Puerto Rico

===Cost of living===
[[File:Map-of-jones-act-carrier-routes-for-puerto-rico.png|thumb|upright=1.6|A map of the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]] merchant marine shipping routes for Puerto Rico|alt=|left]]
The [[cost of living]] in Puerto Rico is high and has increased over the past decade.{{efn|MRGI (2008) "Many female migrants leave their families behind due to the risk of illegal travel and the high cost of living in Puerto Rico."<ref name="refworld.org"/>}}<ref>[https://archive.today/20140618035840/http://www.militaryinstallations.dod.mil/pls/psgprod/f?p=132:CONTENT:618940367579001::NO::P4_INST_ID,P4_INST_TYPE:4150,INSTALLATION "Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico"]. ''Military Installations''. Department of Defense. Retrieved 17 June 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/29/puerto-ricos-cost-of-livi_n_4013350.html |title=Puerto Rico's Cost of Living Skyrockets |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=29 September 2013 |access-date=14 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313113741/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/29/puerto-ricos-cost-of-livi_n_4013350.html |archive-date=13 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/us/economy-and-crime-spur-new-puerto-rican-exodus.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |first=Lizette |last=Alvarez |title=Economy and Crime Spur New Puerto Rican Exodus |date=8 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/sigueenaumentoelcostodevidaenpuertorico-1585599.html |title=Home – El Nuevo Día |publisher=Elnuevodia.com |date=31 August 2013 |access-date=14 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208121032/http://www.elnuevodia.com/sigueenaumentoelcostodevidaenpuertorico-1585599.html |archive-date=8 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/nota/midaconcluyealtocostodevidaeslapreocupacionmayordelboricua-399279/ |title=MIDA concluye alto costo de vida es la preocupación mayor del boricua |publisher=Primerahora.com |date=13 February 2013 |access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Dougherty |first=Conor |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB118705864479596908 |title=Puerto Rico's Economic Slump Weighs Hard on Consumers |publisher=Online.wsj.com |date=14 August 2007 |access-date=14 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Coto |first=Danica |url=http://nbclatino.com/2013/09/29/life-in-puerto-rico-becomes-costlier-amid-crisis/ |title=Life in Puerto Rico becomes costlier amid crisis |publisher=Nbclatino.com |date=29 September 2013 |access-date=14 April 2014 |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413160122/http://nbclatino.com/2013/09/29/life-in-puerto-rico-becomes-costlier-amid-crisis/ }}</ref>

Statistics used for cost of living sometimes do not take into account certain costs, such as the high cost of electricity, which has hovered in the 24¢ to 30¢ range per kilowatt-hour, two to three times the national average, increased travel costs for longer flights, additional shipping fees, and the loss of promotional participation opportunities for customers "outside the continental United States". While some online stores do offer free shipping on orders to Puerto Rico, many merchants exclude Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and other United States territories.

The household median income is stated as $19,350 and the mean income as $30,463 in the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 update. The report also indicates that 45.5% of individuals are below the poverty level.<ref name="census1">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=Puerto Rico 2012–2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2016 |website=US Census |publisher=Department of Commerce |access-date=25 September 2017 }}</ref> The median home value in Puerto Rico ranges from U.S.$100,000 to U.S.$214,000, while the national median home value sits at $119,600.{{efn|FRBNY (2011) "...home values vary considerably across municipios: for the metro area overall, the median value of owner-occupied homes was estimated at $126,000 (based on data for 2007–09), but these medians ranged from $214,000 in Guaynabo to around $100,000 in some of the outlying municipios. The median value in the San Juan municipio was estimated at $170,000."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newyorkfed.org/regional/profile_puertorico.html |title=Puerto Rico |publisher=[[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]] |date=August 2011 |access-date=6 September 2013}}</ref>}}

[[File:Flying into San Juan-Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|Flying into San Juan]]

One of the most cited contributors to the high cost of living in Puerto Rico is the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920]], also known as the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]], which prevents foreign-flagged ships from carrying cargo between two American ports, a practice known as [[cabotage]].<ref name="erg-trade">{{cite web |url=http://graduados.uprrp.edu/planificacion/facultad/elias-gutierrez/ERGTRADE.pdf |title=Impact of the Coastwise Trade Laws on the Transportation System of the United States of America |first=Elías |last=Gutierrez |access-date=6 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002122312/http://graduados.uprrp.edu/planificacion/facultad/elias-gutierrez/ERGTRADE.pdf |archive-date=2 October 2013 }}</ref> Because of the Jones Act, foreign ships inbound with goods from [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Western Europe]], and [[Africa]] cannot stop in Puerto Rico, offload Puerto Rico-bound goods, load mainland-bound Puerto Rico-manufactured goods, and continue to U.S. ports. Instead, they must proceed directly to U.S. ports, where distributors [[break bulk cargo|break bulk]] and send Puerto Rico-bound manufactured goods to Puerto Rico across the ocean by U.S.-flagged ships.<ref name="erg-trade" />

The [[government of Puerto Rico|local government of Puerto Rico]] has requested several times to the [[U.S. Congress]] to exclude Puerto Rico from the Jones Act restrictions without success.{{efn|Santiago (2021) "Local detractors of the Jones Act [...] for many years have unsuccessfully tried to have Puerto Rico excluded from the law's provisions[...]"<ref>{{cite news |title=Jones Act requirement comes under new light |first=Jaime |last=Santiago |newspaper=[[Caribbean Business]] |url=http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |date=29 November 2012 |access-date=6 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308221156/http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |archive-date=8 March 2014 }}</ref>}} The most recent measure has been taken by the [[17th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico]] through R. Conc. del S. 21.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oslpr.org/files/docs/{A8F2DF0C-A03D-40C7-A198-ED9C945F81C4}.doc |title=R. Conc. del S. 21 |format=[[Microsoft Word]] |publisher=[[Puerto Rico Office of Legislative Services]] |date=6 May 2013 |access-date=6 September 2013 |language=es }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.noticel.com/noticia/141423/senado-aprueba-proyecto-para-pedir-trato-preferencial-en-leyes-de-cabotaje.html |title=Senado aprueba proyecto para pedir trato preferencial en leyes de cabotaje |newspaper=[[NotiCel]] |date=5 June 2013 |access-date=6 September 2013 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113112757/http://www.noticel.com/noticia/141423/senado-aprueba-proyecto-para-pedir-trato-preferencial-en-leyes-de-cabotaje.html |archive-date=13 November 2013 }}</ref> These measures have always received support from all the [[Political party strength in Puerto Rico|major local political parties]].

In 2013 the [[Government Accountability Office]] published a report which concluded that "repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs" and that "shippers believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs".{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-repeal-quote|JOC (2013) "Repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs"<ref name="joc-gao-report"/>}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-lower-costs-quote|JOC (2013) "The GAO report said its interviews with shippers indicated they [...] believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs."<ref name="joc-gao-report" />}} The same GAO report also found that "[shippers] doing business in Puerto Rico that GAO contacted reported that the freight rates are often—although not always—lower for foreign carriers going to and from Puerto Rico and foreign locations than the rates shippers pay to ship similar cargo to and from the United States, despite longer distances. Data were not available to allow us to validate the examples given or verify the extent to which this difference occurred."<ref name="gao-report-pdf">{{cite web |url=http://www.gao.gov/assets/660/653046.pdf |title=GAO-13-260, Puerto Rico: Characteristics of the Island's Maritime Trade and Potential Effects of Modifying the Jones Act |publisher=[[Government Accountability Office|United States Government Accountability Office]] |date=March 2013}}</ref> Ultimately, the report concluded that "[the] effects of modifying the application of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico are highly uncertain" for both Puerto Rico and the United States, particularly for the [[United States Merchant Marine|U.S. shipping industry]] and the military preparedness of the United States.<ref name="joc-gao-report">{{cite news |url=http://www.joc.com/regulation-policy/transportation-regulations/united-states/gao%27s-jones-act-report-inconclusive_20130320.html |title=GAO's Jones Act Report Is Inconclusive |newspaper=[[The Journal of Commerce]] |date=20 March 2013 |access-date=6 September 2013}}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="gao-report-pdf" />

A 2018 study by economists at Boston-based Reeve & Associates and Puerto Rico-based Estudios Tecnicos has concluded that the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|1920 Jones Act]] has no impact on either retail prices or the cost of livings on Puerto Rico. The study found that Puerto Rico received very similar or lower shipping freight rates when compared to neighboring islands, and that the transportation costs have no impact on retail prices on the island. The study was based in part on actual comparison of consumer goods at retail stores in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Jacksonville, Florida, finding: no significant difference in the prices of either grocery items or durable goods between the two locations.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://3snn221qaymolkgbj4a0vpey-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Report_Impact-of-the-Jones-Act-on-Puerto-Rico_FINAL2.pdf|title=Impact of the U.S. Jones Act on Puerto Rico|date=June 2018|author1=Reeve & Associates|author2=Estudios Técnicos, Inc.|access-date=27 August 2018|archive-date=21 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121210412/https://3snn221qaymolkgbj4a0vpey-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Report_Impact-of-the-Jones-Act-on-Puerto-Rico_FINAL2.pdf}}</ref>
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