Should Puerto Rico be granted statehood?

[Geilinor]

We'd still be fine if Puerto Rico became a state.

The island is a money pit.

What would that change? It still is as a territory and statehood could help its economy.

[Libertarian California]

The island is a money pit.

Yeah, their credit rating was recently downgraded to "junk" status if I'm not mistaken.
However, does that mean we should then eject Detroit from the union?

No. But Detroit is American land.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is just a territory of the United States.

[Estormo]

No. They ought to either be given independence or remain as they currently are.

If given independence, it is essential they are a protectorate.

[Geilinor]

Yeah, their credit rating was recently downgraded to "junk" status if I'm not mistaken.
However, does that mean we should then eject Detroit from the union?

No. But Detroit is American land.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is just a territory of the United States.

Territories are American land.

[Sollis]

Yeah, their credit rating was recently downgraded to "junk" status if I'm not mistaken.
However, does that mean we should then eject Detroit from the union?

No. But Detroit is American land.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is just a territory of the United States.

That makes it American land, just as much as anything else. Heck, there's more America in that island then there is Hawaii or Alaska, one of which is in the middle of nowhere and the other was once Russian.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

We'd still be fine if Puerto Rico became a state.

The island is a money pit.

So is Hawaii. And Alaska. For that matter, so are a bunch of states. Alabama, New Mexico, Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, etc. They all suck up more in federal funds than they contribute in taxes. Apparently that's not a big deal to most people.

[Geilinor]

No. But Detroit is American land.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is just a territory of the United States.

That makes it American land, just as much as anything else. Heck, there's more America in that island then there is Hawaii or Alaska, one of which is in the middle of nowhere and the other was once Russian.

Puerto Rico was once Spanish, so I'd say it's about as American as Hawaii or Alaska.

[Libertarian California]

The 2012 initiative was shody. It only gave options for the status quo or statehood.

No, it didn't.

On the second question about what alternative should be chosen, 61 percent chose statehood, 33 percent chose "sovereign free association" and 6 percent chose independence.

You can see that only about 3% of Puerto Rico's population (the 6% is out of the majority who wanted to change PR's status) wants independence.

Yes, they'd chose statehood over independence, they'd become the Dominican Republic 2.0 under independence. But that doesn't rule out the nature of the poll.

Also, the majority of people did not vote for independence. Only a plurality.

[Sollis]

The island is a money pit.

So is Hawaii. And Alaska. For that matter, so are a bunch of states. Alabama, New Mexico, Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, etc. They all suck up more in federal funds than they contribute in taxes. Apparently that's not a big deal to most people.

Ironically, they all have a tendency to be states calling for Federal budget cuts and pride themselves in states' rights. I believe one of the only ex-confederate states that brings in more money to the Fed than it receives is Texas.

[Estormo]

Puerto Rico = 'Murigan Land
'Murigan Land = 'Muriga

[Libertarian California]

No. But Detroit is American land.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is just a territory of the United States.

That makes it American land, just as much as anything else. Heck, there's more America in that island then there is Hawaii or Alaska, one of which is in the middle of nowhere and the other was once Russian.

The Philippines used to be a US Territory. But the Philippines were/are in no way, shape, or form, American lands.

[Keyboard Warriors]

The island is a money pit.

So is Hawaii. And Alaska. For that matter, so are a bunch of states. Alabama, New Mexico, Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, etc. They all suck up more in federal funds than they contribute in taxes. Apparently that's not a big deal to most people.

Let's face it, the hardest thing is going to be dealing with the fallout of not having a nice round number of states anymore.

[Sollis]

That makes it American land, just as much as anything else. Heck, there's more America in that island then there is Hawaii or Alaska, one of which is in the middle of nowhere and the other was once Russian.

Puerto Rico was once Spanish, so I'd say it's about as American as Hawaii or Alaska.

Like Texas. Or California. Or any other land in the US that belonged to the American Indians long before European imperialists even set foot on the land.

[Roski]

No. But Detroit is American land.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is just a territory of the United States.

That makes it American land, just as much as anything else. Heck, there's more America in that island then there is Hawaii or Alaska, one of which is in the middle of nowhere and the other was once Russian.

Yeah, but this was when Russia loved us.


Either way, it is much more expensive to run an autonomous territory than a state.

[Sollis]

That makes it American land, just as much as anything else. Heck, there's more America in that island then there is Hawaii or Alaska, one of which is in the middle of nowhere and the other was once Russian.

The Philippines used to be a US Territory. But the Philippines were/are in no way, shape, or form, American lands.

They also fought (and won) their independence. We still have close diplomatic ties with them, however.

[Libertarian California]

The Philippines used to be a US Territory. But the Philippines were/are in no way, shape, or form, American lands.

They also fought (and won) their independence. We still have close diplomatic ties with them, however.

No they didn't. They got their asses kicked and we controlled them until Japan invaded.

[Geilinor]

That makes it American land, just as much as anything else. Heck, there's more America in that island then there is Hawaii or Alaska, one of which is in the middle of nowhere and the other was once Russian.

The Philippines used to be a US Territory. But the Philippines were/are in no way, shape, or form, American lands.

Filipinos did not become US citizens.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

So is Hawaii. And Alaska. For that matter, so are a bunch of states. Alabama, New Mexico, Mississippi, Virginia, Kentucky, etc. They all suck up more in federal funds than they contribute in taxes. Apparently that's not a big deal to most people.

Let's face it, the hardest thing is going to be dealing with the fallout of not having a nice round number of states anymore.

That's pretty much the hard part.

[Sollis]

They also fought (and won) their independence. We still have close diplomatic ties with them, however.

No they didn't. They got their asses kicked and we controlled them until Japan invaded.

And what do you think happened after Japan left and we got our hands back on it?

[Libertarian California]

The Philippines used to be a US Territory. But the Philippines were/are in no way, shape, or form, American lands.

Filipinos did not become US citizens.

Implying that citizenship is the only thing that makes someone culturally an American.

[Libertarian California]

No they didn't. They got their asses kicked and we controlled them until Japan invaded.

And what do you think happened after Japan left and we got our hands back on it?

We gave them independence because ruling them wasn't worth it?

[Lunatic Goofballs]

Filipinos did not become US citizens.

Implying that citizenship is the only thing that makes someone culturally an American.

You're right. Plenty of non-citizens are also culturally American.

[Geilinor]

No they didn't. They got their asses kicked and we controlled them until Japan invaded.

And what do you think happened after Japan left and we got our hands back on it?

They didn't fight us after World War II, we peacefully gave them independence.

[Libertarian California]

Implying that citizenship is the only thing that makes someone culturally an American.

You're right. Plenty of non-citizens are also culturally American.

And plenty of citizens are not culturally American.

[Sollis]

Implying that citizenship is the only thing that makes someone culturally an American.

You're right. Plenty of non-citizens are also culturally American.

See: Essex.

And what do you think happened after Japan left and we got our hands back on it?

They didn't fight us, we gave them independence through the Tydings-McDuffie Act.

But who do you think lobbied for it? Filipinos certainly wanted it, and they took the necessary actions towards it.