The Weekly Journal - Wednesday, November 16, 2022

ne of Puerto Rico’s greatest challenges is acquiring financing for small and medium businesses (SMEs) to scale their operations or continue operating after overcoming a major hurdle –such as a hurricane or a pandemic– and for start-ups.

Of course, there are many organizations whose mission is to train local entrepreneurs and put them in contact with potential investors to help them take their businesses to the next level. Nevertheless, all the benefits additional

business knowledge may provide considered, this could be an additional step in a race against time.

Acrecent, a Puerto Rican alternative financing company in the business of providing financing to SMEs, recently secured $34.8 million in investments from international firms such as BlueEarth Capital, Ceniarth, Calvert Impact Capital and Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, (CDVCA). All of these firms are characterized by investing capital and experience in countries with social and economic challenges, generating an impact not only measurable, but

Zoe Landi Fontana, The Weekly Journal

It's your moment to shine.

a week in review

New Coquito from “el Barrilito”

“Ron del Barrilito” officially launched its coquito, which will come in three festive flavors in time for the holiday season: original, pumpkin, and coffee. After the success of last year’s coquito, Hacienda Santa Ana decided to continue its signature coquito, whose key component is its artisan rum, distilled since 1880.

“The pure and natural way of making and aging Ron del Barrilito is in 100% white oak barrels, which previously stored Oloroso sherry in Spain. It gives a very interesting flavor to our secret recipe of coquito,” added José “Yeye” Ortega, mixologist in charge of flavors and balances at Ron del Barrilito. The coquito Ron del Barrilito will be available for a limited time at the Hacienda Santa Ana Visitor Center in Bayamón.

Skootel expaNdS to BiCyCleS with BiCipop

Skootel, the company providing the easily recognizable rentable scooters that people use to zip around San Juan, is now expanding its offerings to electric bicycles. Company partners and Puerto Rican entrepreneurs, Juan Carlos Parra and Aldo Briano announced an initial investment of $250,000 to purchase 120 e-bikes for the shared system. They’ve been christened as biciPOP, as part of a partnership with Banco Popular. The shared bikes have a top speed of 15 miles per hour and can travel over 120 miles. To use biciPOP, riders should download the Bird app, which is also used for renting Skootels, to purchase and locate rides. Through December 2022, the first 5,000 riders who enter the code biciPOP when renting one of the new e-bikes will receive a $5 credit to use towards their ride.

Powered BY El Vocero de Puerto Rico, 1064 Ave Ponce de León 2nd floor San Juan, PR

Postal Address: PO Box 15074, San Juan, PR 00902

iSBel aCquireS eNviSioN puerto riCo

The Quantik group arrived in Puerto Rico with the acquisition of Envision and with it, a substantial leap in its plans to become the benchmark for business technology solutions in the Caribbean. The company, with forty years of experience, transforms the connectivity of companies in more than twenty countries. “Isbel is a technology integrator for communications and digital transformation, with great momentum in Latin America. The acquisition of Envision, represents a stronger presence in Puerto Rico and regional growth. We came here to propose new ways of understanding and implementing solutions with a portfolio of technological products and services supported by a model of consulting, project execution and maintenance support”, explained Nicolás Martínez, regional manager. Quantik has over forty employees in the Caribbean, and now another twenty from Envision.

Phone: 787-622-2300, 787-721-2300 Customer Service: 787-622-7480

also with sustainable financial returns.

If you haven’t heard of Acrecent before, you’re not alone.

“The reality is that Acrecent is representative of a sector that is grossly underdeveloped in Puerto Rico. It’s an Achilles heel on the island— it’s one of a very few alternatives that businesses have,” said James Connor, CEO of Acrecent.

While previously working for GE Capital running their operations in the Caribbean, Connor noticed that there were no local, credible non-bank options for businesses on the island. As the market started to contract, Connor sensed that GE Capital would exit the market, which it did, leaving behind a $1.2 billion gap in non-bank lending.

Like other small businesses that struggle to fundraise, Acrecent has also struggled with this. Because of the narrative surrounding the island’s economy and future, it can be difficult to get institutional capital channeled towards Puerto Rico. “Puerto Rico –in the context of the States and territories– is not small,” clarified Connor. “It needs a robust non-bank capital sector to be developed.”

Acrecent manages about $160 million on the island, which is quite fractional when taking into

account Puerto Rico’s over $100 billion economy. Acrecent Financial Corporation was founded in 2004, and —despite a global financial crisis, the island’s protracted economic recession, hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy and debtrestructuring, and now Fiona in 2022– they continue to support the essential small businesses that provide muchneeded services to the island’s population.

“We started as a direct

lender. As we transformed the company into a fund management entity, still serving the same need – of the overlooked small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)– the way we raise money is different than we used to,” Connor told THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. “Unbeknown to us, we’ve been in the impact investor sector ever since starting the company.”

Impact investing responsibly produces a multiplier effect that allows capital to be reinvested sustainably and with value for communities in need. According to Calvert’s Impact Report for 2022, the sustainable investment universe in the US has grown from approximately $639 billion in 1995 to more than $17 trillion domestically and $35 trillion globally.

For Acrecent, healthcare is a key industry. “Healthcare is a huge one for us. [Puerto Rico] doesn’t get automatic funding for Medicare – that’s a risk factor in the eyes of investors. The traditional sources of capital and credit are not comfortable providing finance for the acquisition of technology [for hospitals]. We are a relevant player in that. We make sure hospitals have access to the latest tech needed for the community,” said Connor.

The company completed its largest loan ever three years ago. They received a call from a hospital operator that wanted to buy out the hospital serving the greater Bayamon area. With a $35 million loan, Acrecent was able to ensure that the Bayamon Medical Center could continue serving an area of 1 million people, save jobs, and make much-

After 15 or so years of severe contraction, there is now a great community of entrepreneurs and startups that are in a great place to do well and make money.

James Connor, CEO of Acrecent

Impact investing responsibly produces a multiplier effect that allows capital to be reinvested sustainably and with value for communities in need.

In fact,

needed improvements to the hospital.

Through 19 tough years for Puerto Rico, Acrecent’s realized losses from borrowers are less than 50 basis points total. “We are industry agnostic. We’re always looking at the needs of the market, helping underused or abandoned properties, providing financing so these buildings get repurposed. There is a lot of need and opportunity in this sector,” Connor described.

Acrecent has had three funds since they began raising impact funds in late 2018. As of last October, they had completed 293 financings over the past three years. As of this month, they’ve raised $65 million dollars and deployed $85 million dollars. Some 170 business have received financing from those impact funds

“The common denominator in places like Puerto Rico, is that there are very few credit options,” Connor said of the island. “However, the theme of the impact investment sector – while we all recognize there are more risks — is that you need to recognize you have to take more risks, or else you don’t have the impact that the community needs to have.”

“To my understanding, they’re the only institutional impact investors active in Puerto Rico,”

Connor said of the institutions that they secured investment from (BlueEarth Capital, Ceniarth, Calvert Impact Capital and Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, (CDVCA)).

Connor hopes this will lead other institutional investors to do the same, taking the island from a philanthropy target to a point of investment, access, and economic opportunity.

In fact,

Impact investing could take the island from a philanthropy target to a point of investment, access, and economic opportunity.

“Not one of these institutions five years ago would have ever considered Puerto Rico as a place where they could make a difference. The fact they are now comfortable is enormous,” he

continued.

SMEs have the ability to bring socio-economic wealth out of a few hands, filling gaps in the market. But when they can’t get the capital they need, the wealth stays concentrated in a few hands.

“After 15 or so years of severe contraction, there is now a great community of entrepreneurs and startups that are in a great place to do well and make money,” Connor encouraged. “There is a huge need and therefore a huge opportunity. Our investors have done really well, because our customers have done really well.”

Puerto Rico –in the context of the States and territories– is not small. It needs a robust non-bank capital sector to be developed.

James Connor, CEO of Acrecent

Retailers try to figure out what Gen Z members want

Unfortunately, Gen Z is still in the process of growing up

Madison Choudhry, Special to The Weekly Journal

Retailers have been left reeling as the try to understand Gen Z demographic. Comprised by the people born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is a group that has been proven difficult to understand. This has forced retailers to figure out what might entice them and where this generation differs from previous ones.

The answer, unfortunately for retailers, is not straightforward. Gen Z is still in the process of growing up, with the oldest members in their young 20s, and —as tends to happen— what they find important is changing rapidly. Researchers are learning more about the generation, but what is important to them now, may be totally different from what will be important five years from now.

However, the generation has high expectations for retailers when considering giving them their hard earned dollar. Gen Z is aware of how well retailers’ technology functions and prefer payment options that evolve to what the in-store experience is and especially how authentic the brand is.

Gen Z doesn’t yet possess significant purchasing power, but it is an age group that wields sizable influence over consumer thinking.

In recent years, the consumer’s mindset has changed tremendously, “fueled a lot by Gen Z,” said Chiro Aikat, Mastercard’s executive vice president of North America products.

A current purchasing option of buy now pay later seems so be popular amongst the Gen Z members. The trend suggest younger people tend to be more willing to try something new than older generations. And the ability to spread a purchase across multiple pay periods is understandably appealing to a 24-year-old consumer who “doesn’t have massive amounts of liquidity,” explained Paul Siegriend, leader of TransUnion’s credit card business.

Gen Z’s current interest in buy now pay later (BNPL) options, or debit cards, may just be a function of age. In another five to 10 years, as they

establish careers and increase their credit, experts expect estimate their priorities are likely to shift.

That kind of gradual development in payment preferences is what is likely to keep young people moving in the direction of credit cards, said Charlie Youakim, CEO of Sezzle, a BNPL company. For Youakim, BNPL is “the perfect training wheels for credit” because it helps younger consumers start to understand how to manage debt and pay it back, but he expects Gen Z will eventually adopt credit cards. “I just don’t see how you can argue against credit cards,” he said.

The plethora of options facing Gen Z has spurred traditional card industry players to introduce new offerings to remain competitive with neobanks and fintechs.

American Express’s recent addition of a debit card linked to a checking account, points in part to the company’s reasoning on assuming “the young adult angle.”

With 70% of new American Express cards acquired during last year’s fourth quarter going to millennials and Gen Zs, skepticism related to premium cardholder potential among those age groups “is over,” Amex CEO Steve Squeri said earlier this year.

The company would not share data solely on

Gen Z customers, but a key part of Amex’s growth strategy involves “enhancing and expanding our benefits and features, with a focus on appealing in particular to younger customers,” Amex Communications Director Azar Boehm admitted.

On his part, Discover CEO Roger Hochschild has also said BNPL isn’t taking away from credit cards. “I totally reject the idea that younger consumers can’t manage credit – it’s a myth. We’re seeing higher take-up rates for credit cards in the latest generation of students,” Hochschild said in an interview with American Banker, an online publication specializing in financial services.

Many financial analysts consider that diversity of ideas is just one of the reasons Gen Z is likely to keep card companies and traditional banks on their toes in the years to come. These consumers have many payment options, and that heightened level of competition means it is “game on” for card stalwarts as companies seek to attract those maturing customers.

I just don’t see how you can argue against credit cards.

The ability to spread a purchase across multiple pay periods is understandably appealing to a 24-year-old consumer.

In fact,

Sustainability strategies mitigate risks, offer business solutions

Challenges can be addressed through innovative solutions

Zoe Landi Fontana, The Weekly Journal

When the United Nations launched the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, many business professionals didn’t understand the concept of sustainability, sustainable development, or how to integrate it into their business.

It’s no surprise, however, since businesses have often used the word ‘sustainable’ as haphazardly as they do ‘synergy,’ both concepts are still abstract, and therefore difficult to measure.

“Sustainability is [a] strategy for mitigating risks and capitalizing opportunities. Many challenges –environmental, social, economic– can be addressed through innovative solutions that can translate into sustainability wins. An approach that mitigates risk and takes advantage of opportunity can innovate solutions,” explained Arlette Palacio, CEO of SIP Group.

In 2017, SIP Group, a leading firm in consulting services for sustainability and innovation based in the Dominican Republic, began training organizations to receive sustainable certification. They have now certified over 175 businesses as sustainability practitioners. Last year, partnering with CTI Consulting Group, the program expanded to Puerto Rico, where they’ve since certified over 40 participants.

“Every company is implementing sustainability one way or another, even if they’re not calling it that. The true value that you as a manager, as a CEO, have, is to align the interests of all of your stakeholders in one same direction,” said Palacio.

With the global focus on the effects of climate change on communities and business alike, it’s imperative that organizations know how to address issues before they’ve hit the surface. More than that, consumers and other stakeholders expect businesses to have strategies in place to meet both the expected and unexpected.

“You’re delivering what they want, what they’re expecting, and that builds brand value. That translates into more revenue, goodwill from collaborators, having an operation that is financially healthy and resilient,” Palacio stated,

stakeholders,” said Viviane Fortuño, President of CTI.

The purpose of the program is to educate managers and business leaders on how to develop a sustainable strategy within their business plan. The program is 16 hours long, taught over two consecutive days. Additionally, participants can expect to dedicate an extra 1215 hours to prepare and present a sustainable project.

During the last training session, various industries were represented from multinational corporations, to NGOs and representatives from government offices. “It’s evidence of so much interest in all sectors in the area of sustainability. There’s a lot of motivation from people that work in different sectors to be able to incorporate this into their jobs,” praised Palacio.

“They see the competitive advantage in incorporating this approach into their business. It’s what customers and financiers are expecting from a responsible business. This vision, in Puerto Rico, seems to be permeating more rapidly,” continued Palacio.

Among the skills acquired are how to conduct a materiality analysis, identification of key strategic performance indicators, how to measure performance, and how to report results.

highlighting the expectations that stakeholders now have after experiencing the effects of the COVD-19 Pandemic and seeing how unprepared the global economy was.

Issued by the Chicago-based Center for Sustainability and Excellence and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), the Sustainability Certificate, which is recognized internationally, allows businesses to lead and develop the processes of sustainable transformation in their organizations.

“Together with our partners, we help our clients reinvent their businesses at scale, creating business value and sustainable impact for all

Palacio that sustainable development focuses on the social, environmental and economic aspects of growth, such as problems that may affect the quality of life of people, the environment and the role of companies. The work of sustainability consists in defining actions that contribute to a better distribution and management of the use of natural resources and in the generation of opportunities for all people.

“We need to stay updated on rapid industry changes, understanding the impact of current global economic, social, and environmental pressures on business,” Fortuño said of the importance of having these skills.

Together with our partners, we help our clients reinvent their businesses at scale, creating business value and sustainable impact for all stakeholders.

Viviane Fortuño, President of CTI

The purpose of the program is to educate managers and business leaders on how to develop a sustainable strategy within their business plan.

In fact,

Size, scope of FTX failure gets clearer as users fear worst

Users still in the dark about when they might get their funds back

Sweet and Thalia Beaty – The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Just days after cryptocurrency’s third-largest exchange collapsed, the public is starting to get an idea of how messy FTX’s bankruptcy case could be. Other crypto firms are failing as a result of FTX’s unraveling, events reminiscent of the domino-like meltdowns of the 2008 financial crisis.

Users remained frustratingly in the dark Tuesday about when they might get their funds back, if at all, directing much of their anger toward FTX’s founder and CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried.

In a court filing, FTX’s lawyers said there were already more than 100,000 claims against the company and estimated that figure could grow to more than 1 million, most of them customers, once the case is complete. The court ordered FTX to provide at least a list of the company’s 50 biggest creditors by Nov. 18.

The lawyers said the company is in contact with the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as well as dozens of other state, federal and international authorities, confirming earlier reports that the U.S. government is probing the possibility that Bankman-Fried and his lieutenants violated U.S. securities law.

FTX filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, sending tsunami-like waves through the cryptocurrency industry, which has seen a fair share of volatility and turmoil this year, including a sharp decline in price for bitcoin and other digital assets. For some, the events are reminiscent of the failures of Wall Street firms during the 2008 financial crisis, particularly now that supposedly healthy firms like FTX are failing.

The Wall Street Journal reported that BlockFi, which had halted withdrawals over the weekend following FTX’s bankruptcy, is now actively considering bankruptcy and plans to lay off its staff. In previous public comments, BlockFi’s

management made it clear that FTX’s failure had pushed the company towards being out of business. FTX had provided financial aid to BlockFi this summer, including a $400 million credit facility backed by its own balance sheet.

“We are shocked and dismayed by the news regarding FTX and Alameda,” BlockFi said Saturday, referring to FTX and Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund Alameda Research. “Given the lack of clarity on the status of FTX. com, FTX US and Alameda, we are not able to operate business as usual.”

Another crypto firm, crypto lending firm SALT Blockchain, also appeared to be on the verge of failure. The company Bnk to the Future pulled out of its agreement to buy SALT, citing its exposure to FTX. In tweets, SALT’s CEO Shawn Oren said he is “fully committed still to recover from the damages as victims.”

In a sign of how fearful investors are that the cascading effects could do long-term damage, cryptocurrency exchange Binance proposed the creation of a rescue fund that would save otherwise healthy crypto companies from failure. Binance’s founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao effectively laid out the possibility of a crypto-like central bank or depositinsurance pool to be a lender of last resort to keep healthy firms from failing.

Meanwhile, FTX’s users bemoaned their losses in Telegram chat groups for traders who used the FTX exchange, writing that they’d lost access to amounts ranging from thousands to millions

of dollars.

Some pleaded for information. Others speculated on the likelihood of getting back their funds, while others counseled that they should accept that their investments were gone.

Moderators for one group posted intermittently, saying things like, “No death threats please.” They wrote that they had no information about the whereabouts of Bankman-Fried or what would happen to his companies.

On Tuesday, a support account for FTX US was responding on Twitter to posts from people asking about their funds and directing them to send messages to the Twitter account to get assistance.

Mohit Sorout, 30, said he has lost access to 95% of the value of his cryptocurrency holdings when FTX halted its services last week, posting on Twitter, “The pain is f(asterisk)ing real.”

“The problem was the founder, who is donating eight figures in presidential campaigns, he’s meeting with the top bureaucrats, he is sponsoring chess tournaments, he’s out there sponsoring stadiums,” Sorout said. “You don’t really expect such a huge business, especially the CEO of that business,

know?”

>AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File

Ken

to defraud its customers, you

Given the lack of clarity on the status of FTX.com, FTX US and Alameda, we are not able to operate business as usual. Cryptocurrency platform

FTX’s users bemoaned their losses in Telegram chat groups for traders who used the FTX exchange.

In fact,

In fact,

US consumer inflation eased to 7.7% over past 12 months

Core

WASHINGTON — Price increases moderated in the United States last month in the latest sign that the inflation pressures that have gripped the nation might be easing as the economy slows and Americans grow more cautious.

Consumer inflation reached 7.7% in October from a year earlier and 0.4% from September, the government said last week. The year-over-year increase, down from 8.2% in September, was the smallest rise since January. A separate gauge called core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 6.3% in the past 12 months and 0.3% from September.

The numbers were all lower than economists had expected.

Helping drive the inflation slowdown from September to October were used car prices, which dropped for a fourth straight month. Prices of clothing and medical care also fell. Food price increases slowed. By contrast, energy prices rebounded in October after having declined in August and September.

Even with last month’s tentative easing of inflation, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to continue raising interest rates to cool the economy and stem inflation. Yet data released last Thursday raises the possibility that the Fed could at least slow its rate hikes — a prospect that sent U.S. markets soaring early Thursday.

“We expect this to mark the start of a much longer disinflationary trend that we think will convince the Fed to halt its (hikes) early next year,” said Paul Ashworth, chief North American economist at Capital Economics, a consulting firm. “With supply shortages normalizing, deflationary pressure is now finally showing up.”

Many economists have warned that in continuing to tighten credit, the central bank could spark a recession by next year. The Fed has already raised its benchmark interest rate six times in sizable increments this year, heightening the risk that prohibitively high borrowing rates homes for homes, autos and other big-ticket items, will tip the world’s largest economy into recession.

Some economists believe the most recent data shows the hikes are beginning to achieve their purpose, though the Fed needs to see further evidence.

“The data will be welcome news for the (Fed), finally showing some response in prices” to the rate increases, said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics.

Despite fears of a recession, the nation’s job market has remained resilient. Employers have added a healthy average of 407,000 jobs a month, and the unemployment rate is just 3.7%, close to a half-century low. Job openings are still at historically high levels.

But the Fed’s rate hikes have inflicted severe damage on the American housing market. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has more than doubled over the past year and topped 7% this week. As a result, investment in housing collapsed in the July-September quarter, falling at a 26% annual rate.

Higher mortgage rates have depressed sales. Home prices are slowing sharply compared with a year ago and have begun to fall on a monthly basis. The cost of a new apartment lease is also declining.

And amid a hot jobs market, layoffs have begun in real estate and other sectors sensitive to interest rate hikes.

Inflation is squeezing people around the world, with Russia’s invasion disrupting food and fuel supplies to countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, while their currencies have weakened against a strong U.S. dollar, further pushing up costs.

>AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson

Paul Wiseman – The Associated Press

Many economists have warned that in continuing to tighten credit, the central bank could spark a recession by next year.

We expect this to mark the start of a much longer disinflationary trend that we think will convince the Fed to halt its (hikes) early next year.

-Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics

Eduardo Burgos-Suazo, COO of ABEXUS Analytics and Professor at UPRCA

With Great Innovation Comes Great Risk

With great innovation comes great risk. Always. And for those who take a step into the unknown, that risk becomes a normal routine. If one looks at the technological progress of the last three to four decades, it’s easy to identify marvelous advances in different fields of science and life (health, digital technology, computational power, etc.). Nevertheless, little to none has been done when it comes to our financial system, the way we transfer value, and the mechanism used for said processes. Only in the last 10 years can one point to a particular paper by the name of “Bitcoin: A Peer-to Peer Electronic Cash System” that ignited not only the birth of a whole industry known today as “Crypto,” but also a debate on the future of the traditional financial system. After all the bloodbaths the industry has seen in the past year, the billions of dollars that have disappeared, and the most recent chapter of collapses with FTX, one must wonder; is the idea a failed experiment? And, if so, is the underlying technology in its path to a slow but certain death?

Cryptocurrency: A New Hope

As a species, humans have been able to develop creative approaches to mechanize the way we transfer value. As societies evolved, more complex systems flourished, “money” was defined, and trust was embedded into the process. Interestingly, the idea of a digital, decentralized, and peer-to-peer protocol arose from the ashes of the 2008 global financial crisis and became what we know today as Bitcoin. The technology behind its functionally (blockchain) will enable the capacity to bring transparency, immutability, and a trustless paradigm shift to the failed financial system. Almost 15 years later, those ideas have evolved (or de-volved) into a complete industry with thousands of developers, hundreds of companies providing (or expecting to provide) services in new blockchains that enable programmability and functionality to the core layers of the technology. This has facilitated normalizing new but popular concepts such as meme coins, NFTs, Web3, and Metaverses. Knowing the information above, one may ask how this has impacted the traditional financial system, government institutions (such as the FED), and the promise of a better means to transfer value. How is crypto not a scam after all the hacks, all the bankruptcies (such as Celsius), drain accounts, and crypto collapses (such as Terra Luna)?

A Great Reflection

Unfortunately (at least since I have been reading about the subject), most conversations by governments, citizens, and enthusiasts have revolved around the “investing” aspect of cryptocurrencies. Stories of gamblers making a lucky one-in-a-million fortune out of nothing have blurred the real discussion one needs to have, not only in academia and government, but as a society

if we truly want to transform the legacy financial system. Aren’t the previous examples concrete cases of what blockchain technology seeks to destroy (centralization, greed, and trust in thirdparty organizations)? I believe it is time to change the conversation and speak about the hundreds of peer-reviewed academic papers published, discuss actual use cases of this technology, its implementations, limitations, as well as its areas of opportunity for future academics, programmers, mathematicians, and entrepreneurs.

Maybe before discussing policy, it would do well to take two steps back and reflect how money is defined, seen, and used, along with its relationship to the economic ecosystem. This is the discussion one needs to have as the Crypto industry emerges from infancy into adolescence. It is precisely the absence of deep philosophical and technical understanding of the subject matter what could bring about legislation that could kill 15 years of innovation. As to the question of a failed experiment, I refer the reader to a great architect that once said; “There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes…”

Bitcoin: A Peer-to Peer Electronic Cash System’ ignited not only the birth of a whole industry known today as “Crypto,” but also a debate on the future of the traditional financial system.

Navidad

Kenneth Davison McClintock

A new (crippled) Republican Era

The Right to Life

With the results of the ruby red tsunami turned into a watered-down rose-tinted trickle last November 8, the United States enters a new Republican era crippled by a scant minority in the House, a super minority of frustrated Republican Senators and a growing number of Democrats in governorships and some statewide offices.

he 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 end of life and euthanasia. However, at least once a person is born, he or she has an enduring right of survival throughout life. In designing several important federal programs since as far back as the nineteenth century, the Federal government has sought to help Americans prolong their lives.

“T

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.

Worse yet, would-be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) is also crippled by the fact that he will have to negotiate the votes necessary to be elected leader of the House come January 3rd, 2023. Every vote that former President Donald Trump gets him, as a result of an ongoing telephone campaign by the 45th President, will anchor him to the highly unpopular leader. The conditions that the Freedom Caucus will require of him in order to get their votes on January 3rd will limit the freedom that other speakers have had to exert their leadership. One of those conditions may be to allow a single member to file a “motion to vacate,” which puts the Speaker’s tenure at risk.

In the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson spearheaded efforts to create Medicare for the elderly and the disabled and Medicaid for the medically indigent.

the federal treasury would be over $4 billion, and the federal share would be 83%.

Having lost a previous bid to become Speaker when John Boehner was elected in the past, McCarthy will give up whatever he must to achieve his personal aspiration this time around, which requires at least 218 votes in the election of the Speaker on January 3rd, 2023.

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.

The idyllic relationship that Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democratic Speaker Tip O’Neill –both famously Irish– developed in the 1980’s to get bipartisan legislation approved at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue and signed at the other end, will not exist under McCarthy. The wouldbe Speaker will continuously be beholden to the extremist Freedom Caucus and selfish strategies of Donald Trump, to both of which he will owe the acquisition of his gavel.

While those benefits are automatic in a state, Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative Jenniffer González, Governor Pedro Pierluisi, and their 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 the equality that would guarantee residents of Puerto Rico the “right to life” that is automatic on the mainland.

The pressures under which the would-be Speaker will be will make it very difficult to develop a working relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The leaders of the House and Senate, as well as their staffs, need to develop a working relationship in order to get bills approved, not only across the aisles, but on the other side of the Rotunda.

The extremely narrow Republican majority in the House is bad news for a nation that clearly is looking for moderation and bipartisanship for the next two years.

Regarding Medicare, that same state-like jurisdiction lacking voting representation in the national legislature as well as in the Electoral College that elects that jurisdiction’s president and vice president, Congress has built in mechanisms to extend Medicare services almost equally, but almost. When I turned 65 last month, I qualified for the Medicare coverage that I’d been paying premiums for 47 years. However, if I didn’t ask particularly for “Part B”, one of the most important benefits, I wouldn’t get it. Anywhere else in the nation I would get that benefit automatically. That discriminatory rule---“opt in” if in Puerto Rico, “opt out” if anywhere else--- was devised for Medicare to be less expensive for the federal government in Puerto Rico, only in Puerto Rico.

There are many reasons why an absolute majority of Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico want statehood. According to multiple polls, over 75% of Puerto Ricans in Florida, over 60% of Puerto 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.

Concerning Medicaid, the program to provide

In Georgia, voters who were voting blindfolded for Republican senatorial candidate Herschel Walker, placing the need to control the Senate

services to all the medically indigent throughout America, the cost in Puerto Rico is statutorily capped at less than $400 million and the federal share is limited to 55% of the total cost, requiring 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

above the candidate’s defects and flaws, may choose to stay home since control of the Senate was already decided when Sen. Catherine CortesMasto was reelected in Nevada. As a result, turning out Republicans will be much more difficult in this

As Congress struggles to legislate and keep America fiscally stable past Friday, February 18, Puerto Ricans on the mainland as well as their representatives in Congress should make sure in the next few days to include language that will protect the Right to Life in Puerto Rico, providing equal benefits under Medicare and Medicaid to its citizens in our territory. That should be our urgent agenda for the next week, seeking the full extension of The Right to Life in Puerto Rico through equality and statehood.

second round of voting. However, Democratic strategists should not take any potential voter for granted because it is equally difficult to turn out Democrats when the Senate has already been “won” by a scant 50-50 division with Vice President breaking every tie. Reelecting Rev. Raphael Warnock is much more than keeping him in the Senate until 2029. It means that Democrats would garner a real 51-49 majority in the Senate as a whole, and it would mean garnering a one-vote majority in every committee and subcommittee, rather than equal seats for Democrats and Republicans. Thus, reelecting Warnock is much more than merely his reelection, but solidifying Democrats’ control of the Senate and allowing the body to function more efficiently.

If Reverend Warnock does not win the Georgia runoff on Tuesday December 6, it would also mean bad news for a nation that wants a Senate that can operate efficiently.

McCarthy will give up whatever he must to achieve his personal aspiration this time around, which requires at least 218 votes in the election of the Speaker.

Kenneth Davison McClintock

Former Lt. Governor and Secretary of State of Puerto Rico

22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico

As Congress struggles to legislate and keep America fiscally stable past Friday, February 18, Puerto Ricans on the mainland as well as their representatives in Congress should make sure in the next few days to include language that will protect the Right to Life in Puerto Rico, providing equal benefits under Medicare and Medicaid to its citizens in our territory.

Defying inflation worries, U.S. casinos have best

Michigan, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania.

“While business challenges remain, high consumer demand continues to fuel our industry’s record success,” said Bill Miller, the association’s president and CEO. “Our sustained momentum in the face of broader economic volatility points to gaming’s overall health today and provides confidence as we look to the future.”

Parry – The Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Inflation?

High gas prices? American gamblers are shrugging them off – and losing money at casinos at a record pace.

Figures released last week show the U.S. commercial casino industry had its best quarter ever, winning over $15 billion from gamblers in the third quarter of this year.

The American Gaming Association, the trade organization for the casino industry, says the gambling halls are on track to have their best year ever in 2022.

David Schwartz, a gambling historian at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, said people are clearly still willing to lay their money down at casinos, regardless of economic conditions.

The commercial casinos (excluding tribal casinos, which report revenue separately) won $15.17 billion from gamblers in July, August and September of this year.

Out of 33 states in which gambling was operational a year ago, 16 reported quarterly highs in overall gambling revenue, including five of the six largest markets: Indiana,

“I think it speaks to the continuing appeal of gambling, and that there may be even more appetite for it in uncertain times,” he said, citing the recent Powerball jackpot which exceeded $2 billion and drew wide interest from people across the country.

The commercial casinos (excluding tribal casinos, which report revenue separately) won $15.17 billion from gamblers in July, August and September of this year. That exceeded the previous record of $14.81 billion, set in the second quarter of this year, by 2%.

Miller said the casinos’ yearover-year growth rate in the third quarter of 8.8% outperformed the broader U.S. economy’s growth rate of 2.6% in the same period.

Land-based slots and table games continue to be the foundation for the industry’s revenue growth, generating a record $12.27 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 1.8% percent from the same period a year ago.

Sports betting also set a quarterly revenue record of $1.68 billion, up nearly 81% from a year ago. Seven new sports betting markets were added since Sept. 2021. The association cited a higher than usual sportsbook win percentage, and solid growth in existing markets as factors in the increase.

Sports betting revenue through September has already reached an all-time annual high of $4.78 billion, beating 2021’s full-year record of $4.34 billion.

Internet gambling came close to setting a new quarterly record, but was less than 1% away from doing so, with $1.21 billion in revenue.

American gamblers are losing money at casinos at a record pace

Wayne

>AP Photo/Wayne Parry

In fact,

While business challenges remain, high consumer demand continues to fuel our industry’s record success.

-Bill Miller, American Gaming Association president and CEO

Turtles in demand as pets, leading to a spike in poaching

Casey – The Associated Press

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Swimming in two plastic bins inside a brightly lit and sterile quarantine room at a Rhode Island zoo, 16 quartersized turtle hatchlings represent a growing worry for conservationist Lou Perrotti.

These eastern musk turtles, known for spending much of their lives in swamps and ponds and emitting a foul smell when threatened, were confiscated recently in a wildlife bust. And, though the reptiles are common, their illegal sale on the internet greatly concerns Perrotti, who directs conservation programs at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence.

“We are seeing an uptick in turtle poaching,” he said. “It’s getting ruthless where we are seeing thousands of turtles leaving the United States on an annual basis. ... Turtle populations cannot take that kind of a hit with that much removal coming out of the wild.”

Wildlife trade experts believe that poaching — driven by growing demand for pets in the U.S., Asia and Europe — is contributing to the global decline of rare freshwater turtle and tortoise species. One study found over half of the 360 living turtle and tortoise species are at risk of extinction.

Such concerns have prompted a dozen proposals to increase protection for freshwater turtles at the 184-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting in Panama Nov. 14 through Nov. 25.

Precise figures on the turtle trade, especially illegal trade, can be hard to find. Based on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data, Tara Easter, a University of Michigan doctoral candidate who studies the trade, estimated the commercial export trade for mud turtles in the United States increased from 1,844 in 1999 to nearly 40,000 in 2017 and musk turtles from 8,254 in 1999 to more than 281,000 in 2016.

In their CITES proposal to ban or limit the commercial trade in more than 20 mud turtles species, the United States and several Latin American countries cited data from Mexico that found nearly 20,000 were confiscated, mostly at the Mexico City airport, from 2010 to 2022.

Among the world’s most trafficked animals, freshwater turtles are targeted by criminal networks that connect with buyers on the internet then transport the reptiles to black markets in Hong Kong and other Asian cities. From there, they are sold as pets, to collectors and for commercial breeding, food and traditional medicine. In many countries,

trade is poorly regulated or not regulated at all.

The lucrative business — some turtle species coveted for their colorful shells or strange appearance can fetch thousands of dollars in Asia — adds to threats turtles already face. Those include climate change, habitat destruction, road mortality and predators eating their eggs.

Poachers are particularly problematic, experts say, because they target rare species and adult breeding females. Many turtle species, which can live for several decades, don’t reach reproductive maturity for a decade or more.

“The loss of large numbers of adults, especially females, can send turtles into a spiraling decline from which they cannot recover,” said Dave Collins, director of North American turtle conservation for the Turtle Survival Alliance. “Turtles have extremely low reproduction levels, producing a few eggs every year.”

Since 2018, the Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles — an organization of mostly state, federal and tribal biologists who combat poaching of North American turtles — has documented at least 30 major smuggling cases in 15 states. Some involved a few dozen turtles, others several thousands.

The illegal trade has prompted governments to propose listing for the first time 42 turtles species under CITES — including North American musk turtles. Though some species like the eastern musk turtle are common, a listing means traders will need a permit to sell them internationally. Commercial sale of other species such as alligator snapping turtles, found in U.S. Gulf states and reaching up to 200 pounds, would be limited.

Proposals would also tighten regulations on 13 others already listed for protection.

Over half of the 360 living turtle and tortoise species are at risk of extinction

Michael

> AP Photo/David Goldman

The loss of large numbers of adults, especially females, can send turtles into a spiraling decline from which they cannot recover.

Dave Collins, North American director of the Turtle Survival Alliance

Wildlife trade experts believe that poaching is contributing to the global decline of rare freshwater turtle and tortoise species.

In fact,

Cardenal Mendoza creative pairings for its Golden Week 2022

A series of events were held in various locations around the world

Juan A. Hernández, The Weekly Journal

Cardenal Mendoza Spanish brandy commemorated the 7th edition of its international Golden Week with a series of events that went from straight forward tastings, to exclusive dinners, passing through fine cocktail events.

“This event allows brandy drinkers and aficionados, as well as mixologists and distributors to enjoy original and creative experiences that will help them discover the rich nuances and possibilities of this extraordinary spirit,” said Emelia Whitaker, Cardenal Mendoza’s brand manager for Puerto Rico.

Cardenal Mendoza Golden Week consists of a series of events held the last week of October of each year in various locations around the world. Events such as tastings, masterclasses, seminars, pairings with food and cocktail sessions have Cardenal Mendoza as the most prominent ingredient.

Golden Week events in Puerto Rico included an exclusive dinner prepared by “Homecooking Therapy” Chef Clarissa Llenza, whose four course dinner was paired with Cardenal Mendoza brandies and cocktails.

The evening opened with an “Espumoso de Otoño,” a cocktail made with Cardenal Mendoza, lime, simple syrup, aromatic bitters and prosecco, that very well represented the subtle warmth of the end of the harvesting season and anticipated the dinner’s entrée; roasted pumpkin with fondue

cheese sprinkled with pumpkin seeds.

The first dish was a pear salad with gorgonzola cheese and walnuts. This dish was followed by a tasting of Cardenal Mendoza, Sánchez Romate & Hnos.’ house flagship spirit. Sweet, and a bit syrupy to the nose, the brandy reveals almost instantly the flavor of raisins which evolves into some light bitterness that some associate with orange, and ends with a clear taste of spices –nutmeg and anise for this author. Brandy connoisseurs, are able to discern the sweetness of dates and figs towards the end.

The occasional drinker should not underestimate Cardenal Mendoza. Brandy is a robust spirit with a degree of hotness that is better

appreciated as the drinker gets more familiarize with it. And, while some purists insist that brandy shouldn’t be mix, sommelier Ariel Soto proved the paradigm not to be absolute.

The second dish of the evening –braised spare ribs with fettuccine– was preceded by and followed by a Mendoza Sour (Cardenal Mendoza, lemon and orange juices, and simple syrup over ice) with the right amount of acidity to make it a very refreshing drink for the tropics. The dish was followed by a tasting of Mendoza’s Nebulis, a limited-production brandy highlighting the smokiness produced by the burning of the vine shoots used to “toast” the aging barrels. Its smokiness complemented –and maybe subdued– the fatty richness of the braised ribs. This is a brandy that leaves even the newcomer, wishing for a second glass.

The dinner was capped with a chocolate pudding dessert accompanied by Cardenal Mendoza’s sweet Angêlus liqueur. The most recent addition to the Sánchez Romate spirits line-up, Angêlus transmits the fragrance of the orange blossom that engulfed the Bodega’s patio every spring. The blend also has the distinctive taste of spices like cardamom and cloves.

Cardenal Mendoza’s

This event allows brandy drinkers and aficionados to enjoy original and creative experiences that will help them discover the rich nuances of this extraordinary spirit. Emelia Whitaker,

brand manager for Puerto Rico

Chef Clarissa Llenza, from “Homecooking Therapy” shared the pairing of her dishes with Cardenal Mendoza brandies and cocktails with the guests. (Photo: Courtesy)