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why should main land America care about Puerto rico. you guys didn't want to become a state. you don't pay any federal taxes...…. but you want tons of usa money.
why should main land America care about Puerto rico. you guys didn't want to become a state. you don't pay any federal taxes...…. but you want tons of usa money.
It's called being a decent person. We Americans take care of our own. Believe me, there's a alot of solid red states that I think we could do without ... but I tolerate them because it's the right thing to do.
why should main land America care about Puerto rico. you guys didn't want to become a state. you don't pay any federal taxes...…. but you want tons of usa money.
With all due respect, sincerely...are you trolling or do you really feel this way?
Maybe the better question is why shouldn't mainland America care about the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico?
Some citizens and factions want to have statehood and others do not so you should not say that they don't; some do and some don't.
They may not be a state but they are a U.S. territory and as such serve the interests of America, don't ever forget that, it's relevant and important.
If I'm not mistaken (and I could be), the American flag flies in their capital, the citizens of Puerto Rico are American citizens, their currency is the U.S. dollar, and at the end of the day their people are our people.
If they work for the Federal government of America they most certainly do file federal income taxes.
Certainly there are many countries throughout the world who want Tons of USA money?
its just a question , as a main lander I don't under stand why Puerto rico would not want to become a state and why they don't pay federal taxes.
First of all, Puerto Ricans pay Federal payroll taxes ... they don't pay Federal income taxes. Congress has discretion over whether a territory's residents pay Federal income taxes or not. Hawaii was similarly exempted until 1929.
As for statehood, that's a complicated subject. To make it short, a certain island political party has spent the past 70 years claiming that Puerto Rico's current territorial status grants "permanent union" with the US without having to become a state. The party claims that Puerto Rico can't handle paying Federal income taxes (but leaves out the fact that the vast majority wouldn't pay them anyways as they make below the threshold) They call it the best of both worlds. Many people have fallen for the scam.
its just a question , as a main lander I don't under stand why Puerto rico would not want to become a state and why they don't pay federal taxes.
ask Congress why they haven't incorporated Puerto Rico fully in the federal tax system. Puerto Rico doesn't qualify for many federal tax benefits like the Earned Income Credit and other federal tax credits and benefits like many do in the 50 states.
The Puerto Rico status is complicated due to their history and internal politics and there is no simple answer in why doesn't every Puerto Rican wants statehood. I mean, in the 13 colonies not everybody wanted to be independent from GB. A lot of people in the 13 colonies wanted to stay a colony to the British Crown. It took a war to settle that but things are not so simple to explain why some prefer the status quo. Look at Bermuda, a British territory. Some want to be fully independent and the majority want to continue to be a British territory under British protection. The majority of the island is black so you can't say that White British moved to the island and controls public opinion and their local politics. Whites are the minority in Bermuda just like Hawaii.
I'm Puerto Rican and the reason I want statehood is that the U.S. system is all I have known all my life and is the only system that protects my individual rights and private property and the only system that I have prospered. No Latin Republic country offers that and most independentistas in Puerto Rico are socialists/communists that once they are in power you know what they are going to do just look at Venezuela, Cuba and the rest of the Latin Republics to see what happens when they have full power. If you think Puerto Rico's government is too big and taxes are too high now wait until these socialists/communists have full power in Puerto Rico and there is NO U.S. Federal jurisdiction in the island.
I can't speak for all Puerto Ricans. Each has their personal reasons why they support one choice over the other but let us be realistic, Puerto Ricans have been under the U.S. System and using U.S. Dollar as part of our lives for over 100 years. It's the only system we know and are used to. More Puerto Ricans live in the 50 states than in the island. The transition to statehood will be smoother than a new system that in unknown under a Republic and there is no guarantees. With statehood, we all know what you are going to get because we have millions of Puerto Ricans in the 50 states.
Like the saying goes, better the devil that you know that the devil that you don't.
why should main land America care about Puerto rico. you guys didn't want to become a state. you don't pay any federal taxes...…. but you want tons of usa money.
We care about it because it’s part of the USA. Millions in aid and recovery for the hurricanes went to PR, FL and TX last fall because the people of all those places are American citizens. PRs hurricane was the strongest and most destructive, the destruction and misery it wrought will take longer to undo.
I do believe they will be a state one day but really that does not matter. They are American citizens and that is a good enough reason for me. The destruction there is very reminiscent of Louisiana in 2005, we cannot leave fellow Americans in those conditions. We should have been more aggressive in PRs recovery, very similar situation to Katrina.
why should main land America care about Puerto rico. you guys didn't want to become a state. you don't pay any federal taxes...…. but you want tons of usa money.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wildcherry
its just a question , as a main lander I don't under stand why Puerto rico would not want to become a state and why they don't pay federal taxes.
I hope your question has been answered and you have a better understanding of the whys and wherefores of Puerto Rico and perhaps a more benevolent view of this U.S. territory and our fellow American citizens.
There can be a million reasons as to why Puerto Rico hasn't become a state.
Many statehooders blame Puerto Rican’s themselves.
Many point to an unwillingness to learn English, to assimilate, thus locking us out of the U.S. gravy train.
Many are so naive and think that Speaking English will open the doors to progress and statehood, however, What language do African Americans speak, Swahili? I don’t see how speaking only English has helped them as a group. Its much more than speaking English.
To make a long story short, it appears that Puerto Rico was never thought of as a future state.
A case in point: Hawaii was INCORPORATED in 1900, not so Puerto Rico which was acquired two years before.
Hawaii was opened up immediately for population transfer, with mainlanders and inmigrants given full reign thus alienating the native population. Today Hawaii is basically an English speaking tropical state populated by a mix of whites, Asian immigrants and some native Hawaiians, who will soon to join the extinct DoDo bird.
Puerto Rico presented the United States with another dilema. Here were a people who already had a distinct national identity since 1797. Throughout the XIX century it created its own literature, painters, politicians and culture, all within the Spanish speaking world. Despite its size, it’s a very creative part of Hispanic America.
It appears that Americans figured out early enough that it was a hard egg to crack. It was very different from Hawaiians and native Americans, therefore incorporation would have created problems in the long run. Thus the best thing was to control it, exploit it and let it fester after it became useless for military defense.
But what about becoming a state?
Statehood is becoming more of a pipe Dream as Americans bathe in their new found nationalism, linguistic exclusivity and fear of others, who they claim come in to destroy american culture and make whites a minority in their own land.
Nonetheless there is a rising statehood movement on the island, fueled mostly out of fear of being abandoned in a sea full of sharks with out any skills to fight them off. Therefore the best alternative is statehood and let the Federal government take care of the rest.
Last edited by clip314; 06-11-2018 at 01:46 PM..
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