Nationwide Debt Direct Discusses the Far-Reaching Consequences of Unresolved Debt for Residents of Miami, Puerto Rico

In the aftermath of a pair of devastating hurricanes, residents of South Florida as well as Puerto Rico will have to endure a lengthy and difficult rebuilding process in order to regain something that approximates a return to normalcy. With severe damage affecting so many people in both South Florida and Puerto Rico, it’s likely that even a minor setback will have far-reaching consequences for a large percentage of the population.

Of course, the major issues facing residents of Puerto Rico and Miami are only exacerbated by such a devastating natural disaster. Puerto Rico’s debt crisis is perhaps the most obvious issue to introduce additional layers of difficulty to the rebuilding process, and those difficulties will almost surely extend to the people of Miami as well.

With residents of the United States commonwealth staring down the possibility of being without power for several months, the fact that the state-owned power company -- the only one on the island -- defaulted on almost $9 billion worth of debt just a few months ago illustrates how unresolved debt issues often carry unpredictable first- and second-order consequences.

Although Nationwide Debt Direct typically works with clients dealing with consumer debt obligations, the company suggests that many of the issues facing governments align fairly closely with those faced by consumers. Simply put, debt that remains unresolved can accumulate quickly and creates long-term issues that become increasingly difficult to overcome as time continues to pass.

Puerto Rico’s debt crisis was already apparent several years ago, and the Puerto Rican government sought a number of options to resolve the debt crisis as quickly as possible. With so many deep economic ties to Puerto Rico, many in South Florida advocated for a variety of solutions, including, for example, statehood or some form of federal assistance.

Due to the inherent complexities that come with any attempt to address a debt crisis on such a massive scale, Puerto Rico’s economic hardships continued to wreak havoc and left the island’s infrastructure vulnerable to the damage brought about during the most recent hurricane season. Of course, a category-5 hurricane could have caused severe damage even if these vulnerabilities had been addressed ahead of time, but the debt crisis would have still had a significant impact on the rebuilding process regardless.

While unresolved consumer debt can result in similarly far-reaching difficulties for an individual, addressing a consumer’s unsecured financial obligations does not have to be nearly as daunting. With the assistance of companies like Nationwide Debt Direct, consumers have a number of options for settling their outstanding debt in full, long before the debt begins to create difficulties capable of spiraling quickly out of control.