Puerto Rico becoming 51 state

[Jmayer20]

Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States. My question is do you or do you not think Puerto Rico should become a state? This would make it the 51 State. Please explain your answer.

[PMMurphy]

Is their even any significant purpose for this other then a new label? I see it completely useless and pointless to do.

But if it happens, i wont care either way.

[Iron-Hampster]

but 50 stars is an even number and is so convenient to make. if you have to add one more star it throws everything out of wack

[DigitalStrip]

i think i would love 51 states that would make the us bigger! Go usa!

[Korriken]

At 8/2/12 09:38 PM, PMMurphy wrote: Is their even any significant purpose for this other then a new label?

2 more senators and maybe 1 or 2 more seats in the house.

[Bolo]

At 8/2/12 10:34 PM, celticking33 wrote: i think i would love 51 states that would make the us bigger! Go usa!

Sounds like an argument for imperialism. Is that what you're advocating here?

[PMMurphy]

At 8/2/12 10:53 PM, Korriken wrote: 2 more senators and maybe 1 or 2 more seats in the house.

Yea but, will adding more opinions to the table then we already have actually make a benefit? I really don't see the purpose. Sure it would have some impact, but still.

[DigitalStrip]

At 8/2/12 10:56 PM, Bolo wrote:

At 8/2/12 10:34 PM, celticking33 wrote: i think i would love 51 states that would make the us bigger! Go usa!

Sounds like an argument for imperialism. Is that what you're advocating here?

are you nuts? no i just love the usa seems like imerialism would start a lot of wars and that is not good

[Jmayer20]

As it is Puerto Rico has no senator's if they become a state the senate increases by 2. Also so long as they are not a state they don't pay federal taxes and if they do become a state they can get drafted if the draft is called up. I personal think we should let the Peuerto Ricans decide if they want to be a state or not?

[CaptainCornhole]

I seem to recall that Puerto Rico declined statehood quite a while back, but I could be talking out of my ass.

[CaptainPrichard]

All the Puerto Ricans would move to the good states, you don't want to have to learn Spanish? Do you?

[Camarohusky]

Why should Puerto Rico become the 51st state?

Frankly, I think Puerto Rico having it's own national identity under the stewardship of the US government is a much better situation.

[Jmayer20]

At 8/3/12 12:21 AM, CaptainPrichard wrote: All the Puerto Ricans would move to the good states, you don't want to have to learn Spanish? Do you?

First off I don't see why Puerto Ricans would be more likely to come if here they were a state then if they weren't a state. Second even if Puerto Rico's entire population got up and went to main land United State I somewhat doubt that 3,706,000 Puerto Ricans are going to make over 300,000,000 Americans have to learn Spanish.

[Jmayer20]

New question lets say Puerto Rico wanted to be independent from the United States should we let them?

[ShakenNotStirred]

At 8/2/12 10:17 PM, Iron-Hampster wrote: but 50 stars is an even number and is so convenient to make. if you have to add one more star it throws everything out of wack

I agree with this completely but I think if they ask Puerto Rico they will be like no because they don't have to pay federal income tax and they can enlist in the U.S. military and they get all the benefits we do except their Medicaid is lower due to not being a state.

[Angry-Hatter]

I would advocate for Puerto Rican statehood, or in lieu of that, Puerto Rican independence from the USA. The same goes for all the other territories under US control. I am uncomfortable with the idea of a state being subject to laws it had no part in shaping, so I think that they should either receive proper representation in the Legislature which dictates those laws, or they should be exempt from US laws and be allowed to craft their own as a sovereign nation.

[tyler2513]

Whatever, as long as the U.S doesn't claim Cuba so they can keep Guantanamo bay as a torture facility.

[Camarohusky]

At 8/3/12 09:44 AM, tyler2513 wrote: Whatever, as long as the U.S doesn't claim Cuba so they can keep Guantanamo bay as a torture facility.

Guantanamo Bay is part of the United States, as is all of the land that US military bases reside on.

[SubparTony]

I thought we all knew moon is the 51th state

[Jmayer20]

At 8/3/12 10:59 AM, tonypar16 wrote: I thought we all knew moon is the 51th state

At best we could claim it to be a territory because we put a flag up there and even that is stretching it. That does not make it a state. To be a state first you have to have a population of at lest 5,000. Then you need to have the population want to become a state. After that the federal government has to approve it being a state. Only then could it be called a state.

[Bolo]

At 8/2/12 11:09 PM, celticking33 wrote: are you nuts? no i just love the usa seems like imerialism would start a lot of wars and that is not good

Your desire to grow the United States by absorbing territories and other countries is actually the definition of imperialism. The reason why the US has territories like Guam / Puerto Rico / Virgin Islands is because the US government actively practiced imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[Jmayer20]

At 8/3/12 01:05 PM, Bolo wrote:

At 8/2/12 11:09 PM, celticking33 wrote: are you nuts? no i just love the usa seems like imerialism would start a lot of wars and that is not good

Your desire to grow the United States by absorbing territories and other countries is actually the definition of imperialism. The reason why the US has territories like Guam / Puerto Rico / Virgin Islands is because the US government actively practiced imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

All he said was that he would like it if Puerto Rico became a state. We own Puerto Rico right now so how would it be imperialism for them to become a state? In fact it would make us less imperialistic because we would be giving them representation.

[DigitalStrip]

All he said was that he would like it if Puerto Rico became a state. We own Puerto Rico right now so how would it be imperialism for them to become a state? In fact it would make us less imperialistic because we would be giving them representation.

Thank you, that is all i am trying to say

[Bolo]

At 8/3/12 01:44 PM, Jmayer20 wrote: All he said was that he would like it if Puerto Rico became a state. We own Puerto Rico right now so how would it be imperialism for them to become a state? In fact it would make us less imperialistic because we would be giving them representation.

When somebody expresses extreme pleasure at the annexation of a territory without considering the will of that territory's people (who have their own existing culture and seem perfectly happy to go about their lives without being annexed into the US), I have to assume that such a person is much more concerned with growing the United States's "empire" than they are with preserving the aforementioned native culture. If I had to pinpoint a descriptor for that attitude I'd call it jingosim.

[Jmayer20]

At 8/3/12 02:40 PM, Bolo wrote:

When somebody expresses extreme pleasure at the annexation of a territory without considering the will of that territory's people (who have their own existing culture and seem perfectly happy to go about their lives without being annexed into the US), I have to assume that such a person is much more concerned with growing the United States's "empire" than they are with preserving the aforementioned native culture. If I had to pinpoint a descriptor for that attitude I'd call it jingosim.

I think you are looking into this a tad bit to far. Also I don't know what you mean by without considering the will of that territory's people because ultimately it would be the choice of the people in the area whether or not they will be a state.

[Bolo]

At 8/3/12 04:02 PM, Jmayer20 wrote: I think you are looking into this a tad bit to far.

Nah, bro.

Also I don't know what you mean by without considering the will of that territory's people because ultimately it would be the choice of the people in the area whether or not they will be a state.

Precisely. It is their choice, and theirs alone. It's clear by the fact that they haven't chosen to become part of the United States that they don't want to. Happy delusions of annexation by Americans in the face of natives who do not desire it is a dangerous combination.

[Warforger]

At 8/3/12 12:21 AM, CaptainPrichard wrote: All the Puerto Ricans would move to the good states, you don't want to have to learn Spanish? Do you?

So you've never been to New York? They're already citizens so they can go to any place in the US they want and many are bilingual since being taken over by an English speaking country probably means that some of them will have to learn English.

Otherwise the US has no official language so this is rather pointless even then here in California not only can you have you ballot in English or Spanish, but you can have it in Tagalog, both Chinese languages and Vietnamese. So this is hardly troubling.

[PMMurphy]

I agree with bolo completely. Why force another country(or culture) into the united states for some extra senate seats and congressman. Their is no need or purpose.

[DoctorStrongbad]

At 8/3/12 10:59 AM, tonypar16 wrote: I thought we all knew moon is the 51th state

Mars is the 52nd state.

[Thecrazyman]

At 8/2/12 09:34 PM, Jmayer20 wrote: Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States. My question is do you or do you not think Puerto Rico should become a state? This would make it the 51 State. Please explain your answer.

I would rather see California be split into two separate states rather then Puerto Rico become a 51st state, if Puerto Rico is meant to be it's own nation then let it be it's own nation.