in Massachusetts.

God, Papa Dios, has been far too good to me and I only pray that if and when He asks me to face a real adversity that I am able to do so with resignation and grace. God bless you all.