Puerto Rico without electricity, wifi, ATMs shows importance of cash, gold and silver
Most of Puerto Rico remains in the dark and without power three weeks after storm
With widespread power failures, Puerto Rico remains cash only with retailers only accepting cash and few consumer having cash
Shortages of food, fuel and medicine with infrastructure repairs delayed
Power could be ‘out for months’ as 85% of people remain off the grid
Around 75% of ATMs disconnected
Electronic forms of payment including bitcoin have been rendered non viable
Puerto Rico’s accidental ‘cashless society’ shows risks of cashless society and importance ofholding cash, gold and silver out of the financial and digital systems
Editor: Mark O’Byrne
Aerial photo of floodingin Puerto Rico. Washington Post
Puerto Rico has been destroyed by two savage hurricanes which have plunged the island into darkness and despair. The landscape of ruined homes and entire towns resembles Hiroshima after the man made disaster of a nuclear bomb being dropped on the city.
More than three weeks since Hurricane Maria hit the island, 3.7 million American citizens are on the precipice of a humanitarian disaster.The majority of these peopleare desperate for food, water, electricity and shelter. They are desperate for cash that will allow them to secure these basic necessities.
Over 84% of the island remains without power and 37% of people are without access to water. Without power, much of the population is does not have electricity to charge their phones and iphones. Very few have wifi and this is severely impacting their ability to communicate and conduct their lives.
Inevitably, the future of Puerto Rico now lies in the wrangling hands of government and financial organisations, all of which seem to be pointing the finger of blame at one another.
The territory’s government expects to run out of cash by the end of the month.It hasasked Congress for an immediate payment of $6 billion to $8 billion. This is to meet vital expenses including salaries, emergency repairs, and pension payments.
We will run out of cash as ofOct. 31of this year, said Raul Maldonado, the territory’s treasury secretary. As of November, we will not be able to operate as a normal government.
Given the country’s dire electronic and communications situation, tax receipts are way down which will likely exacerbate the dire economic situation even further.
Problems are not just at a government level. Day-to-day life for Puerto Ricans is also obviously extremely hard and increasingly dangerous. The island is in a cash black-hole with little access to or means to buy essentials.
Not only is there a shortage of cash but the majority of ATMs are down. Even if cash was aplenty, few people are able to withdraw pay checks or access their digital savings and make payments electronically.
It is a stark reminder of how reliant our economies and day-to-day lives are on electricity.It is a stark reminder of how dependent ourmodern digital currencies whether they be public fiat or private crypto currencies are on increasingly antiquated electricity and power infrastructures.
Today the faith we put in governments that basic utilities will continue regardless is unprecedented. Citizens in Western nations rarely (if ever) question how they would manage if they had no access to electronic money or bank accounts and cou