American investors are wondering what effect the situation in Greece will have on the United States and its economy. But some observers say the investors should be more worried about the debt problems in a U.S. territory -- the island of Puerto Rico.
美国投资者希望知道希腊局势对美国及其经济的影响。但是一些观察家表示，投资者更应该担心美国领地波多黎各岛的债务问题。
Alejandro Garcia Padilla is the governor of Puerto Rico. Last month, he said the territory could not pay its $72 billion public debt. This amount includes money owed by the central government, cities and publicly-owned businesses, like power companies.
亚历杭德罗·加西亚·帕迪利亚（Alejandro Garcia Padilla）是波多黎各总督。上个月他说，该地区无法偿付其720亿美元的公共债务。这一数额包括了中央政府、各个城市，以及电力企业这种公共企业拖欠的款项。
Puerto Rico is the third-largest issuer of state and local debt in the United States. Only California and New York have more debt.
波多黎各是美国第三大州和地方债务发行商。只有加州和纽约背负了更重的债务。
Much of the island's debt is held by individual American investors. They got possession of it through ownership of shares in mutual funds and other investments.
该岛大部分债务是由美国个人投资者持有。他们通过共同基金和其它投资的股份拥有这些债务。
Some observers say the U.S. economy could be hurt if Puerto Rico is not able to pay its debts. They believe the island may be unable to make its required debt payments. If that happens, investors could ask a court to force the territory to make the payments.
一些观察家表示，如果波多黎各无法偿付其债务，美国经济可能受到伤害。他们认为该岛可能无法偿付其到期债务。如果出现这种情况，投资者可以要求法院强制该领地偿付。
Puerto Rico's debt problem has not received as much attention as the economic crisis in Greece. That is partly because the territory's problems are not new. Puerto Rico has been in an economic recession since 2005. That was when the U.S. Congress made changes to a tax program that had given businesses financial aid for moving to the island. In the years since the program was changed, the territory has had to borrow money to pay its debts.
波多黎各的债务问题尚未得到像希腊经济危机这么多的关注。部分原因是因为该领地的问题不是什么新问题。波多黎各从2005年起就一直处于经济衰退。当时美国国会修改了税务程序，不再向搬到该岛的企业提供金融援助。自从该税务程序修改后的这些年里，该领地就不得不借钱偿付债务。
Pedro Pierluisi serves as Puerto Rico's Resident Commissioner in the U.S. House of Representatives. He wrote about the economic problems last week in The New York Times newspaper. He said that, on the island, "the unemployment rate, poverty rate and median household income have always been far worse than any state's. The main cause is inequality."
佩德罗·皮埃路易吉（Pedro Pierluisi）担任波多黎各驻美国众议院常驻专员。他上周在纽约时报上撰文谈到了这个经济问题。他说，在岛上，失业率、贫困率和中间家庭收入一直比美国任何其它州都要差很多。主要原因是不平等。
He also said Puerto Rico does not have much power in Congress because it is only a territory. Although Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, they do not have the right to vote in presidential elections or elect someone to the Senate. The territory sends a delegate to the House, but she or he cannot vote on legislation, except during committee meetings.
他还表示，波多黎各在国会没多大权力，因为它只是一个领地。虽然波多黎各人是美国公民，他们没有总统选举投票权，也无权选举某人进入参议院。该领地向众议院派遣了一位代表，但是该代表不能就立法投票，除非在委员会会议上。
Mr. Pierluisi has proposed legislation that would permit Puerto Rico to declare bankruptcy. American cities can ask for a court's approval to cancel debts, but territories cannot.
皮埃路易吉先生提出立法允许波多黎各宣布破产。美国各个城市可以申请法院批准取消债务，但是领地不行。