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"A young voter in the capital San Juan, Jerome Lefebre, said: "Puerto Rico has to be a state. There is no other option.
"We're doing okay, but we could do better. We would receive more benefits, a lot more financial help."
But that opinion was rejected by Ramon Lopez de Azua: "Puerto Rico's problem is not its political status.
"I think that the United States is the best country in the world, but I am Puerto Rican first."
The island has been hit hard by the current recession - it has debts of $68bn (£42bn) and unemployment is more than 13%.
President Barack Obama, who visited the island last year, has said he will respect the will of Puerto Ricans if there is a clear majority."
while back I thought I remember seeing a chart of top 10 welfare recipient parts of the country and PR was like 5-6 of the top 10. Which was crazy as they paid no income tax.
I say as long as financially they will help is more then will hurt is, sure make them a state.
I've always understood the problem there as that the people that live there year round is opposed to state hood, or that the annual population is to small for statehood. There are times when the population is high enough, but those people leave the island and don't come back for 6 months or more.
"A young voter in the capital San Juan, Jerome Lefebre, said: "Puerto Rico has to be a state. There is no other option.
"We're doing okay, but we could do better. We would receive more benefits, a lot more financial help."
But that opinion was rejected by Ramon Lopez de Azua: "Puerto Rico's problem is not its political status.
"I think that the United States is the best country in the world, but I am Puerto Rican first."
The island has been hit hard by the current recession - it has debts of $68bn (£42bn) and unemployment is more than 13%.
President Barack Obama, who visited the island last year, has said he will respect the will of Puerto Ricans if there is a clear majority."
Key words: clear majority. Puerto Rico has been talking about this for decades, and each time, Puerto Ricans clearly state they do not want to become the 51st State.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ceece
It would be very interesting to me to witness a new state come into being.
Well, Alaska and Hawaii are fairly new.
Quote:
Originally Posted by le roi
Puerto Rico already gets a SWEET deal from the U.S. government. I can't fathom why they would want to become a state.
They don't. But hey, it is a U.S. Territory and poor as heck. I would hardly say they have a sweet deal.
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