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In a 2010 survey 83% of Puerto Ricans polled said US citizenship was "extremely important".
People from Long Island (or NY in general) are looked down upon in North Carolina. People from the South are mocked in the rest of the nation as clueless, toothless hillbilly rednecks.
You people disgust me with your blatant racism towards a people who have contributed enormously to the United States. Do you have any idea of how many Puerto Ricans have given their lives for this nation?
And yes, they do pay Federal taxes ... they just don't pay FEDERAL INCOME TAXES. They pay SS, Medicare, and other Federal payroll taxes in addition to their state and local taxes.
Why are you so keen on expanding the American Empire? Spend your energy trying to get US military spending drastically cut back and drop all the overseas bases we don't need. Still defending Germany years and years after WWII, utterly stupid. PR is NEVER going to be a state.
I'm with Rick Santorum on this one. You want to be a state, fine. No more spanish in govt in PR. Everything in english, from business transactions to schooling to government. Then maybe years after everyone on the island speaks english they can petition to be a state. I know this will never happen, just as imo I know they don't feel American.
I'm with Rick Santorum on this one. You want to be a state, fine. No more spanish in govt in PR. Everything in english, from business transactions to schooling to government. Then maybe years after everyone on the island speaks english they can petition to be a state. I know this will never happen, just as imo I know they don't feel American.
Attitudes like this one are why Puerto Rico is better off left a territory at the moment.
People like this who have little or no understanding of the history or anthropology of their own region/country (much less that of PR), who can't think past their own sense of entitlement. All they will do is meddle with PR's affairs of state without bothering to even try to understand PR or its people.
Maybe 100 years down the line when latins have will been the majority ethnicity (assuming current birth rates hold) in the USA and will have filtered into governmental positions that decide policy.... That environment would probably foster a more empathic attitude towards the language and practices of Puerto Rico.
Current estimates say by 2050, but I expect the birth rate to slow down and the US to start to panic once they realize the kind of social shift taking place. There will be more people like Santorum who are very threatened at the prospect of the unfamiliar so close to home.
Attitudes like this one are why Puerto Rico is better off left a territory at the moment.
People like this who have little or no understanding of the history or anthropology of their own region/country (much less that of PR), who can't think past their own sense of entitlement. All they will do is meddle with PR's affairs of state without bothering to even try to understand PR or its people.
Maybe 100 years down the line when latins have will been the majority ethnicity (assuming current birth rates hold) in the USA and will have filtered into governmental positions that decide policy.... That environment would probably foster a more empathic attitude towards the language and practices of Puerto Rico.
Current estimates say by 2050, but I expect the birth rate to slow down and the US to start to panic once they realize the kind of social shift taking place. There will be more people like Santorum who are very threatened at the prospect of the unfamiliar so close to home.
PR has nothing to contribute to the USA, cut them loose or keep them as territory but nothing else. PR would be a welfare state and we don't need anymore of those.
My family and I just returned from Puerto Rico, and found it to be a nice place with many things going for it... history, beaches, mountains, nice people, etc.
I do think if Puerto Rico became a state many things would change, and Puerto Rico would lose some of it's cultural identity. This is only my opinion.
I didn't really see any more poverty there than many places in the US mainland.
My family and I just returned from Puerto Rico, and found it to be a nice place with many things going for it... history, beaches, mountains, nice people, etc.
I do think if Puerto Rico became a state many things would change, and Puerto Rico would lose some of it's cultural identity. This is only my opinion.
I didn't really see any more poverty there than many places in the US mainland.
In November they will decide if Puerto Rico will become a state or not. Personally, I want PR to become a state. If PR becomes a state, it will be similar to Hawaii.
Why are you so keen on expanding the American Empire? Spend your energy trying to get US military spending drastically cut back and drop all the overseas bases we don't need. Still defending Germany years and years after WWII, utterly stupid. PR is NEVER going to be a state.
I'm with Rick Santorum on this one. You want to be a state, fine. No more spanish in govt in PR. Everything in english, from business transactions to schooling to government. Then maybe years after everyone on the island speaks english they can petition to be a state. I know this will never happen, just as imo I know they don't feel American.
Well. thats what you say.I think differently.The official language of the U.S.A is none. the official languange of puerto rico is spanish/english. It will be a state by 2014. And WE retain the right to be seated in congress ,Or can demand to be seated. just as tennessee did.
I figure the Puerto rican men that fought and died for america in WW1,WW2,Korea,Vietnam, Lebanon,The first gulf war, Afgan war,Iraq war . did not feel american?
Right. you know what you are talking about now dont you.
I was. In puerto Rico for work last month and there was definitely a feeling of separation. Almost like we were looked down on for being americans. My issue is puerto ricans don't pay taxes yet they benefit from tax payers programs.
When did you read that?. That might have been true in the past. But we are taxed to holly hell now. So you are speaking about nothing
Taxes imposed since 2000.
6% state sales tax
1%municipal sales tax
Home owners tax {crim}
Income taxes are as follows.
Soc Sec tax.
medicaid tax
10% state tax
PR has nothing to contribute to the USA, cut them loose or keep them as territory but nothing else. PR would be a welfare state and we don't need anymore of those.
I wonder what purpose would be served by keeping a territory that doesn't contribute anything, as you believe? You seem to forget that each state has to pay their share of taxes equally (IRS doesn't discriminate between states) and qualifications to federal public assistance would also be the same as any other state.
A previous poster was right on the money. Either statehood granting full rights to US citizens living in PR or complete independence without interference or keeping part of the Gross Product of the island. This halfway thing keeps people in a colonial and subservient mindset.
Also, remember that any US citizen who takes up residency on the island automatically loses many of their rights. That just isn't fair.
Attitudes like this one are why Puerto Rico is better off left a territory at the moment.
People like this who have little or no understanding of the history or anthropology of their own region/country (much less that of PR), who can't think past their own sense of entitlement. All they will do is meddle with PR's affairs of state without bothering to even try to understand PR or its people.
Maybe 100 years down the line when latins have will been the majority ethnicity (assuming current birth rates hold) in the USA and will have filtered into governmental positions that decide policy.... That environment would probably foster a more empathic attitude towards the language and practices of Puerto Rico.
Current estimates say by 2050, but I expect the birth rate to slow down and the US to start to panic once they realize the kind of social shift taking place. There will be more people like Santorum who are very threatened at the prospect of the unfamiliar so close to home.
You really think the US will still be intact as one nation by 2050? Doubtful.
Just my two cents here. Americans from other states who visit PR aren't generally looked down on or seen as anybody special. That might seem odd to a tourist who just came from another tourist destination where the tourist is seen as a god of sorts. But it is no different than the way people where I live now (Texas) look at non-native visitors.
I am not promoting statehood or independence for PR. I just don't see how a very outdated status (Territory) can exist in this day and age. There really is no benefit for the rest of the US and it really has affected the mindset of the citizens living on the island.
If for some prejudiced reason you don't think people in PR should have full rights, support independence for PR.
If you believe every citizen should be treated equally, support statehood for PR and the District of Columbia.
Make sense?
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No Contribution? Look at the numbers.
