Puerto Rico votes on statehood

[UglyCasanova]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/11/...n-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0


Not sure how I feel about this to be honest. And this doesn't mean they will be allowed in, just that they are voting for it.

SAN JUAN, P.R. — For the fifth time in Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States, Puerto Ricans voted Sunday on whether they wished to become the country’s 51st state.

This time, the nonbinding referendum came as more than 150 schools were being closed, the public university was set to reopen after a two-month student strike, and the island of 3.4 million people was grappling with $74 billion in debt it could not pay. For Puerto Ricans, the decades-old debate about whether officially embracing the United States would mean losing a hold on the island’s cultural identity has been overshadowed by the largest local government bankruptcy in American history, one that threatens everything from pensions to medical care and education.


Edit: looks like they voted to become our 51st state...

https://mobile.twitter.com/AP/status/874020406159712256

 

[alcoholbob]

If PR becomes the 51st state, are they going to lose their income tax exemption?

 

[FIVR]

Don't worry they won't become a state because GOP knows they'd be totally F'd. You don't have to BS about so-called "exemptions" . PR pays its share of taxes, it doesn't get any representation for those taxes, unfortunately.

Though the Commonwealth government has its own tax laws, Puerto Ricans are also required to pay many kinds of U.S. federal taxes, not including the federal personal income tax for Puerto Rico-sourced income, but only under certain circumstances.[154][155][156][157][158][159][160][161] In 2009, Puerto Rico paid $3.742 billion into the US Treasury.[162] Residents of Puerto Rico pay into Social Security, and are thus eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement. They are excluded from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the island actually receives a smaller fraction of the Medicaid funding it would receive if it were a U.S. state.[163] Also, Medicare providers receive less-than-full state-like reimbursements for services rendered to beneficiaries in Puerto Rico, even though the latter paid fully into the system.[164]

 

[Jhhnn]

Puerto Rico is kinda like Greece. It's called looting-

https://www.thenation.com/article/bankers-behind-puerto-ricos-debt-crisis/

 

[BoomerD]

Do the rest of us have a say in their statehood? IMO, we should just let them have their independence...

 

[Jhhnn]

Do the rest of us have a say in their statehood? IMO, we should just let them have their independence...

They've been American Citizens for exactly 100 years. They don't want independence, certainly not with their current debt.

Bankers treated the place like a Mafia business scam- load it down with debt, take the money & burn the place down for the insurance money.

Trump & the Repubs will enable more of the same in a variety of forms.

 

[JSt0rm]

More dark skinned people for white conservatives to fear.

 

[SKORPI0]

OP, it's Puerto Rico...not Peurto Rico.

 

[UglyCasanova]

OP, it's Puerto Rico...not Peurto Rico.

Sorry thanks

We can't edit thread titles as far as I know to fix?

 

[DisarmedDespot]

FWIW apparently the vote was heavily boycotted. Participation was under 25%.

The debt situation is terrible. Yes, it was run incompetently, but the vultures circling around PR and demanding major cuts to things like education can go fuck right off.

 

[brycejones]

FWIW apparently the vote was heavily boycotted. Participation was under 25%.

The debt situation is terrible. Yes, it was run incompetently, but the vultures circling around PR and demanding major cuts to things like education can go fuck right off.

Congress also did a great job of making the problem worse with policies enacted over decades. Last Week Tonight has a whole bit on it including some incredibly demeaning ad campaigns cooked up to promote the island.

 

[crashtech]

Sorry thanks

We can't edit thread titles as far as I know to fix?

Click on "Thread Tools" at the top of the first post, before you enter edit mode.

 

[Jhhnn]

FWIW apparently the vote was heavily boycotted. Participation was under 25%.

The debt situation is terrible. Yes, it was run incompetently, but the vultures circling around PR and demanding major cuts to things like education can go fuck right off.

Read my link, above. The bankers weren't incompetent, just greedy.

 

[Zorba]

I'm all for it, then there would be at least one state that pays their teachers worse than Oklahoma.

Truly I think it would be great for PR to become a state. However, there are vast differences between PR and even very poor states, so I think that would raise lots of complications for true integration. I'd be very interested to see a realistic plan for integration into statehood that would put PR on the leave of at least poor states, and what the cost would be.

 

[crashtech]

 

[Indus]

No fucking way would I want another GoP state.

/veto.

 

[Thebobo]

Add Washington DC to that flag as well.

 

[dainthomas]

I'm all for it, then there would be at least one state that pays their teachers worse than Oklahoma.

Truly I think it would be great for PR to become a state. However, there are vast differences between PR and even very poor states, so I think that would raise lots of complications for true integration. I'd be very interested to see a realistic plan for integration into statehood that would put PR on the leave of at least poor states, and what the cost would be.

"At least we're not Mississippi" could be replaced with "At least we're not Puerto Rico".

 

[Jhhnn]

"At least we're not Mississippi" could be replaced with "At least we're not Puerto Rico".

The colloquialism is actually "Thank God for Mississippi!"