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Once this territory becomes a true money maker for the mainland then it will have the power to become a state.
I just ask...are you sure that this is what you want.
Yes, you are a citizen.
Can you compete with the mainland, cultural acclimation is paramount.
I am in immigrant from Britain from parents with nothing but borrowed passage. My parents did not have a country, they were forced here by circumstance and we have done well. Do I feel that this is my country. NO. Is Scotland my country NO. So I have no country.
I hear Puerto Rico is rife with corruption. So is Brazil. Their economy is in the pits.
I was and in my heart still married to an immigrant Brazilian, we are divorced, but still talk each weekend.
Does he feel he is a countryman of Brazil. NO. Is he a countryman of the US. NO.
Right now he feels he is a countryman of Germany. He is a doctor and has decided he is treated better there. Well he is blue eyed blonde haired....****
My point.
I know this is a stretch....The Virgin Islands, Hawaii found a way to get to be better than the main land at least by so many people's standards....is there a similarity or I just digging a hole Can Puerto Rico become a go to destination
I am sure I have no idea the true issues. It is just good to discuss them.
Both of us are about to have a huge reality check when they come to PR. Pray for them to endure.
1) Why does Puerto Rico have to compete with the rest of the 50 states to be part of the Union? All 50 states are different and unique from each other and have their own culture and history.
2) The territory of Puerto Rico is no more corrupt than the territories of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and the rest before they became states. The President of the U.S. and Congress had to send the federal army in the territory of Utah several times to put order and also in other territories. That's another topic but just saying, is not like many former U.S. territories were corrupt free.
3) If I was living in Puerto Rico, I would support statehood because is the only option that makes sense for me after living all my life under the U.S. system and having U.S. Citizenship and most Puerto Ricans are living in the mainland and the only system that guarantees my individual rights and property rights under the constitution is the U.S. System hands down. I can't get those guarantees under independence especially when most of the independentistas (Spanish for pro independence) are socialists and once they get to power and the U.S. federal government leaves the island all bets are off and you can kiss goodbye your individual and property rights. I seen how the movie plays in other Latin countries.
4) Hawaii's economy got better after statehood in 1959. All 37 U.S. Territories that are states today their economies got better after statehood. I'm not naive to say just statehood will fix their problems. It's a long process but statehood is the best option. I'm speaking for myself. If I live in P.R. I would support statehood but I don't so I can't vote there just voice my opinion.
5) My issues is with the local government and politicians in Puerto Rico why things are the way they are more than the federal government but that's water under the bridge. Let the new generation figured it out. I have no vote there just my opinion.
6) Don't worry too much about Puerto Rico. They have endured a lot worse and they will be fine. 400 years under real poverty conditions under Spain, Great Depression, 2 World Wars, Hurricanes. This generation thinks they are living in worst times in history. They have no idea what our grandparents and great-grandparents had to go through in P.R. and the states.
This is 2018. The fact that in another era states might have seen improvements after statehood is irrelevant today. In fact there are states in the USA which have seen economic stress as their low skilled workers are no longer globally competitive.
What does PR have to bring to the table and how will this change merely because it is a state? It is already under the US flag, meaning that it is treated as a domestic rather than foreign producer of goods and services.
Given that there is ample corruption in the states, NY being a classic example and I bet there are many others in the South, what evidence is there that corruption and inefficiency in PR will decline?
Let us face it. Most Puerto Ricans see themselves as Puerto Ricans, NOT as Americans. As soon as it becomes evident that the Feds aren't going to lavish billions to boost the economy of that island any interest in being a state will fade. They love to see PR competing in Miss Universe and to see Puerto Ricans competing in international sporting events. They love the fact that they have maintained their culture and identity in a way that Hawaiians have not. Puerto Ricans have an ethnic identity in the US mainland that even Texans don't. In Orlando they are trying to recreate as much of a Puerto Rican environment as they can, and certainly not sinking into invisibility. They even constitute a voting bloc.
They love the fact that they have maintained their culture and identity in a way that Hawaiians have not. Puerto Ricans have an ethnic identity in the US mainland that even Texans don't. In Orlando they are trying to recreate as much of a Puerto Rican environment as they can, and certainly not sinking into invisibility. They even constitute a voting bloc.
it's obvious you haven't been to Hawaii or know their native culture and other cultures. It's alive and strong and Hawaii's economy leaves Puerto Rico's in the dust. You have more cultures in Hawaii than Puerto Rico by far. You think that's a good thing for Puerto Rico, is not.
Asians are the majority in Hawaii (mostly Filipino-Americans and Japanese-Americans). Hawaii has the highest percentage of Asian Americans and multiracial Americans and the lowest percentage of White Americans of any state. Hawaii doesn't have 1 culture, they have multi-cultures which makes Hawaii unique in the Union.
I wish in Puerto Rico we had 25%-30% Asians like Hawaii....it would be a positive in the economy and education.
it's obvious you haven't been to Hawaii or know their native culture and other cultures. It's alive and strong and Hawaii's economy leaves Puerto Rico's in the dust. You have more cultures in Hawaii than Puerto Rico by far. You think that's a good thing for Puerto Rico, is not.
Asians are the majority in Hawaii (mostly Filipino-Americans and Japanese-Americans). Hawaii has the highest percentage of Asian Americans and multiracial Americans and the lowest percentage of White Americans of any state. Hawaii doesn't have 1 culture, they have multi-cultures which makes Hawaii unique in the Union.
I wish in Puerto Rico we had 25%-30% Asians like Hawaii....it would be a positive in the economy and education.
I've always believed we should encourage migration to Puerto Rico, both from foreign immigrants and from mainland Americans. Think about it, we could offer foreign medical students citizenship in exchange for committing to working as a doctor in Puerto Rico for at least 10 years which would help with the island's doctor shortage.
if we had 30% Asian population in Puerto Rico, we put them in charge of the department of education and technology innovation in the private sector and it would be a lot different than now.
Hawaii is 38% Asian, 26% White and 26% mix races. 3% in Hawaii are Puerto Ricans. It's amazing considering that Hawaii is 5,730 miles from Puerto Rico in 2 different oceans.
Hawaii's Median Household income is $73,000 ( 2nd in the U.S.) Puerto Rico is at $19,000 (#51)......not bad for an island in the middle of nowhere in the Pacific Ocean 2,470 miles to the mainland U.S. and 6,000 miles to the mainland of China ......Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland is 1,150 miles and 800 miles to South America and 1,300 miles to Central America.
The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed the definition of Natural Born Citizen on multiple occasions and various context. .....
All U.S. Citizenship once you have it is protected by the Constitution including the Equal Protection Clause under the 14th amendment and the Due Process Clause in the 5th amendment regardless if citizenship was by an act of Congress or by the U.S. Constitution and once you have it Congress can't take it away involuntarily. U.S. Supreme Court already ruled on this.
The Constitution is not specific to lots of things. That's why it gave Congress the power to enact laws and be explicit. Under the power of Article I, section 8, clause of the United States Constitution (also referred to the Nationality Clause) reads: Congress shall have Power "To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization"
... It expanded the definition of the "United States" for nationality purposes, which already included Puerto Rico and the Virgin islands , to add Guam. Persons born in these territories on or after December 24, 1952 acquire U.S. citizenship at birth on the same terms as persons born in other parts of the United States.
...... So NO, the President or Congress can't do whatever it wants.....we have the Courts to keep them in check.
Actually, the President and/or Congress can, and HAVE, ignored their rulings.
You may have the Supremes on your side here, as well as the Constitution, but, well... what the hell can the court do about it? Um, nothing really.
And if the definition of 'US citizen' expanded once, it can just as easily be contracted. A simple majority of jurors, as in the past, have re-interpreted the Constitution to fit a new 'social awareness', ..or political imperative. Depends on whose bull is being gored how you classify such an opinion.
As a last resort Congress can amend the Constitution, rightfully or not. It's done so plenty of times.
Just sayin'..
Actually, the President and/or Congress can, and HAVE, ignored their rulings.
You may have the Supremes on your side here, as well as the Constitution, but, well... what the hell can the court do about it? Um, nothing really.
And if the definition of 'US citizen' expanded once, it can just as easily be contracted. A simple majority of jurors, as in the past, have re-interpreted the Constitution to fit a new 'social awareness', ..or political imperative. Depends on whose bull is being gored how you classify such an opinion.
As a last resort Congress can amend the Constitution, rightfully or not. It's done so plenty of times.
Just sayin'..
if you think kicking out millions of people born here from parents that entered this country illegally a pain in the butt in the courts go try taking away millions of legit citizenships involuntarily by an unconstitutional law by Congress or an executive order by the President, see how fast any federal judge strikes it down. The ACLU will knock it out of the park with their eyes closed and 2 hands tied behind their backs if that ever happens or any constitutional and civil rights lawyer.
your citizenship can't be "contracted"...once you have it, you have it! whatever citizenship laws Congress passes it must be applied equally to all citizens regardless of race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or where you live on this planet. That's where the 14th amendment and equal protection clause comes in.
Amending the constitution is not easy. You need 2/3 in the house and senate or by a convention of the states with 2/3 of the states passing it (34 states out of 50) and even if it passes 5 judges in the Supreme Court can strike it down as unconstitutional....and whatever Congress amends, they can't violate the 14th amendment and the equal protection clause.
Hellion.. you missed my point completely.
Just because the courts declare a law or policy 'unconstitutional' doesn't require it to be enforced.
This is rare, and unlikely, but entirely possible, and there is precedent.
What PR needs is more business coming from the mainland under Acts 20 and 22. And not crappy dollar stores.
I just found out there is no Whole Foods in Puerto Rico. Why?
Williams & Sonoma, Nordstrom's, Dean & Deluca.
You are aware that the average annual income in Puerto Rico is under $20,000 right?
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