Common Dreams quoted Eric LeCompte in an article regarding the Puerto Rico Debt Plan. Read an excerpt and the full article here.

Critics Warn Puerto Rico Debt Plan Will Lead to More Austerity

By Julia Conley

Progressives and anti-austerity campaigners on Wednesday were wary of a federal judge's ruling which wiped out 80% of Puerto Rico's debt—the product of four years of negotiations between the U.S. territory's government, creditors, and a fiscal control board that Puerto Ricans derisively call "la junta."

Executive Director Eric LeCompte comments "We remain concerned by some of the assumptions of the debt deal. The island's ability to resume growth and avoid cuts in anti-poverty programs are both chief concerns".

Puerto Rico's debt exceeded $70 billion and it owed $55 billion in unfunded pensions when it entered bankruptcy in 2017. Its debts were partially brought on by decades of lost tax revenue after the U.S. Congress repealed a tax break for businesses on the island in 1976.

Jubilee USA said while "there is room for optimism, only time can tell if the debt cuts were deep enough to prevent Puerto Rico from needing another debt restructuring in a few years."