Puerto Rico........

[Junkman]

Puerto Rico...... what to do with it.... It should either be admitted as a state or it should be set free to become its own country. Right now, they don't pay Federal Income taxes, but they enjoy the benefits of being part of the US. Then there are some of the others.... what to do with them is also going to be a question to be dealt with in the future... American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Palau, & U.S. Virgin Islands. Bet that most people didn't know that we had this many possessions. We even had the Philippines at one time, but set them free. Those that we should have kept, such as the Panama Zone, we didn't, and those that we still have we shouldn't..... Junk...

PS.... if you are interested in the IRS rules.... click here. It also mentions some other islands that even I wasn't aware of. Guess that we are still a colonizing country....

 

[LarryRB]

Last I looked at a congressional quarterly, Mass was getting 2 dollars for every one sent back to the feds. Alaska got nothing. Ct was almost the same as Mass, something like 1.70 per 1. Puerto Rico got 4 dollars and they reimburse nothing. Make them a state, where they can start to share reimbursed taxes or let it go,, The problem is, every time this comes up for a vote in PR, they vote status quo. They have it made both ways and know it!!!!

 

[DaveNay]

The problem is, every time this comes up for a vote in PR, they vote status quo. They have it made both ways and know it!!!!

Well that's just plain silly. Why is it their vote? Obviously they are going to vote to have their cake and eat it too.....I know I would! Perhaps it should go through a nationwide referendum, or perhaps a similar process to having the Constitution ammended...must be ratified by 2/3 of the states. Or even a 2/3 vote of the Senate/Congress (simple majority probably isn't enough IMHO).

 

[Junkman]

Jimmy Carta gave up the Panama Zone....... why can't Bush give up PR?? Maybe the Cubans will take it.........

 

[jdwilson44]

I say give them up - by force if they whine too loudly about not wanting to go. The problem is not exclusively the fact that Puerto Rico itself is a money suck it is the sense of entitlement and social attitudes that has been bred among the population that is the problem. There has been stories in the media lately about how the Puerto Rican goverment is something like 1 billion dollars in the hole and they can't even get loans to keep the local goverments going. This is an attitude problem - they have the "welfare" attitude that they should not have to work to support themselves and that goverment will solve everything. Let them go off on their own and suffer the consequences for their own actions for once and see if that engenders and societal attitude change. The alternative is the US bails them out and then bails them out again when this happens the next time. If our politicians had any balls at all when the issue of monetary bail out for Puerto Rico finally comes up in the Senate they would take the opportunity to say that we are granting Puerto Rico the freedom it has long wished for. Then let them try and argue their way out of that one when they realize we aren't going to step in and save their butt any more.

A lot of the other US territories do not have the same type of attitude in my experience. Some of them are very grateful for their status and use their status to their advantage without being abusive of it. Lawrence MA is not full of people from Samoa living on welfare after all.

 

[LarryRB]

Well that's just plain silly. Why is it their vote? Obviously they are going to vote to have their cake and eat it too......

I agree. Last time "they" voted on this was 3 years ago, I believe.. They're always going to vote not to become a state.. Let them go.. Or ratify the constitution or something.