18 minute read
Economy affEctEd by dEcrEasing gross salary
Puerto Rico decreasing gross salary signals less consumption
Runaway inflation responsible for consumer distrust
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Brenda A. Vázquez Colón, The Weekly Journal
The growing inflation currently experienced Puerto Rico is slashing through the pockets of consumers, particularly those with low to moderate income, whose earnings continue to be undermined due to the high cost of essential items and services, such as food, fuel and utilities. “This is the perfect storm.
Higher interest rates and runaway inflation. People have the same salary with more expensive products, so their income is reduced. They are looking for ways to save and lower their expenses, for example, with public transportation or car-pooling,” said certified public accountant (CPA) Kenneth Rivera. The economic impact will soon be felt in home purchases and loans in general, because the average worker will have less money to buy goods and pay for loan interests, with a salary that is not enough to cover minimum essential expenses. Former Secretary of the Department of Labor and Human Resources, Ruy Delgado Zayas, considers that, although the rise in interest rates authorized by the Federal Reserve (FED) seeks to lower prices and stabilize the economy, the scenario is still complicated for people with lower income.
He pointed out that, while some employees have received a rise in minimum wage of an additional $1.25 per hour (from $7.25 to $8.50), that is not enough due to high inflation. Minimum wage employees would need a greater rise in their compensation to be able to face the increasing cost of living. “Inflation is eating up the rise in minimum wage and reducing consumption. You can already see it out there. Traffic is not that heavy because people are driving less to save gas. There are fewer visits to stores as purchasing power lowers,” said the former secretary.
Statistics
According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Salary Growth Tracker, the salary of a full-time worker at large companies has risen about 5% in the 12 months preceding May 2022. However, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that inflation has caused wages to decline by an average of 3.5% in the vast majority of sectors. Moody’s Analytics estimates that, as a result from high prices, consumers will have to spend about $460 more than they did during this same period last year for the same products and services.
Effect of higher wages
Zayas understands that increasing salaries would allow workers to buy more and improve the economic activity of the island, but it will not be easy for small businesses, since they face greater challenges to stay afloat. “Small businesses will have to implement austerity measures, such as reducing hours or laying off employees because costs, particularly for oil-dependent manufacturers, are out of control,” he said. “Solving these conditions is not in the hands of Western countries.” Dean of the Business, Tourism and Entrepreneurship Division at Ana G. Méndez University, Juan Sosa, coincided that the effects of inflation and the rise in interest rates will negatively affect small businesses. “Micro and small businesses will have to make decisions about how to manage their operating costs and maintain their profitability within inflation because consumers will be spending less. They will have to adjust their business models,” said Sosa. Larger companies and sectors such as restaurants, will be forced to increase wages and offer better deals, to retain their
In fact, staff and ensure that they do not migrate to other industries with better compensation and benefits. The economic impact Having a salary that does not pay enough for will soon be felt in monthly expenses in a scenario of uncertainty home purchases is reason enough for consumers to cancel or and loans in general, postpone their purchases. This is consistent because the average with a University of Michigan study that found worker will have less that real disposable income per capita could be money to buy goods seeing the biggest annual decline since 1932. and pay for loan “This is psychological behavior; if people interests. understand that inflation is going to continue, they will hold up, and there will be less consumption. Decisions are made based on a pessimistic perception. If Russia decides to lower its weapons, then a better expectation will be created and the markets will react like the stock market,” Sosa said.
This is the perfect storm. Higher interest rates and runaway inflation. People have the same salary with more expensive products…
Kenneth Rivera, CPA
T-Mobile leads in 5G performance and satisfaction
Independent study ranked the carrier first in 14 out of 15 categories
Juan A. Hernández, The Weekly Journal
An independent study measuring costumer accessibility and satisfaction among wireless carriers in Puerto Rico ranked T-Mobile’s network as number one in both performance and consumer experience, in all the 5G categories.
“Our 5G network is delivering a great customer experience and powerful network performance. Our early bet and two-year lead in mid band 5G continues to pay off giving customers the fastest, most available in the country and Puerto Rico,” said Neville Ray, president of Technology at T-Mobile, in a written statement.
According to Opensignal, an independent global analytics firm, T-Mobile is ahead of all other wireless carriers operating in Puerto Rico after it measured mobile user experience on every major network operator in Puerto Rico.
“T-Mobile was favored in 14 of the 15 categories of service evaluated by the study,” said Lyanette Dávila, T-Mobile’s Marketing Director for Puerto Rico. T-Mobile’s 5G network outpaced its nearest competitor with a download speed of 104.6 Mbps (megabits per second) and 9.6 Mbps for uploading. Dávila confirmed that her company had been operating 2G, 3G and CDMA networks at the moment the study was being conducted, as well as other competitors. Nevertheless, those networks were disabled by March 31st. Liberty Puerto Rico, T-Mobile’s closest competitor turned off its 2G and 3G networks in February.
The only category in which T-Mobile came in second place was in “Availability” of time, which refers to the time the carrier’s networks are up and available for customer access. In this category, Liberty outpaced T-Mobile with 99.2% availability vs 99.0%.
“Variance in that category was of only 0.2%. There is no perceptible difference from the consumer’s point of view,” argued Dávila, who explained that those lower technologies had already been phased out.
“Nowadays, phones are 5G, or 4G minimum. Equipment still operating in 2G are trackers, maybe, for vehicle fleets and others using low data levels, such as portable cash registers,” she said. “But technology has been evolving and the companies that used such equipment have also evolved to keep up with the networks. Also, keeping those technologies in operation is very expensive.” Dávila assured that Opensignal’s study for the year’s first quarter concentrated more in the 4G and 5G networks operation than anything else. It is significant that in the “Excellent Consistent Quality” and “Core Consistent Quality” both T-Mobile and Liberty Puerto Rico are separated by less than one and two percentage points respectively.
In the “Excellent Consistent Quality” category T-Mobile bested Liberty with 74.8% against 73.9%. A difference of 0.9%.
In the “Core Consistent Quality” category T-Mobile again bested Liberty 89.3% against 87.6%. A difference of 1.7%.
According to Dávila, T-Mobile currently has over 1.1 million subscribers and has experienced a 45% growth since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017. The marketing executive also claimed that 79% of T-Mobile’s network is already 5G ultra-capacity enabled.
“Network reconstruction after Maria advanced spectrum clearance in order to launch our 600MHz. frequency, which is part of the company’s three-layer cake [voice, text and data] network strategy… These allow us to provide the customer with a positive experience,” Dávila said.
In fact,
Lyanette Dávila, T-Mobile’s Marketing Director
In fact,
Evertec’s online platform combines several payment alternatives
The platform is already in use in seven Latin American countries
Enrique Muchacho, The Weekly Journal
PlacetoPay, Evertec’s new online payment platform, will allow consumers the possibility of making payments to businesses and individuals using ATM protocols thus making online transactions easier and more user friendly.
The platform, which is already being used in seven different countries, is known for processing payments through different channels and enable diverse payment methods in a fast and simple way, all while keeping the highest security levels.
“We are bringing a platform that goes beyond e-commerce… it is multichannel, allows the ability to pay with a debit card, and provides strong security measures,” said Guillermo Rospigliosi,
Evertec’s Chief Products and Innovation Officer.
Unlike other online payment methods, Placetopay (PtP) allows individuals to pay through social media, payment links through WhatsApp, texts messages and QR codes. “Evertec’s offer is centered in processes and tools that seek to increase approval rates and mitigate the risk of fraud by providing a positive digital experience to consumers,” Rospigliosi added.
PtP can be used to pay businesses as well as non-profits, schools, hospitals, and even government entities.
“Evertec has always worked in close alliance with different businesses around the island to make available its robust payment platform, which is more accessible, handles different currencies and has a proven record in Latin America. Also, we have helped democratize the electronic commerce by activating multiple payment methods, that include people with no bank accounts,” said Evertec’s Chief Commercial Officer for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Several businesses have already subscribed to PtP, including restaurants, retail stores, security companies, and professional services as well.
Evertec’s offer is centered in increasing approval rates and mitigating the risk of fraud by providing a positive digital experience to consumers.
For Pedro Rodríguez, Marketing Director of Outumoro Automotive Group, PtP has provided the company with a simple payment option for its customers by just sending a link to their e-mail accounts, or via a text message. “This digital platform helped us offer every one of our clients an easier option to make payments through a simple link sent to their email or by text message, simplifying the process,” said Rodriguez. Outumoro specializes in car services.
Similarly, Totto Puerto Rico, a clothing and accessories retailer, said “this platform has allowed us to provide additional payment methods to our customers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. through our web page.
PtP is not an app. To subscribe to it, you must make an integration with Evertec.
“Placetopay is more of a facilitator during checkout,” Rospigliosi said. With PtP, Evertec seeks to increase its offer for a secure, agile, and versatile electronic platform for electronic transactions.
According to Rospigliosi, one of PtP salient characteristics is its low fraud index. “We offer several security modules, being “Escudo” (Shield) the main one. This tool takes user’s information –who he is, where he is connected, what is he buying…– it analyzes it and notifies the seller about the possibility of fraud –low, moderate, high– so it can take a better informed decision about the transaction,” explained Evertec’s executive. This protocol is redundant with what Rospigliosi identified as “3D Secure,” an authentication protocol that redirects the user to the bank that issued the card he is using in the transaction, so the bank can authenticate it.
“These protocols allow us to keep possible fraud in check, without sacrificing our approval rates, which are currently above 90%,” he added.
A recent study published by CyberSource, a payment service provider powered by VISA, fraud rate for electronic transactions in Latin America averages about 60%. Rospigliosi declined to mentioned which is PtP’s fraud rate, but assured it is well below the Latin American average.
“We are trying to make sure that the customer’s experience could be simpler. You enter the application, confirm it, and its done in a fast way without putting information repeatedly,” said Rospigliosi.
10
opinion
/ Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Kenneth Davison McClintock
22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico Kenneth Davison McClintock
22nd Secretary of State of Puerto RicoPuerto Rican Power: Useful or Useless
Over the past decade the state of Florida became our country’s most populous “Puerto Rican State”, with slightly over one million Puerto Ricans surpassing the Boricua population of New York, the traditional “Puerto Rican State” for over 80 years. Sheer numbers have given Puerto Rican voters in the Sunshine State an enormous political power which they have used to elect numerous Puerto “The Right to Life” is a phrase used in the national discourse only in the context of the beginning of life when discussing women’s right to choose or the
Ricans to local, county and state office, as well as the end of life and euthanasia. However, at least once late Maurice Ferré as Mayor of Miami nearly 40 years a person is born, he or she has an enduring right ago and Darren Soto to Congress in the past decade. of survival throughout life. In designing several Increasingly, a growing number of aspiring important federal programs since as far back as Florida politicians recognize that they cannot the nineteenth century, the Federal government attract the support of Puerto Rican voters if they don’t support the alternative of statehood for Puerto Rico, favored by over 80% of the voters they are wooing for support. Many political observers believe that current NASA Administrator Bill Nelson didn’t win reelection as United States senator due to two factors. First, even though he was a Puerto Rico statehood supporter, he didn’t advertise it or repeat it often enough. He had campaign advisors that told me he had to respect the 19% that weren’t statehood supporters, advisors most of which probably had been on the payroll of antistatehood governments in Puerto Rico in the past. Second, simultaneously, pro-statehood Republican leaders in Puerto Rico had painstakingly extracted a somewhat pro-statehood statement from Nelson’s opponent and current United States Senator Rick Scott late in the campaign. Those two factors resulted in increasing Scott’s share of the vote, which contributed to his slim victory over Nelson in the general elections. This time around, it appears that current Senator Marco Rubio will be confronting Congresswoman Val Demings in the midterms in November. Marco, whom I’ve known since he was Florida House Speaker and I was Puerto has sought to help Americans prolong their lives. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln saw the need to create a system, now known as the Department of Veteran Affairs, to provide those who fought in America’s wars with medical services that would help them live and receive medical services. Few nations provide those who have served the level of health services as America. During the Depression, as part of the New Deal, the federal government saw the need to help Americans who could not afford basic health services, and began to provide some assistance. In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson spearheaded efforts to create Medicare for the elderly and the disabled and Medicaid for the medically indigent. Unfortunately, federally subsidized medical assistance has not been made available to all Americans in a non-discriminatory fashion. As for veterans, VA facilities are doled out, not strictly on the basis of need, but as a result of patronage or political influence. Partisan politics and seniority in Congress is factored in when it is determined where a new VA hospital or clinic will be located. In that case, a state-like jurisdiction that should have two voting senators and two voting representatives but doesn’t, ends up getting the short end of the stick. Rico Senate President, has been the pride of Regarding Medicare, that same state-like many Hispanics, a few Democrats included. jurisdiction lacking voting representation in the Unfortunately, his timidity towards Puerto Rico national legislature as well as in the Electoral statehood and Congresswoman Demings solid College that elects that jurisdiction’s president and record towards all things Puerto Rican and its vice president, Congress has built in mechanisms admission into the Union, could create problems to extend Medicare services almost equally, but for senator Rubio among Florida’s Puerto Rican almost. When I turned 65 last month, I qualified voters, even including a few Republicans, almost all for the Medicare coverage that I’d been paying of whom support statehood. premiums for 47 years. However, if I didn’t ask Every time that Marco has spoken about Puerto particularly for “Part B”, one of the most important Rico status it has been to apologetically explain benefits, I wouldn’t get it. Anywhere else in the why this is not the time to push for statehood. nation I would get that benefit automatically. That
When two bills were filed on Puerto Rico’s political discriminatory rule---“opt in” if in Puerto Rico, “opt status in this term, the Senate counterparts out” if anywhere else--- was devised for Medicare to Nydia Velázquez’ and his fellow Republican to be less expensive for the federal government in Puerto Rico, only in Puerto Rico. Concerning Medicaid, the program to provide
The Right to Life
Jenniffer González’, he did not sponsor either one. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Val Demings didn’t quibble in signing on to the bill filed by Rep.
Darren Soto and many Republicans led by Jenniffer and the then Dean of the House, the highly respected late Don Young. If Florida’s million-plus Puerto Ricans decide to As Congress struggles to factor in the issue of Puerto Rican statehood when they decide who to choose between Marco Rubio and Val Demings in November, Marco Rubio could legislate and keep America fiscally stable past Friday, be in trouble. He could have joined Jenniffer González and coFebruary 18, Puerto Ricans on sponsored her bill in the Senate, but he did not. the mainland as well as their He could have sought to recruit other Republicans to co-sponsor Jenniffer’s bill in the representatives in Congress Senate, but he did not. He could have raised his voice in the Senate’s Republican conference regarding the Republican should make sure in the next few days to include language Party’s long-standing platform commitment to support Puerto Rico’s admission into the Union, that will protect the Right to but he did not.Life in Puerto Rico, providing He could have educated his Republican colleagues about the fact that Puerto Rico, rather than a solidequal benefits under Medicare blue state, would probably become a swing state, and Medicaid to its citizens in which has sent two pro-statehood Republicans and one Democrat to represent it in Congress for the past our territory. nine Congresses, but he did not.
He could have supported the consensus language drafted by Jenniffer and Velázquez, and services to all the medically indigent throughout has chosen not to do so. America, the cost in Puerto Rico is statutorily His opponent, the former Orlando Police Chief capped at less than $400 million and the federal and current congresswoman Val Demings, has share is limited to 55% of the total cost, requiring always stepped up to the plate for Puerto Rico, has America’s poorest jurisdiction to cover 45% of the cost. In a state with demographics similar to the nation’s most populated territory, the total cost to the federal treasury would be over $4 billion, and the federal share would be 83%. While those benefits are automatic in a state, Sheer numbers have given Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative Jenniffer González, Governor Pedro Pierluisi, and their Puerto Rican voters in the predecessors for generations, have to devote a lot of time and lobbying efforts to plead with Congress and every President from LBJ on to seek Sunshine State an enormous political power which they have the equality that would guarantee residents of Puerto Rico the “right to life” that is automatic on used to elect numerous Puerto the mainland.Ricans to local, county and There are many reasons why an absolute majority of Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico want state office. statehood. According to multiple polls, over 75% of Puerto Ricans in Florida, over 60% of Puerto co-sponsored and spoken for the bill introduced by fellow Democrat Darren Soto and Jenniffer González, and endorses the consensus language. Each Puerto Rican voter must decide in the midterm elections whether they turn their political power at the polls into a useful exercise to move Puerto Rico forward or whether they render Ricans in New York and probably an absolute majority of the two thirds of America’s Puerto Ricans who have chosen to live in the states and not in discriminated Puerto Rico, also want statehood for the territory. However, because of the discrimination in extending federally financed health services to the island, it is also a life or death issue, a denial of the Right to Life. useless the power of their vote. The best way to As Congress struggles to legislate and keep empower that vote is by rewarding Val Demings’ America fiscally stable past Friday, February 18, continued loyalty to Puerto Rican values and Puerto Ricans on the mainland as well as their telling Marco Rubio that he had his chance, that he representatives in Congress should make sure had our support but that he blew it, and that Val in the next few days to include language that will Demings has earned the votes that he has not. protect the Right to Life in Puerto Rico, providing equal benefits under Medicare and Medicaid to *The author was the 22nd Puerto Rico Secretary its citizens in our territory. That should be our of State urgent agenda for the next week, seeking the full extension of The Right to Life in Puerto Rico through equality and statehood.
