Puerto Rico, explain it to me....

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Japher
27 post to turn a post into Puerto Rico into a conversation about the size of Sava's penis

is that a record?

Yeah, longest amount of time taken to get there .

[Japher]

too bad no chicks are here... I guess the record for the longest amount of time for a woman to get there is still running

[Imran Siddiqui]

I almost did a spittake as I was drinking a can of Coke Zero while reading that post!

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
They don't pay federal income tax.

Which is why they have repeated voted to remain a commonwealth.

Vote for one:
(1) Statehood (Representation and taxes)
(2) Cmmnwlth (No representation, no taxes)
(3) Independence (own country, tax urselves)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well they do pay taxes, they pay payroll taxes. Just no income taxes.

[Dinner]

Which is the main reason they're not a state. The people like not having to pay income taxes.

[DanS]

On average, Puerto Ricans don't make as much income as mainlanders. So the average Puerto Rican wouldn't be paying a huge amount in income taxes anyway.

[mrmitchell]

So, all things considered, does Puerto Rico contribute more to the federal government than it takes back?

What about the national economy? Excluding MLB revenues?

[Dinner]

Hell, there are a lot of states (most of them red states) which are net spunges from the Federal treasury (meaning they take more federal dollars then they ever contribute in taxes). If states which pay income taxes still have net negitive tax flows then you can bet a place like Puerto Rico does.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Hell, there are a lot of states (most of them red states) which are net spunges from the Federal treasury (meaning they take more federal dollars then they ever contribute in taxes). If states which pay income taxes still have net negitive tax flows then you can bet a place like Puerto Rico does.

hard to see why they choose commonwealth over statehood then. i wonder if it's because statehood would be seen as a permanent status, while commonwelth is seen as a good place to be until they feel ready to accept the additional burdens of independance?

[Dr Strangelove]

Many Puerto Ricans work in the US but retain their Puerto Rican residency status. I'm not sure whether they get out of paying income tax. Just out of curiosity, could a US citizen move to Puerto Rico in order to avoid the Federal income tax? Could that person then move back to the US yet retain his income tax free status?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Geronimo
hard to see why they choose commonwealth over statehood then. i wonder if it's because statehood would be seen as a permanent status, while commonwelth is seen as a good place to be until they feel ready to accept the additional burdens of independance?

Independance is not popular. Gets like 5% in the referenda.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


Independance is not popular. Gets like 5% in the referenda.

that doesn't mean they dislike independance. It means they don't want it now.


95% of the PR electorate may think it's obvious that immediate independance would be a disaster and would vote for other options but a majorty of that 95% may hope that independance becomes a viable option later.

Given that the vast majority of residents of PR still wouldn't have to pay federal taxes if PR was a state and given that being a commonwealth means no representation in congress it's difficult to see why they keep opting for commonwealth status unless they aren't willing to accept the prospect of being permanently tied to the US that statehood would entail.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Geronimo
that doesn't mean they dislike independance. It means they don't want it now.


95% of the PR electorate may think it's obvious that immediate independance would be a disaster and would vote for other options but a majorty of that 95% may hope that independance becomes a viable option later.

Given that the vast majority of residents of PR still wouldn't have to pay federal taxes if PR was a state and given that being a commonwealth means no representation in congress it's difficult to see why they keep opting for commonwealth status unless they aren't willing to accept the prospect of being permanently tied to the US that statehood would entail.

Commonwealth doesn't win by all that much. And I think it is because of tax purposes. Most may not have to pay tax, but some undoubtably will, and most likely they are the big time politicians on the island.

I would think that if they really wanted independance in the future, more people would vote for the independance party now. How much longer do they have to advance before they are 'ready' for independance?

[chequita guevara]

Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States, under the direct control of Congress (which delegates considerable authority to the local government). The fact that it is officially a commonwealth means as much as the fact that Virginia is officially a commonwealth. It's a meaningless title within the American poltical system.

Some fun facts about Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico was an autonomous part of the Spanish Empire in 1898, having defeated the Spanish militarily in an uprising. For all intents and purposes, it was an independent country at the time.

Puerto Rico was conquered by General Miles, the same man who chased down Cheif Joeseph of the Nez Pierce.

Puerto Rico is a major center for pharmasutical testing.

In the 1980s, as much as 42% of the women of child bearing age on the island had been sterilized, many either involuntarily (either the doctor did it when they were giving birth or their husbands coerced them) or were tricked into agreeing.

Puerto Rico is one of the poorest parts of the American Empire. A larger segment of the Puerto Rican population is on welfare than any other part of the U.S. population. This is one of the chief reasons the island won't ever vote for independence. They are dependent on Federal aid.

The largest strike in U.S. history took place in Puerto Rico during the 1990s, to stop the privatisation of the exceedingly popular government owned telephone company.

One of my university professors is a convicted Puerto Rican terrorist, though there remains much doubt in my mind given the nature of the government's evidence and the deal they offered him (they also refused to allow him access to his lawyer during questioning). The fact he only got four years for bombing a Navy recruitment center shows the weakness of the case against him.