sacase Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/amid-historically-low-turnout-puerto-ricans-vote-statehood-n770801 Residents of Puerto Rico voted overwhelmingly Sunday for statehood in a non-binding vote. The turnout was historically low, however — almost eight out of 10 voters did not participate. Pretty interesting what is going to happen with this. I am all for adding another state in my lifetime, I wonder if politics will get in the way over letting them in. Also have to consider that 80% of the territory didn't vote.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 No thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TradeTheBeal! Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Nobody voted because it's non-binding and it's not gonna happen anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springfield Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 I don't know much about the specifics of the subject, but at first glance, it seems like something that Trump would TOTALLY oppose. Therefore, I support Puerto Rican statehood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 What are the legit reasons for not allowing Puerto Rico to be a state? And when I say legit reasons, I don't want to hear any bull**** prejudice or racial bias used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 4 minutes ago, Gamebreaker said: What are the legit reasons for not allowing Puerto Rico to be a state? And when I say legit reasons, I don't want to hear any bull**** prejudice or racial bias used. Fiscal condition would be a major one, though we can just take their land in exchange for bailing them out....like we did some other states. They already cost the US $22B a yr I think. The biggest reason is most there probably don't want to be a state or are ambivalent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vilandil Tasardur Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 10 minutes ago, Gamebreaker said: What are the legit reasons for not allowing Puerto Rico to be a state? And when I say legit reasons, I don't want to hear any bull**** prejudice or racial bias used. Biggest reasons not do it are: 1) The overwhelmingly vote for one party over the other...so year. No-go. 2) We would then be stuck with a reasonably large bill when all of a sudden these "American Citizens" have to be brought into the 21st century and have things like "basic rights" and all that other entitled BS people want when they come (or become) America. *a lot of snark there, if you couldn't tell*. The worst part about it is that, the one thing Puerto Ricans can agree on, is that they hate the current set up. About half of them want state hood, and the other half want independence. But because of this, they historically split the vote, so nothing happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 1 minute ago, twa said: Fiscal condition would be a major one, though we can just take their land in exchange for bailing them out....like we did some other states. They already cost the US $22B a yr I think. The biggest reason is most there probably don't want to be a state or are ambivalent. Fiscally, I could see them eventually becoming like Hawaii if they were made a state. But if the majority don't want to be a state, but instead want to be independent that is another thing entirely. Regardless, it's no different than what Republicans have been saying since Trump was elected. Not voting doesn't invalidate the decision made by those who did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 What keeps them from being Hawaii now? Statehood will add restrictions and obligations to our laws. I don't care if they become a state btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 18 minutes ago, Gamebreaker said: What are the legit reasons for not allowing Puerto Rico to be a state? And when I say legit reasons, I don't want to hear any bull**** prejudice or racial bias used. 1. The island is an absolute mess. Would cost billions and billions to fix. 2. Too large of a portion of PR dont want statehood, and want independence. Let them go The better, more important question. Why should PR become a state? Cant think of one good reason 1 minute ago, twa said: What keeps them from being Hawaii now? Statehood will add restrictions and obligations to our laws. I don't care if they become a state btw. Im of the opinion that we should let Hawaii go. That island is filled with ungrateful jerks who **** constantly about being connected to the mainland. Im all for letting them become their own country. Dont want to burden them with US protection, freedoms, and wealth any longer. They can just be a tiny island state in the middle of the ocean with no military, defense, and a 17th century economy. Good luck when the Chinese start showing up. "The US are evil imperialists who conquered their island you insensitive meany pants!" In 3, 2, 1... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 6 minutes ago, twa said: What keeps them from being Hawaii now? Statehood will add restrictions and obligations to our laws. I don't care if they become a state btw. I don't know this for certain,because I'm done zero research into the subject. But based off my limited experience vacationing there for two weeks, I would so mismanagement by govt and corruption/crime. I recall San Juan being protected by armed military positioned around the resort part of the city( this was 8 years ago). I had a long conversation while there with a couple who moved there decades ago and had their own scuba diving business. Real estate is dirt cheap there, and my wife and I couldn't understand how that was possible considering how beautiful the island is. Then I saw how poor the citizens were, then I opened a newspaper and read about a massive drug raid that took place 2-3 miles away from my resort. So after that it made sense why real estate was cheap, Puerto Ricans are poor, Americans are afraid to move there, and their entire economy relies on tourism. If statehood was going to happen, it probably should've happened before they filed for bankruptcy. Just adds another excuse for our lawmakers to dismiss the idea. I do thing that added restrictions and obligations to our laws would be to their benefit though, and federal influence on our part could help stamp out some of the rampant crime. 12 minutes ago, zoony said: 1. The island is an absolute mess. Would cost billions and billions to fix. 2. Too large of a portion of PR dont want statehood, and want independence. Let them go The better, more important question. Why should PR become a state? Cant think of one good reason Honestly, I can't think of anything beyond we had them as a territory for so long it's kinda ****ed up not to. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Might I recommend last night's United Shades of America on Puerto Rico. The current setup has many of the worst elements of colonialism. Any foreign trade to the island must first dock at a Florida port, have the cargo moved to an American ship, and then that ship goes to PR. Estimates are that this adds about 40% to clothing prices and 60% to food - squeezing the wallets of poor people to pay for dock workers and shipping magnates who are allowed to vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Puerto Ricans are all US citizens, have been for some time, and most of them live seem to live in New York. Adding them as a state makes perfect sense to me. Why stop there though? Cuba is ripe for the picking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 3 minutes ago, Destino said: Puerto Ricans are all US citizens, have been for some time, and most of them live sem to live in New York. Adding them as a state makes perfect sense to me. Why stop there though? Cuba is ripe for the picking. And Nortenos, makes for a much shorter wall. and adds manufacturing numbers. While we are at it Canada needs to just give it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbear Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Just have to jump in here real quick... Most of their economy is not tourism. The largest sector for them by far is manufacturing. Pharmaceuticals and other health products drive the numbers. Due to a tax break for companies to relocate to PR, pharmaceutical companies flocked there. However, those tax breaks were later withdrawn and with it the incentives for other manufacturers to move to open in PR. Those tax breaks were huge as it exempted profits claimed at those establishments to be free of federal taxes. Now that they are gone and more and more places trade duty free or with low import costs to the U.S., there are multiple places with lower wages to open new plants if one is looking to the U.S. for a customer base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88Comrade2000 Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 No. Set PR free now. Also, do the same with Texas and California. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Hard to get a good read on the economy since a very large part of it is underground. The corruption has gotten bad as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamebreaker Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 30 minutes ago, gbear said: Just have to jump in here real quick... Most of their economy is not tourism. The largest sector for them by far is manufacturing. Pharmaceuticals and other health products drive the numbers. Due to a tax break for companies to relocate to PR, pharmaceutical companies flocked there. However, those tax breaks were later withdrawn and with it the incentives for other manufacturers to move to open in PR. Those tax breaks were huge as it exempted profits claimed at those establishments to be free of federal taxes. Now that they are gone and more and more places trade duty free or with low import costs to the U.S., there are multiple places with lower wages to open new plants if one is looking to the U.S. for a customer base. That's good to know. Thanks for the correction. My statement about tourism came from the same article I saw in a local newspaper when I vacationed there. It was wondering how that drug raid would affect tourism and maybe at that time, tourism was the main source of revenue coming in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatBuzz Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 3 hours ago, Gamebreaker said: What are the legit reasons for not allowing Puerto Rico to be a state? And when I say legit reasons, I don't want to hear any bull**** prejudice or racial bias used. The biggest reason? Because there isn't room on our flag for another star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 2 hours ago, Destino said: Puerto Ricans are all US citizens, have been for some time Yeah, the US gave them citizenship when we decided to enter WWI so that we could force them to register for the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 1 hour ago, TheGreatBuzz said: The biggest reason? Because there isn't room on our flag for another star. Easily fixed, we don't need two Dakotas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonniey Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 In all seriousness not letting them become a state is extremely short sighted. Land is ultimately the most valuable stable commodity available to a Nation and not allowing them to become a state risks losing that commodity (Statehood protects us from knucklehead Presidents signing our territories away which last happened in 1977). Puerto Rico and the Pacific Island territories need to become states. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbear Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Admitting them to the Union wouldn't be without costs. There is the well publicized if less well quantified debt issue. Much of this debt is in the form of obligations to current and past government employees. I haven't seen a great number that accounts for current and future obligations. I keep meaning to look into it, but I have been busy. There is also the brain drain of the past decade. Without good jobs on the island, many of the educated Puerto Ricans moved to find better jobs. Reversing that trend is not a small task. If Puerto Rico became a state, the U.S. would probably have to pay more for Medicaid that we currently do. For whatever reason, our payouts are less there for services. I'm not sure we could do that if they were a state. I know Puerto Ricans don't pay into SSI or receive it. I have no idea what that would do to the balance in terms of making it more advantageous or less on a balance sheet. I know Puerto Ricans don't pay federal income taxes which I suspect would have to change before we would take them into the U.S. The biggest cultural reason many in the U.S. might resist is probably the language. "We don't trust those who don't speak American." Those who rebel at Spanish options on tele-menus and in restaurants would have to admit a portion of the country legitimately has Spanish as their native language. Of course, all of this is just my personal off the cuff guesswork. If you need more information, I can probably dig around with some Puerto Ricans with whom I work. Just let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
visionary Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted June 12, 2017 Share Posted June 12, 2017 8 hours ago, zoony said: 1. The island is an absolute mess. Would cost billions and billions to fix. 2. Too large of a portion of PR dont want statehood, and want independence. Let them go The better, more important question. Why should PR become a state? Cant think of one good reason Im of the opinion that we should let Hawaii go. That island is filled with ungrateful jerks who **** constantly about being connected to the mainland. Im all for letting them become their own country. Dont want to burden them with US protection, freedoms, and wealth any longer. They can just be a tiny island state in the middle of the ocean with no military, defense, and a 17th century economy. Good luck when the Chinese start showing up. "The US are evil imperialists who conquered their island you insensitive meany pants!" In 3, 2, 1... Honestly dude, you seem a bit extra wound up the last few months. Some personal time, and letting some of it go............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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