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Old 07-11-2017, 09:55 PM
 
Location: Bellevue WA
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Is there really a movement movement to get Puerto Rico to be the 51st state in USA? If there is, what is the reason Puerto Rico wants to move from commonwealth status to statehood?

 
Old 07-11-2017, 11:06 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AleeGee View Post
If there is, what is the reason Puerto Rico wants to move from commonwealth status to statehood?

Representation and a voice over the federal laws that have ruled them for over a century. State Sovereignty so they can deal with their own issues without being fully dependent on the federal government......are those good enough reasons for you?


and Puerto Rico is a commonwealth by name only, its a territory under full jurisdiction of the federal government. 4 states use the term Commonwealth in their Constitutions: Virginia, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Pennsylvania......Vermont uses the term Commonwealth in their constitution several times interchangeably with the term "state".
 
Old 07-12-2017, 07:56 AM
 
Location: On a Long Island in NY
7,800 posts, read 10,106,357 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AleeGee View Post
Is there really a movement movement to get Puerto Rico to be the 51st state in USA? If there is, what is the reason Puerto Rico wants to move from commonwealth status to statehood?
Puerto Rico wants to be a state for the reasons why Washington became a state in 1889. They want the same rights and obligations as you have.
 
Old 07-12-2017, 12:50 PM
 
Location: todo el mundo!!
1,616 posts, read 1,807,405 times
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This "movement" never wins. PR wants to be state because they would get more support and freedom.
 
Old 07-12-2017, 01:30 PM
 
Location: Seattle WA, USA
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I think those are all fair reasons, and I support them, but in today's age the biggest reason is economics. Puerto Rico has a lot of debt and is not developed, if it were to become a state the Federal Gov would be obliged to fix those issues and get them to at least the level of Mississippi. It's the same reason why eastern European countries joined the EU.
 
Old 07-13-2017, 08:13 AM
 
11,046 posts, read 5,269,482 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grega94 View Post
I think those are all fair reasons, and I support them, but in today's age the biggest reason is economics. Puerto Rico has a lot of debt and is not developed, if it were to become a state the Federal Gov would be obliged to fix those issues and get them to at least the level of Mississippi. It's the same reason why eastern European countries joined the EU.

tell me of 50 STATES when they were the 13 colonies and 37 territories had "good" economies and "developed"?........all of 13 colonies were broke after the Revolution War and in high debt to France and other countries........most of the 37 territories were in a worse living conditions than Puerto Rico today......they all got statehood.


Take American Civic classes.......the federal government is not obliged to fix state's issues because they have no sovereignty over state's issues. That's were the 10 amendment comes in.

Quote:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. (10th Amendment)
Now under a U.S. Territory, the Federal Government has full jurisdiction on all their territories and possessions. Meaning they are ultimately responsible to what goes on in the territories including the debt and those territories are fully dependent on the feds.......just like your kids living in your house and you give them your credit card, you as a parent are ultimately responsible for that debt and their well being.

Quote:
Clause 2: Property Clause. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State (4th Amendment)
Under the U.S. Constitution there are only 2 options for Puerto Rico......statehood or remain a U.S. Territory. If you want less dependency of the federal government than statehood is the option......if you want more federal dependency then keep the status quo. The Feds are ultimately responsible for all their territories and possessions.

But you can't develop Puerto Rico's economy under the current condition and expect to have the same economy as the states. The states have sovereignty rights that they don't need to ask permission for the federal government for everything as territories do.

Last edited by Hellion1999; 07-13-2017 at 08:23 AM..
 
Old 07-13-2017, 05:28 PM
 
783 posts, read 576,466 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hellion1999 View Post
Representation and a voice over the federal laws that have ruled them for over a century. State Sovereignty so they can deal with their own issues without being fully dependent on the federal government......are those good enough reasons for you?
You know what would give them all of those things and more? Becoming independent. They'd get their own representation and sovereignty so they can deal with their own issues. No more dependency on and being ruled by the U.S. government. This is the only realistic route left for Puerto Rico. The pipe dream that Puerto Rico is going to become the 51st state is just that. No one to the political right wants to accept a state that is already deeply in debt and sorely mismanaged. (And please don't bring up 'other states' that are in debt. You'll do for people in your own family when you won't do for neighbors or friends.) And the only reason that liberals support the idea of Puerto Rico as a state is the eventual addition of electoral votes for them. It's like a piggy bank that can be cracked open every 4 years.
 
Old 07-13-2017, 07:44 PM
 
Location: On a Long Island in NY
7,800 posts, read 10,106,357 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anonimuso View Post
You know what would give them all of those things and more? Becoming independent. They'd get their own representation and sovereignty so they can deal with their own issues. No more dependency on and being ruled by the U.S. government. This is the only realistic route left for Puerto Rico. The pipe dream that Puerto Rico is going to become the 51st state is just that. No one to the political right wants to accept a state that is already deeply in debt and sorely mismanaged. (And please don't bring up 'other states' that are in debt. You'll do for people in your own family when you won't do for neighbors or friends.) And the only reason that liberals support the idea of Puerto Rico as a state is the eventual addition of electoral votes for them. It's like a piggy bank that can be cracked open every 4 years.
Why should Puerto Ricans become independent? They don't want to be independent anymore than people from Brooklyn or wherever you happen to live. I don't understand why people can't accept this. How is forcing people to accept something they don't want "realistic"? That's called immoral.

Last edited by Sunscape; 07-15-2017 at 05:20 AM..
 
Old 07-13-2017, 08:02 PM
 
11,046 posts, read 5,269,482 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anonimuso View Post
You know what would give them all of those things and more? Becoming independent. They'd get their own representation and sovereignty so they can deal with their own issues. No more dependency on and being ruled by the U.S. government. This is the only realistic route left for Puerto Rico. The pipe dream that Puerto Rico is going to become the 51st state is just that. No one to the political right wants to accept a state that is already deeply in debt and sorely mismanaged. (And please don't bring up 'other states' that are in debt. You'll do for people in your own family when you won't do for neighbors or friends.) And the only reason that liberals support the idea of Puerto Rico as a state is the eventual addition of electoral votes for them. It's like a piggy bank that can be cracked open every 4 years.



1) You forgot one thing, Puerto Ricans are U.S. CITIZENS with full protection of the U.S. Constitution. Unless you have a model of an independent country where their citizens are from another nation then it doesn't exist.

The definition of Citizenship: the status of a person recognized under the custom or law as being a legal member of a sovereign state or part of a nation.

2)So since the U.S. Congress can't take involuntarily the U.S. Citizenship of anybody based on race, gender, culture, sexual orientation or location (U.S. SUPREME Court has already ruled that in 1969) then you can't have an independent country when their citizens belong to another nation....you would have over 5 million lawsuits in court and congress will lose.....you think Trump's travel ban was a mess in court, those are not U.S. Citizens. Imagine if Congress involuntarily takes over 5 million U.S. Citizenship away...the mess of lawsuits you would have in the courts. It will never get there but just imagine the legal mess.


3) So the ONLY full sovereignty that Puerto Rico can have under the U.S. Constitution with U.S. Citizenship is Statehood.


4) Debt of a territory has nothing to do with statehood.....the Feds are still responsible for the territory even if Puerto Rico is not a state, the status quo will continue.


5) If the main problem of Puerto Rico's economy is the territorial status but you say well they have to fix it before we consider them as a state is being dishonest.....its like me putting a block of cement on your back in water and demand that you stay afloat for hours and swim a mile, then saying "see you can't swim, sorry we will just keep you in your current situation until you learn how to swim with a cement block on your back"


6) There is a reason why 13 colonies and 37 territories once their population got bigger wanted the sovereignty of statehood and be fully part of the nation and have representation and a voice over the federal laws that they have to be under.

7) again, under the U.S. Constitution, there are only 2 options for Puerto Rico.....Statehood or remain a territory....we tried territory for over 119 years and its time for an upgrade.....Independence is impossible keeping U.S. Citizenship., anybody tells you otherwise is clueless or just lying to you.

Last edited by Hellion1999; 07-13-2017 at 08:31 PM..
 
Old 07-13-2017, 10:56 PM
 
165 posts, read 194,604 times
Reputation: 94
Quote:
Originally Posted by AleeGee View Post
What is the reason Puerto Rico wants to move from commonwealth status to statehood?


Money. $$$$ Which Paradoxically is the reason Pro Statehood Pricans will never get what they want.
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