Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
1. Puerto Ricans would be full fledged members of society. America broke away because of the famous "no taxation without representation". Puerto Ricans (although they do not pay taxes) are subject to federal rules. For instance you cannot sail a ship directly to PR without docking in the US first.
2. It would greatly help the US deal with the rest of the world as Puerto Rico is by US standards a poor state but by world standards a normal state. Learning to live with a people with less money & a different culture would help us craft laws that work for people of different life positions.
3. If Puerto Rico joined the Union it would promote more federalism. This IMO is a good thing as people would not make policies geared only towards a select few. I.E. a federal minimum wage @ $15 would do just fine in SF but maybe not so in rural Mississippi. If anything (for you conservatives/libertarians) Puerto Rico joining the union would probably kill the idea since a high minimum wage on PR would become more politically difficult.
4. Americans could learn Spanish, it isn't too much to ask. We only speak 1 language and learning another major world language isn't going to harm anyone nor place too much of a burden on people. If anything, this would effectively make it possible for almost the entire Western Hemisphere to be culturally accessible to the average American.
NM already has two languages. Guess what, it is just fine, nobody even thinks about it. The same would probably hold true for PR. I bet they are much more worried about being assimilated into a country with 300+million people than we are about a tiny island.
And PR just marginally voted to become a state. However due to the slim majority, it was not moved forward. If someone wants to join, it seemed better to have a strong majority on such a major decision.
1. Puerto Ricans would be full fledged members of society. America broke away because of the famous "no taxation without representation". Puerto Ricans (although they do not pay taxes) are subject to federal rules. For instance you cannot sail a ship directly to PR without docking in the US first.
???????I can already fly directly to Puerto Rico from the mainland without a passport. I can also arrive in Puerto Rico by boat from anywhere without having to dock in the mainland US first! And I can leave Puerto Rico by boat to any destination of my choosing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Logicist027
4. Americans could learn Spanish, it isn't too much to ask. We only speak 1 language and learning another major world language isn't going to harm anyone nor place too much of a burden on people. If anything, this would effectively make it possible for almost the entire Western Hemisphere to be culturally accessible to the average American.
Um, Americans can learn Spanish if they want already. If a "foreign" language was made mandatory then it should be up to the Puerto Ricans to have to learn English to communicate with the rest of the country. Perhaps it's in their schools now though as I'm not sure though!
It will happen within the next 20-30 years. Puerto Rico cannot be maintained in its current status as a commonwealth forever, with its citizens paying no federal taxes and in return getting zero federal political rights. Support for independence won only 5% of the vote in the 2012 referendum, with statehood winning a clear majority. So what's holding up statehood? Number one is the Republicans, who don't want 2 more Democratic Senators, 5-6 more Democratic House members, and a guaranteed 7-8 electoral votes in Presidential elections. Therefore, statehood will probably have to wait until the next time The Democrats control both Houses of Congress and the Presidency.
Umm, many, if not most Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico are bilingual.
I was thinking this was likely the case as well. I think there is room for a Spanish speaking state in the US. It wont change a thing for those of us who live in the other 50 states, other than making our nation more diverse and interesting. If they want to join, well after the last 117 years of their history as being an American territory I think they have the right to decide for themselves. If I remember correctly their last vote on the issue was in the favor of statehood. I bet they are a state within 10 years.
NM already has two languages. Guess what, it is just fine, nobody even thinks about it. The same would probably hold true for PR. I bet they are much more worried about being assimilated into a country with 300+million people than we are about a tiny island. .
Not only that but there are places in NM where people speak neither English nor Spanish.
No, they aren't American, they are a second world foreign country that is our territory due to conquest. Independence or remain a territory.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No other choice
