Puerto Rican Statehood?

52ndStreet

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Jun 18, 2008
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Many say that we should not grant Puerto Rico the right to be the 51st State.
One of the main reasons being is that they will become a 23billion dollar a year tax burden for the American taxpayer.

Moreover there millions of Puerto Ricans that will immediately rush to join the Welfare rolls.
Many say we must grant Puerto Rico its independence now.
 
Well it sounds like we couldn't afford it even if that's what they wanted. What are the advantages/disadvantages for them to be a territory versus independent??
 
Well it sounds like we couldn't afford it even if that's what they wanted. What are the advantages/disadvantages for them to be a territory versus independent??

No real advantages, but many disadvantages in terms of additional tax outlay for the
American taxpayer, as there is going to be a lot of requests for American entitlement
payments.In particular welfare payments, and medicare.
 
They already get tons of government money as a territory. They are already a tax burden. I dont see why making them a state would be bad. Besides, my hope is that the Federal Government will soon be cut significantly.

If it's not, it wont really matter if PI is a state because the systems going to collapse.
 
Many say that we should not grant Puerto Rico the right to be the 51st State.
One of the main reasons being is that they will become a 23billion dollar a year tax burden for the American taxpayer.

Moreover there millions of Puerto Ricans that will immediately rush to join the Welfare rolls.
Many say we must grant Puerto Rico its independence now.

The initial part is up to Puerto Rico itself. It has to ask for statehood or independence. Right now, they seem to like being off the federal tax rolls by being a territory.
 
We don't need two more guaranteed to be Liberal Democrat Senators sending pork to the Caribbean.
 
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Many say that we should not grant Puerto Rico the right to be the 51st State.
One of the main reasons being is that they will become a 23billion dollar a year tax burden for the American taxpayer.

Moreover there millions of Puerto Ricans that will immediately rush to join the Welfare rolls.
Many say we must grant Puerto Rico its independence now.

It is SOLELY up to Puerto Rico and its citizens when and if it ever becomes a State. The vote for such has always failed. They are happy sucking off the tit as a territory.
 
I lived in Puerto Rico for a time.

My first wife was a Puerto Rican woman. (That was a wrestling match that would make the WWF blush.) They already are entitled to US benifits as a commonwealth.

They get what you get already. Except a federal vote.

I love that island, they have the most sassy asses in the world. Tempers like hurricanes but souls that soothe the damage.

If you ever walk El Morro on a moonlite night in love, you will never forget it.
 
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I lived in Puerto Rico for a time.

My first wife was a Puerto Rican woman. (That was a wrestling match that would make the WWF blush.) They already are entitled to US benifits as a commonwealth.

They get what you get already. Except a federal vote.

I love that island, they have the most sassy asses in the world. Tempers like hurricanes but souls that soothe the damage.

If you ever walk El Morro on a moonlite night in love, you will never forget it.

I read that also. They have welfare and all the things our citizens in the US have.

They have voted on becoming a state several times and always voted it down. After all, why buy the cow when you get the milk for free.

They do not pay taxes but suck off the American tit for free. They sure don't seem want to be a State. Go figure.

All the territories have the same deal. They should either become a STate or be independent. Just sayin.
 
FYI

I took the liberty of emboldening those things I though answered some of our questions

revenues and expenditures
puerto rico’s central government, which includes all three branches of government but excludes public corporations and municipalities, has an annual general budget that currently ranges from $8.5 billion to $9 billion in revenues and expenditures.[6]

the government also receives more than $4.2 billion dollars annually in subsidies and federal aid from the united states.[7] a substantial portion of this amount is earmarked for public welfare, including funding educational programs (such as head start), subsidized housing programs (such as (section 8 and public housing projects), and a food stamp system called the nutrition assistance for puerto rico program.

Public corporations generate approximately $6.3 billion in general revenues by charging citizens for the services they provide. The largest public corporation, the puerto rico electric power authority (prepa), generates almost half of those revenues alone ($3 billion). However, public corporations generate about $10.6 billion in expenses when combined, requiring substantial subsidies by the central government. In 2005, the central government provided more than $2.6 billion in subsidies, while the remaining expenditures were funded through interest and investment earnings.[8]

when considering all three branches of government, including all public corporations and municipalities, the government of puerto rico’s annual expenditures can reach to more than $28 billion.[9]
[edit] central government revenues

the central government’s main source of revenue is income tax imposed on individual citizens and private companies, which can amount to approximately $5.5 billion.[6] other significant sources of revenue include excise taxes on imports, cigarettes, liquor, hotel rooms, cement, and vehicles ($2 billion);[6] and lotteries ($870 million).[10]

sales and use tax

see also: 2006 puerto rico budget crisis
on november 15, 2006, the government eliminated the excise tax of 6.6% on imports (taxes on cigarettes, liquor, and cars are still in effect) and substituted it for a 5.5% islandwide sales and use tax, plus a municipal sales tax of 1.5%, for a total of 7%, in what has been known as the puerto rico tax reform.[11]

this change was partly due to the government’s growing expenditures and fiscal deficits which remained unchecked and uncorrected for several years, until several credit agencies warned public officials that all general-obligation bonds issued by the government were to be downgraded if the problem was not corrected. The situation reached a turning point when the executive branch of the government was partially shutdown, the events now known as the 2006 puerto rico budget crisis. Thirty-three (33) agencies were closed and 95,762 employees were sent home without pay. Following public bickering between the two main political parties, the new sales tax was approved in favor of the excise tax on imports on may 10, 2006, ending the budget crisis.[12]
[edit] central government expenditures

the largest types of expenditures made by the government are those related to education. In 2005 alone, the government expended more than $5 billion in public education and education-related programs, representing approx. 28% of total government expenditures (excluding public corporations).[13]

other significant expenditures include

public housing and welfare ($3.4 billion or 19%),

public safety ($2.5 billion or 14%) and

public health ($2.3 billion or 13%).

[13] recently, several political analysts and commentators have pointed to the fact that the government of puerto rico is subject to an unreasonable amount of legal claims and court judgments, including some from political harassment allegations and accusations and others from health reform disputes.

In 2005, these claims amounted to $11.7 billion,[14] leading some to believe that if current trends continue, such claims may be too much to pay if they are found against the government.

In may 2007, local economists expressed serious concerns when it was revealed that the puerto rico public debt equaled 76% of its gross national product (gnp), making it one of the most indebted countries by percentage in the world, even more than the united states.[15]

economists have criticized the government's fiscal policy, whose level of expenditures and indebtness has increase significantly within the past decade while the economy was grown at a much slower pace.

Between 2000 and 2006 alone, puerto rico's gnp rose 5.37%, while its public debt's relation to gnp rose 18%.[15] by comparison, many other latin american countries have seen reductions in their gnp-public debt percentages during that same time period.[15]

If PR went it alone, they'd be just another impoverished Caribean nation, I suspect.
 
FYI

I took the liberty of emboldening those things I though answered some of our questions

revenues and expenditures
puerto rico’s central government, which includes all three branches of government but excludes public corporations and municipalities, has an annual general budget that currently ranges from $8.5 billion to $9 billion in revenues and expenditures.[6]

the government also receives more than $4.2 billion dollars annually in subsidies and federal aid from the united states.[7] a substantial portion of this amount is earmarked for public welfare, including funding educational programs (such as head start), subsidized housing programs (such as (section 8 and public housing projects), and a food stamp system called the nutrition assistance for puerto rico program.

Public corporations generate approximately $6.3 billion in general revenues by charging citizens for the services they provide. The largest public corporation, the puerto rico electric power authority (prepa), generates almost half of those revenues alone ($3 billion). However, public corporations generate about $10.6 billion in expenses when combined, requiring substantial subsidies by the central government. In 2005, the central government provided more than $2.6 billion in subsidies, while the remaining expenditures were funded through interest and investment earnings.[8]

when considering all three branches of government, including all public corporations and municipalities, the government of puerto rico’s annual expenditures can reach to more than $28 billion.[9]
[edit] central government revenues

the central government’s main source of revenue is income tax imposed on individual citizens and private companies, which can amount to approximately $5.5 billion.[6] other significant sources of revenue include excise taxes on imports, cigarettes, liquor, hotel rooms, cement, and vehicles ($2 billion);[6] and lotteries ($870 million).[10]

sales and use tax

see also: 2006 puerto rico budget crisis
on november 15, 2006, the government eliminated the excise tax of 6.6% on imports (taxes on cigarettes, liquor, and cars are still in effect) and substituted it for a 5.5% islandwide sales and use tax, plus a municipal sales tax of 1.5%, for a total of 7%, in what has been known as the puerto rico tax reform.[11]

this change was partly due to the government’s growing expenditures and fiscal deficits which remained unchecked and uncorrected for several years, until several credit agencies warned public officials that all general-obligation bonds issued by the government were to be downgraded if the problem was not corrected. The situation reached a turning point when the executive branch of the government was partially shutdown, the events now known as the 2006 puerto rico budget crisis. Thirty-three (33) agencies were closed and 95,762 employees were sent home without pay. Following public bickering between the two main political parties, the new sales tax was approved in favor of the excise tax on imports on may 10, 2006, ending the budget crisis.[12]
[edit] central government expenditures

the largest types of expenditures made by the government are those related to education. In 2005 alone, the government expended more than $5 billion in public education and education-related programs, representing approx. 28% of total government expenditures (excluding public corporations).[13]

other significant expenditures include

public housing and welfare ($3.4 billion or 19%),

public safety ($2.5 billion or 14%) and

public health ($2.3 billion or 13%).

[13] recently, several political analysts and commentators have pointed to the fact that the government of puerto rico is subject to an unreasonable amount of legal claims and court judgments, including some from political harassment allegations and accusations and others from health reform disputes.

In 2005, these claims amounted to $11.7 billion,[14] leading some to believe that if current trends continue, such claims may be too much to pay if they are found against the government.

In may 2007, local economists expressed serious concerns when it was revealed that the puerto rico public debt equaled 76% of its gross national product (gnp), making it one of the most indebted countries by percentage in the world, even more than the united states.[15]

economists have criticized the government's fiscal policy, whose level of expenditures and indebtness has increase significantly within the past decade while the economy was grown at a much slower pace.

Between 2000 and 2006 alone, puerto rico's gnp rose 5.37%, while its public debt's relation to gnp rose 18%.[15] by comparison, many other latin american countries have seen reductions in their gnp-public debt percentages during that same time period.[15]

If PR went it alone, they'd be just another impoverished Caribean nation, I suspect.

This is exactly what I think would happen. Just another Carribean cash straped country.:razz:
 
With as broke as America is right now, I doubt if we could afford to even add the next star onto the flag without getting a loan from China.
 

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