Should Puerto Rico be granted statehood ?

1. 83

   RJ Schwartzposted 7 years ago

   Should Puerto Rico be granted statehood ?
   
   The current governor of Puerto Rico has been working hard to reduce government agencies and make Puerto Rico better.  Now he's heavily lobbying for either statehood or to be released as an American colony.  What's your take on the issue?
   
   

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2. 91

   MizBejabbersposted 7 years ago

   I haven't heard much about this, but I think it would be dangerous to release Puerto Rico. I would rather see them become a state for three reasons. One, I'm old enough to remember when Cuba gained its independence. Even as a child my opinion was "that's a bad thing to do." Sure enough, it wasn't long before Castro took over and was shaking his fist at us and threatening us with Big Brother Soviet Union. Fortunately, we had a president in the 1960s with enough smarts to keep us out of a nuclear war. The Caribbean and Central America are just too unpredictable. I wonder if the independence thing is actually a threat to push for statehood. (If you don't marry me, I'll break up with you.)
   Second, I believe Puerto Rico could be an asset as a state of the United States. I belong to a national legal organization and have had some dealings with employees of their state code commission, and I find them to be sensible, intelligent people very serious about their work. (They publish their laws in two languages, English and Spanish.) I enjoyed meeting these young Puerto Rican government employees and was impressed with their devotion to their jobs and their code of laws as a territory. I like all the Puerto Ricans I've met. I would hate to see some unpredictable somebody come in and mess up their government and Puerto Rican lives if they were given their independence instead of statehood. It could happen.
   Third, and on a lighter note, if Puerto Rico became an independent nation, it probably would qualify for foreign aid. Lord knows we don't need another one.

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3. 59

   crowsnestposted 7 years ago

   I don't know a whole lot about this issue, but I just saw an interview on the Tucker Carlson show last night with this governor. He seemed to have a lot of good answers to Tucker's questions, and was well spoken. Tucker had a difficult time finding any flaws in his arguments, although I think he tried.
   
   My question is, if Puerto Rico becomes a state, would they be red or blue? From what I've seen, they would lean pretty strongly to the left. And they have a population which exceeds that of about 21 of the 50 present states. Some in the USA believe the statehood concept for Puerto Rico is part of a liberal agenda.

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   1. 91

      MizBejabbersposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      So, are you saying that conservatives are afraid of Puerto Rico? That argument shouldn't even enter into the picture. Puerto Rico, if any, has earned the right of statehood.

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