Puerto Rico is expected to default on its $422 million debt to creditors on Monday, further plunging the cash-strapped island into deeper crisis.

In the hours leading up to the official default, Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla admitted that he had ordered officials from the island's Government Development Bank not to make good on certain payments, sending the island into further debt and perhaps sparking the U.S. Congress to intervene.

Already the crisis has reinvigorated nonstop ideological debate about the federal government's role in such fiscally mismanaged situations, versus the well-being of real life individuals.

"This was a painful decision," said Garcia Padilla. "We would have preferred to have had a legal framework to restructure our debts in an orderly manner. But faced with the inability to meet the demands of our creditors and the needs of our people, I had to make a choice."

Moody's Investor Service reports the bonds default only serves to put the U.S. territory in a deeper hole.

"Frankly the risk in Puerto Rico is that bonds aren't cut enough initially to create a sustainable base," added Municipal Market Analytics analyst Mark Fabian.

Puerto Rican Lawmakers Have Instituted Debt Moratorium

Puerto Rican lawmakers recently enacted a debt moratorium bill aimed at easing legal repercussions on defaults, a reality cited by the governor in his most recent nonpayment announcement.

Meanwhile, the debate in Congress is only intensifying. Lawmakers are sharply at odds over how best to help the island redefine itself during a time when it is dealing deal with sizable population losses, economic malaise, sky-high taxes, retiree costs and government bureaucracy.

Reports are the island's debt is now trading on as little as 10 cents on the dollar.

"We can't wait longer," Garcia Padilla said on all the ongoing debate. "We need this restructuring mechanism now."

Not so fast maintains the Republican led Congress, which seems largely opposed to any plan that could be construed as a bailout. Democrats, meanwhile, are pushing for a plan that includes more union protections.

Chapter 9 Bankruptcy not an Option

What seems safe to assume is that Congress will not sign off on any plan that extends Chapter 9 bankruptcy. While Garcia Padilla is widely rumored to have pushed for such a measure, the idea is reported to be toxic along Wall Street.

According to the Treasury Department, nearly half, or 45 percent, of all Puerto Ricans live in poverty, compared with a national average of nearly only one-third of that.

In addition, some 1,500 Puerto Rican residents are reported to leaving the island each week, further diminishing an already greatly depleted tax base.

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