Emasculated by aid: Why Puerto Rico needs a provider mindset revolution
In Puerto Rico, government overreach has usurped this role. Public housing programs like Section 8 house 20% of low-income families. Nutritional Assistance Program (PAN, in Spanish) benefits feed more than 1 million islanders monthly. Conditional Cash Transfer programs dispense direct aid. The state has become the household head, emasculating men and eroding their purpose.
This dynamic scales islandwide. Federal funds — $15.4 billion annually — prop up a subsidized economy where nearly half the workforce relies on government jobs or aid. Politicians lock us into perpetual dependency, with Popular Democratic Party Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández-Rivera championing endless federal equity expansions like full Supplemental Security Income parity through congressional bills, ensuring Puerto Ricans remain tethered to handouts forever — framed as “lifelines” that kill self-reliance.
Alongside Gov. Pedro Pierluisi’s PAN expansion boasts, lawmakers glorify record enrollments as triumphs, posting selfies at aid events and pledging infinite subsidies to maintain voter loyalty. Incentives for economic freedom vanish. Why innovate when Uncle Sam guarantees the basics? Our leaders lack urgency to devise self-reliance plans; true prosperity would burst their status quo bubble of patronage politics. Dependency breeds complacency, turning providers into dependents.
The result? Fractured families fuel economic decay. Puerto Rico’s labor force participation rate hovers at 55%, with male unemployment at 6.3% — lagging behind women — per recent stats. Around 62% of children live in single-parent homes, correlating with higher crime, dropout rates and welfare cycles. Strong families build strong communities; strong communities forge robust economies; robust economies erect mighty nations. We’ve inverted this chain by letting government infiltrate personal lives.
Restoring purpose demands a mindset shift. Men must reclaim accountability — step up as providers, push back against overreach and realign with their core drive. This isn’t anti-feminist rhetoric. Women have shattered ceilings, now comprising 52% of our college graduates and thriving in professions, from tech to tourism.
We celebrate their progress. Yet a man’s ultimate flex remains enabling his partner to choose fulfillment over necessity — providing so she doesn’t have to work. When men lead households with purpose, families stabilize, entrepreneurship surges and economies thrive.
Puerto Rico’s stagnation mirrors this. We’re consumers, not creators — importing over 80% of goods while local manufacturing shrivels. Federal aid props up inertia, but true freedom requires symbols of ambition. Enter the Puerto Rico Stock Exchange, a vision I’ve championed amid deafening silence.
The PRSE directly pierces and debunks the political narrative that dependency is our destiny — exposing how endless federal begging sustains their power while Puerto Rico withers. It proves we can build sovereign capital markets, attract diaspora investment and create wealth without Washington handouts, shattering the myth that subsidies are our only path and forcing leaders to confront real growth over aid addiction.
It symbolizes sovereignty: listings for renewable energy firms, fintech innovators and beyond. Emerging exchanges like Astana International Exchange in Kazakhstan and Bahrain Bourse have turbocharged regional growth; Singapore’s propelled it from third world to first. Nasdaq birthed tech titans. Ours could ignite Puerto Rico’s legacy of prosperity.
Officials resist because success disrupts their power base. No exchange means no accountability for growth; subsidies suffice. But mindset shift flips this. Free the mind from victimhood, and action follows.
Men leading families will demand policies favoring producers — tax reforms slashing the 11.5% sales and use tax (IVU, in Spanish) on investments, streamlined Department of Consumer Affairs (DACO, in Spanish) regulations for entrepreneurs and incentives for family-owned businesses.
History proves it works. Postwar Italy rebuilt via family enterprises; Israel’s kibbutz-turned-startups mindset conquered deserts. Puerto Rico, with our resilient jíbaro spirit, can, too. Imagine men rising as providers: fathers mentoring kids in trades, husbands building generational wealth, communities rejecting handouts for ventures.
This revolution starts internally. Men, audit your role — provide fiercely, reject excuses, helm your homes. Push leaders for that stock exchange; it’s our economic Declaration of Independence. Women, as partners in this, amplify strong families. Government, step aside.
Puerto Rico’s future hinges on mindset. Reclaim purpose, restore the provider ethos and watch dependency crumble. Strong men build strong nations. Our time is now.
Antonio Santos is a professional with more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality, service and tourism sectors. In 2024, he ran for the Puerto Rico House of Representatives for District 1 in San Juan under the conservative Proyecto Dignidad party.
Santos has focused his work on issues related to entrepreneurship, economic development and public policy, with an emphasis on small business growth and workforce participation. His background combines private-sector experience with engagement in public policy discussions related to economic development and local governance.
