Question

Should the US consider Puerto Rico for statehood? What benefits and challenges will Puerto Rico present to the United States?

Please provide sources if used

Answer 1

Puerto Rico

Spanish name for Puerto Rico is Rich Port, and briefly called Porto Rico. It is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 1,000 miles southeast of, Florida.

Puerto Ricans are by law citizens of the United States and may move freely between the island and the mainland. As it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950.

Lets have look at several points and views which consider Puerto Rico for statehood, and also benefits and challenges will Puerto Rico present to the United States------------------

The tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans who have put their lives on the line in every American war over the last 120 years, and the families who have supported them, might disagree. Last week, Puerto Rico’s U.S. citizens overwhelmingly chose to become the 51st state of the union. There are few greater displays of affection for one’s country than volunteering to sacrifice your blood, sweat, and tears. Volunteering for active duty service in the American military at a rate greater than the U.S. average.

Despite a vote-suppressing boycott campaign, 94 percent of those who participated in the historic plebiscite chose statehood over the status quo and independence.While the results seem to signal movement towards the integration, economic parity, and social equality that statehood advocates have desired for decades, some worry that adding a Puerto Rican star to the American flag notice the 51 star flag above will only benefit the new state. Under its current status as a territory with limited autonomy, high levels of economic and political risk continue to constrain investment and the island’s ability to contribute to its own well-being. Anyone who questions whether they have given more to this country than they have received in return should ask themselves whether they would be willing to do the same. While most believe that statehood will benefit Puerto Rico’s development, few realize the economic contributions it will return to the country as its newest member. Even under the recent conditions of high debt combined with a shrinking economy, estimates suggest that corporate and individual taxpayers in the new state will contribute $5-9 billion more to the U.S. Treasury’s bottom line.

Further considering the market dynamism of an improved economic climate, and it is easy to see how many more billions of dollars of profits, individual income, and taxpayer revenue can be produced. Combine increases in corporate and individual entrepreneur investment with Puerto Rico’s positive trade balance, the expectation of rapid growth in an already productive tourism sector (imagine a state as beautiful as Hawaii, but takes only one-fifth the time to get there from the East Coast), and an opportunity for improved intrastate commerce ( Puerto Rico is poised to take over as the gateway to the Americas), and the new state’s economic productivity will be a welcome addition to the U.S. economy.      

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