Are the US taxpayers obligated to bail out Puerto Rico

[JGalt]

Although it is the Christian and charitable thing to do, remember: Puerto Rico is not a state, therefore they pay no personal federal income tax.

What say ye?

 

[whitehall]

The dirty little secret is that U.S. taxpayers bail out Puerto Rico every freaking day. About 21 billion is allocated by the U.S. to Puerto Rico every year and disappears through lack of supervision by federal agencies. Drain the freaking swamp.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

No, but I would bail them out before I would bail out California, which action is approaching.

 

[Timmy]

Wow. Y'all didn't say shit when red state Texas and Florida have their hand out for welfare .

 

[Lewdog]

Whether you like it or not, the PEOPLE of Puerto Rico are American citizens, who serve in the U.S. military. There is also a military base there and many of the people effected are not from Puerto Rico, but live there.

 

[AVISSSER]

Wow. Y'all didn't say shit when red state Texas and Florida have their hand out for welfare .

Read OP.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

The dirty little secret is that U.S. taxpayers bail out Puerto Rico every freaking day. About 21 billion is allocated by the U.S. to Puerto Rico every year and disappears through lack of supervision by federal agencies. Drain the freaking swamp.

Same with Texass, Florida. And Illinois has almost the exact same financial situation.

In answer to the OP - it depends.

If you're a RWNJ christian, only white people should be saved. If you're a normal person, you could not consider letting more than 3 million people die - of any color, creed, religion yadda yadda.

 

[eagle1462010]

It is a US Territory and thus they are citizens of the United States.

So, Yes.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

 

[Luddly Neddite]

It is a US Territory and thus they are citizens of the United States.

So, Yes.

Far more important is they are human beings.

No one is helping Cuba and there's no excuse for that.

Interestingly, the US Virgin Islands have gotten much more than PR has. BUT, they are several very small islands, with a total population of about 100K. Fewer of them and easier to get to but they got help much faster. Why?

BTW, pino trump has property on the island of Vieques. We still haven't heard from our friend there. We got an email from his wife, who was already in NY. She cannot get home and has no way of finding out if her husband is dead or alive.

 

[Cellblock2429]

/-----/ The Hill:
Army Lt. Gen. Jeff Buchanan said Friday morning that the Pentagon has 10,000 people helping with the response after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month.

"We're certainly bringing in more [troops]," Buchanan said on CNN's "New Day."

 

[Jimmy_Chitwood]

It is a US Territory and thus they are citizens of the United States.

So, Yes.

Far more important is they are human beings.

No one is helping Cuba and there's no excuse for that.

Interestingly, the US Virgin Islands have gotten much more than PR has. BUT, they are several very small islands, with a total population of about 100K. Fewer of them and easier to get to but they got help much faster. Why?

BTW, pino trump has property on the island of Vieques. We still haven't heard from our friend there. We got an email from his wife, who was already in NY. She cannot get home and has no way of finding out if her husband is dead or alive.

How much did you send to cuba?

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

Although it is the Christian and charitable thing to do, remember: Puerto Rico is not a state, therefore they pay no personal federal income tax.

What say ye?

Help them! In every way possible!

 

[francoHFW]

They pay every u.s. tax except income tax... And plus, we have to remind right-wingers that income tax is not that much these days except in their propaganda. We should also do something about obscure laws that make everything about 20% more expensive in Puerto Rico than anywhere else in the world!

 

[occupied]

Why is this even a question? Yes, of course we are obligated. Is there some actual legal argument circulating that we are not?

 

[gallantwarrior]

The dirty little secret is that U.S. taxpayers bail out Puerto Rico every freaking day. About 21 billion is allocated by the U.S. to Puerto Rico every year and disappears through lack of supervision by federal agencies. Drain the freaking swamp.

PR has been in the financial red for some time now. This disaster will no doubt be used to bail them out, rebuild their infrastructure, and provide new jobs for all...or welfare for those unwilling to work. (PS: I have family in PR.)
Just another case of Ka-CHINGGG!!!

 

[ABikerSailor]

It is a US Territory and thus they are citizens of the United States.

So, Yes.

Far more important is they are human beings.

No one is helping Cuba and there's no excuse for that.

Interestingly, the US Virgin Islands have gotten much more than PR has. BUT, they are several very small islands, with a total population of about 100K. Fewer of them and easier to get to but they got help much faster. Why?

BTW, pino trump has property on the island of Vieques. We still haven't heard from our friend there. We got an email from his wife, who was already in NY. She cannot get home and has no way of finding out if her husband is dead or alive.

Because the US Virgin Islands sound more American than Puerto Rico. Trump probably thinks that the US Virgin Islands are ours, but that Puerto Rico is a foreign country.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Why is this even a question? Yes, of course we are obligated. Is there some actual legal argument circulating that we are not?

Limited funds should be equitably allocated among all recently affected locales. Those include: TX, FL, LA, PR, among others. I'd suggest calculating federal funding available/allocated and dividing it per capita of affected areas.

 

[occupied]

The dirty little secret is that U.S. taxpayers bail out Puerto Rico every freaking day. About 21 billion is allocated by the U.S. to Puerto Rico every year and disappears through lack of supervision by federal agencies. Drain the freaking swamp.

PR has been in the financial red for some time now. This disaster will no doubt be used to bail them out, rebuild their infrastructure, and provide new jobs for all...or welfare for those unwilling to work. (PS: I have family in PR.)
Just another case of Ka-CHINGGG!!!

The hedge funds are going to get their bailout before anyone in PR gets anything more than a blanket, some bottled water and a box of MREs.

 

[gallantwarrior]

/-----/ The Hill:
Army Lt. Gen. Jeff Buchanan said Friday morning that the Pentagon has 10,000 people helping with the response after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month.

"We're certainly bringing in more [troops]," Buchanan said on CNN's "New Day."

Troops don't count. Only cash money provided to the local governments, to be spent at their discretion, counts. And no local government representative or agency should have to account for how they spend federal funds.