Oddbean

Fiat has clearly not worked for the people of Puerto Rico. This island belongs to the United States but is far away in the Caribbeans with 3.15 million population and tangled in a web of debt and extreme poverty (45% living below the poverty line). It amassed massive debt through some bond scheme interlocked with some sort of Madoff scheme which made the debt get bigger and bigger. That and bad economic policies, fiscal mismanagement, structural issues within the gov't, natural disasters, and Covid-19 contribute to the island's debt crisis. Puerto Rico became a territory of the US in 1898, and its residents were granted US citizenship in 1917 - well sort of - Puerto Ricans do not have full voting rights in federal elections, and they do not pay federal income tax if they reside in Puerto Rico. I think to rebuild, there has to be a focus on innovation as a fundamental driver of economic growth. But I can’t help but wonder, can the Bitcoin economy and libertarianism work here? If so, how?

user adoption n education is most important factor at local community level . no wonder PeterSchiff and many other crypto mughals choose to operate from there using tax advantage status - how much they contributed to local economy is another Q

oh, did not know it was a hotspot for crypto - as in shitcoin ? and had no idea about the peter shiff saga but a quick search showed that he had a bank there suspected of money laundering? dang "On June 30, 2022, the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF) announced they had suspended the operations of Schiff's Puerto Rico-based Euro Pacific International Bank, which was suspected of having facilitated money laundering and tax evasion."

gov can always find "laundering" once they decide n choose to find so. bitcoin/shitcoin/anything n anycountry when they choose close eyes then do that do - dig more e.g. "National Association of Realtors" kyc urself

I believe in Peter Schiff's case he created a full reserve Bank backed by gold. However I could be wrong on this; it's proving to be tricky to get to the truth of that story. I do know that he has two customers who committed suicide because they could not access their funds.

They need to default on their debt and not pay it. Kind of like an individual would do for taxes, but as a whole country. This is impossible if the primary currency being used is the same as the currency the debt is owed in. Converting to a bitcoin standard is just the beginning. After comes revolution by refusing to pay their US slave masters and refusing to pay the local fiat overlords. Once the people are free from the local and international debt burdens they will be able to sell their goods and services at fair global value without taxation (most likely illegally through open protocols like nostr). This is the long and difficult path to freedom, but the people will prevail.

Bitcoin will only be used as method. Not as primary driver: if the wealth increases, first things that happen is that many will leave puerto rico sadly. So the first things should happen in getting security and protecting children while giving them playgrounds,etc. It has to go in a way that is confdent to make people stay and believe in the island.

So the first things that such places need is progress that you can touch, see, hold in your hand or experience in an instant. Short term improvements that are there to stay. A playground, maybe a new store, shoes, places to sit, surfing, books, radios, a boat etc. And it can all have funding or involvement with Bitcoin.