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The standard of living in Puerto Rico is comparable to the United States, specifically Hawaii.
Hawaii has a median household income of $62k. Puerto Rico has a median household income of $17.5k. (By comparison, Mississippi, the poorest US state, has a median household income of $37k.)
I'm not sure what metrics you are using to say Puerto Rico's standard of living is comparable to Hawaii.
Hawaii has a median household income of $62k. Puerto Rico has a median household income of $17.5k. (By comparison, Mississippi, the poorest US state, has a median household income of $37k.)
I'm not sure what metrics you are using to say Puerto Rico's standard of living is comparable to Hawaii.
Median household income does not reflect standard of living. It is cheaper in PR than Hawaii. Also if you are middle class there you are making much more than 17.5k per year. Unfortunately there is significant income disparity (in fact almost half of the population lives under the universal federal poverty line), something Hawaii does not have.
Being middle class in Puerto Rico is like being "middle class" in the United States, same for other economic stratas.
Unfortunately there is significant income disparity (in fact almost half of the population lives under the universal federal poverty line), something Hawaii does not have.
Then I am not sure how you can say the standard of living in Puerto Rico is comparable to Hawaii, when in the next breath you are saying that over half the population in Puerto Rico lives under the federal poverty line.
By virtue of almost any metric you can think of the standard of living in Hawaii is much higher than in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. can say "Puerto Rico, you're now on your own as an independent country." Much like the post above refers to parents kicking out an adult child out of the nest. Time to support yourself if you don't want to become a state.
That's forcing someone out. Letting someone go implies it's their choice. Of course, if you mean it in a firing sense, that implies force, but that's a strange way to mean it in these circumstances. You wouldn't say to your adult child 'I'm gonna have to let you go'.
Then I am not sure how you can say the standard of living in Puerto Rico is comparable to Hawaii, when in the next breath you are saying that over half the population in Puerto Rico lives under the federal poverty line.
By virtue of almost any metric you can think of the standard of living in Hawaii is much higher than in Puerto Rico.
Well yes, the "poor" in Puerto Rico are poor. There are a lot of them. I use quotations because the federal poverty line is not adjusted to living cost just the mainland USA in general. Many of the "poor" in Puerto Rico and even the mainland United States are not poor at all, they just have a low per capita income.
To clarify what I mean is being middle class (or wealthy) in Puerto Rico is no different than being middle class (or wealthy) in the United States, more similar to Hawaii due to the fact that both are small islands and have higher cost on most goods.
was there once. came away with the impression that i had just visited a giant, floating section 8 housing project where every young dude wore basketball jerseys and thought he was daddy yankee.
I know it is up to the people of Puerto Rico to decide whether if they want to be a state or not, but if you could vote how would you?
Puerto Rican myself, I would like to see it become a state, because quite frankly the way Puerto Rico is going nowadays, its pretty bad. The relationship has always been that Puerto Rico needs the U.S. more than the U.S. needs Puerto Rico (or at all). If the U.S. were to cut the umblical cord with Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico would just suffer so badly and become like the Domincan Republic. While I would fear that Puerto Rico would lose a lot of it's culture if it became a state, and become the next Hawaii, a hybrized version of the Puerto Rican culture and American culture, I think it would work well.
I also think adding a city like San Juan officially to the United States, would be so cool. I think it would be the oldest city in the U.S. I know Puerto Rico is American so San Juan in a way is in American city, but at the same time it is not, it's a Puerto Rican city.
I'm Puerto Rican too (7th generation islander ) but I voted no. And if I ever get a ballot in my mailbox asking me what I would want, I would still vote no on statehood. It's not going to fix our problems at all (we already receive federal aid that's squandered and wasted by the local government and all the illegals and 45% of Puerto Ricans living in poverty) the only thing it's going to do, is raise our cost of living worse than it already is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maersk
was there once. came away with the impression that i had just visited a giant, floating section 8 housing project where every young dude wore basketball jerseys and thought he was daddy yankee.
Unfortunately, you are right. The future looks very dim for Puerto Rico. Mississippi has much better prospects than Puerto Rico does
Irrelevant. Point blank, the U.S. should not allow in any territory in which English is not already the overwhelmingly dominant language. Adding more Spanish-speakers? No, the very thought is a misstep.
Go away PR. You can't get on USA's level, go back to your third-world huts and worthless economy.
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) but I voted no. And if I ever get a ballot in my mailbox asking me what I would want, I would still vote no on statehood. It's not going to fix our problems at all (we already receive federal aid that's squandered and wasted by the local government and all the illegals and 45% of Puerto Ricans living in poverty) the only thing it's going to do, is raise our cost of living worse than it already is.
