Puerto Rico 51st state? (calculating, income tax, living)

[yessykali]

I think it's time PR became a State. Spanish should be the second official language of the U.S.A. Spanish and English should be the official languages of Puerto Rico if it became State.

[timeofseasons]

Originally Posted by chikid

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.

Why not, and why hasn't the people of Puerto Rico voted to be a state? I assume there are many consequences but overall it should be great...

[Tony21]

It is up to the people of Puerto Rico to decide.

[chikid]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

I wouldn't want Puerto Rico to be a state. Even the OP admits, its much poorer than the states, which means that we the American taxpayers will be subsidizing. We will be inheriting more people on welfare, food stamps, medicaid, section 8 housing and free lunch programs.

Though on one positive note, the new Congressmen out of Puerto Rico will probably be conservative Catholics who oppose abortion and gay marriage.

Wow your ignorance is very apparent in what you have said here. Who the hell do you think is subsidizing Puerto Rico right now? With this mentality, we might as well kick out Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama out of the union, cause they really don't bring much to the table and they are heavily subsidized.

Haha, Puerto Rico giving conservative congressmen? Puerto Rico tends to be one the most unreligious countries in Latin America. Puerto Rico is just as religious as San Francisco is. Also, I find it to be pretty liberal, not in the San Francisco hippie way, but in let live approach. While Puerto Rico isn't in the forefront of providing gay marriage and other liberal issues, it would never pass laws banning gay marriage or aborition. If Puerto Rico were to become a state it would hands down be a democratic state. Get your facts straight.

[chikid]

Originally Posted by N1991J

Since Puerto Rico is spanish speaking territory, I vote NO.
Puerto Rico has more common with rest of Latin America, than the U.S.

Puerto Rico should be its own country

Puerto Rico is a bilingual country. The only places where English isn't really used is in the countryside where people are less educated.

With your logic Hawaii should have never been state, neither everything else that was taken over the U.S. that was originally Spain's and Mexico's territory. We should also kick out Miami, FL due to your logic as well. Actually Louisiana was also French speaking, we should have never taken over that.

I am just saying things change, and Puerto Rico is a hybrid country of the U.S. and Latin America. If anything it's kind of like Miami. I think there are other issues that one could argue why it shouldn't be a state, but the cultural/language barrier is really not that big of an issue. If anything Puerto Rico would be similar to Hawaii.

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by chikid

With this mentality, we might as well kick out Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama out of the union, cause they really don't bring much to the table and they are heavily subsidized.

Energy, seafood, and ya better not forget it!

[richyway]

Originally Posted by Brad-ly

Yea, it's pretty ghetto. This country will definitely have some problems to fix theirs, as if we have the money to do that.

Puerto Rico a third world country? Lets put some facts out there, so we can shut this person's mouth. Apparently went to Puerto Rico to buy drugs, drugs that can be bought right in his backyard.


Not a all.
Matter of fact Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is a very advanced and educated country. Here are some facts from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0113949.html
Literacy Rate: 94% (Very educated!)
Life Expectancy: 78 (Pretty Healthy)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $77.41 billion; per capita $19,600 Real growth rate: 1.2%. Inflation: 6.5% (2003 est.). Unemployment: 12% (2002).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.038 million (2005); mobile cellular: 3.354 million (2005). Radio broadcast stations: AM 74, FM 53, shortwave 0 (2005). Radios: 2.7 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 32 (2006). Televisions: 1.021 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 413 (2007). Internet users: 915,600 (2005). (technologicallly advanced)
Plus, as stated earlier, Puerto RIco is part of the US. So you can find a McDonalds, BK, Wendys, Sears, JCPenney anywhere!

[mrconfusion87]

I'd like it to be a state for the mere fact that it be the only non-anglophone state in the country! And to see if they can handle Puerto Rico better than how Canada handled Quebec! That would be an awesome political, cultural and economic experiment to watch...

But then again, if they vote independence I'll be fine with it as long as it means dropping the Commonwealth status which I think they will have to leave sometime in the future. The only caveat I have is that I hope they have learned their lessons from their benefactor (about both what's good and what's bad when it comes to running their nation) and apply it to their newly-born nation....

[danielj72]

Originally Posted by Tony21

It is up to the people of Puerto Rico to decide.

Your right, the opinions of the people in Puerto Rico are the only ones that count. Becoming a state can be a long process so we may not know for a very long time.

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by yessykali

I think it's time PR became a State. Spanish should be the second official language of the U.S.A. Spanish and English should be the official languages of Puerto Rico if it became State.

You do realize there is NO official language in the U.S. It has been widely accepted that English be our primary language, though it is not official. Therefore, there cannot be an "official" second language, though it pretty much is spanish unofficially anyway.

Back to the original subject...

I voted YES. Ultimately it is up to the Puerto Ricans to decide as said before.