recession in the states, those companies packed up and left. thousands of puerto ricans followed, looking for jobs that no longer existed on the island. the tax base shrunk drastically creating a dire need for cash to shore up basic needs and services. so along came the municipal bond. a big, fat, i-o-u that appeared to be salvation for a near-broke government. they're sexy for investors, triple exempt from taxes, and bond owners buying puerto rican debt would have to be paid back before anyone. that's anyone. hedge funds, or vulture funds as they were often referred to in these cases, had profited from similarly desperate situations in greece, argentina, and detroit. as the situation worsened for puerto rico, you could buy up more and more bonds for pennies