Puerto Rico is defaulting.

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http://www.rt.com/usa/311493-puerto-ric ... th-spiral/

Wouldn't it be better to just make it the 51st state?

Yes.

How would that be good at all for the rest of the US?

The price of empire. E pluribus unum or GTFO of Puerto Rico and let it be a fully independent state. First they have to untangle the real meaning of the Jones Act, then they can negotiate reparations for all the mismanagement since they were seized as a war trophy. Statehood would be much cheaper.

It wouldn't be a nation defaulting on loans then?

It would be better for the rest of the U. S. if Puerto Rico left, but they just won't go away. Look for the idiots in D.C. to bail them out with our money.

It would probably add more left-wing Democrats to the Senate and House of Representatives. Whether or not you consider such a good thing would depend on your political viewpoints.

That's the cost of empire.

It's also a perfect little illustration of why rampant spending and out-of-control debt are a bad idea.

I'm all for helping people out when they're screwed, stuck, and down on their luck. But if you're stupid about it, the ability to help dries up and you find yourself another screwed, stuck, down on your luck soul hoping that someone will help. Put on your own oxygen mask first.

Regardless of partisan impact, it would be a good thing to tidy up this particular case of taxation without representation.

Just like in Florida, eh?

P.R. is grossly mismanaged financially but as always the masses will be the ones to suffer the consequences.
The average Juan/Juanita did nothing to cause this mess.
The Street is not concerned about any systemic contagion on this one, unlike Greece.
What we need to worry about right now is China, as they spend 29 billion USD per day propping up their collapsing market.

We don't owe Puerto Rico statehood, it doesn't serve the interest of the rest of the country nor do Puerto Ricans really want it. If we "owe" Puerto Rico statehood then what about Iraq? I think PR should be granted immediate independence on which they can make the decision themselves as to what option they want to pursue, if they want statehood then they have a lot of work to do and would have to give up their Spanish language. I think the best solution for Puerto Rico in the mean time is to accept free association with the US like the Micronesian states.

It wpuld be the definition of stupid to accept another state that isn't anywhere close to the level of the other states, they're guaranteed to forever be a taker from the other states and provides nothing but burden in return. Puerto Rico is twice as poor as Mississippi, 1000 miles away mainland, has literally like 6x the murder rate, and they speak a totally different language. Romantic notions aside, you'd have to be crazy to want to take on that problem with the rest of what is going on in this country.

Unlike Puerto Ricans, Iraqis are not US citizens. Toss that strawman on the fire and forget it, please.

You can't just decide to strip them of citizenship because you don't speak spanish or think they don't make enough money.

It's not a strawman, you said that essentially that we owe Puerto Rico for holding onto it as a colonial asset which quite frankly doesn't remotely compare to the number we've done on Iraq over the last 30 years. You can't take a "you broke, you own it" to colonialism. The UN mandates that the US give PR its independence.

Who said anything about stripping them of US citizenship btw? I don't have an issue continuing a special relationship with the nation of Puerto Rico, the reality is that they cannot survive on their own but that doesn't mean they should be granted statehood against our own best interests. It is not on the level of other US states and you don't take on a burden like that with no benefit.

Ahh I see the source of your confusion-you misunderstood my original comment about US rule in Puerto Rico since 1898. It isn't a "you broke it, you own it" argument, it's a "you made the Jones Act into law in Congress, so now these people are citizens" argument. American malfeasance in Iraq, no matter how extreme, is not germane.



The problems of Puerto Rico are a trivial challenge to the United States of America and one that we will deal with in one way or another regardless of our feelings in the matter. There is no possibility of a PREXIT. The people of Puerto Rico have consistently shown that they don't want statehood, probably not least because they don't want to be burdened with Federal income tax, so that is not really a prospect, though it would probably be best for them and the rest of the citizens of the U.S. Nor do they want independence, so you can't force them out.

Some interesting notes on the economic woes of Puerto Rico:
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/08/04/heres-wh ... broke.html
The other members of the union were given a mechanism for getting rid of their debt on joining. Too bad we can find a way to do that for our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico today. Perhaps the attempt to extend Chapter 9 Bankruptcy protection to Puerto Rico, or something like it, will succeed.
http://www.economist.com/news/business- ... have-money
Maybe some wise leader like Donald Trump will come up with a great plan as part of the bid for the white house.

No, I suppose not.

But the reality is that they are US Citizens already and they don't speak a different language, they speak one of the many languages of the United States. These are not romantic notions they are matters of fact and law.

Regardless of your feelings about Spanish, the rest of the US is going to be dealing with the problems facing Puerto Ricans just as it has to deal with the problems facing Alaskans, West Virginians and Alabamians. My State is a net giver, those states are net takers and that's fine by me--it's part of being a nation, just like armed forces and hospitals. Or maybe Donald Trump will win, after all...

Incidentally, your muder rate stats are out of date. Puerto Rico's murder rate as of 2013 was 3.66 X Mississippi's or just over twice Louisiana's. Totally irrelevant to the problem at hand, but interesting.

Sell it back to Spain.
Keep Arecibo and the military base as enclaves like we did with Guantanamo in Cuba.
Let the veterans and their immediate families be able to move here in the next 10 years and after that treat them like any other country.
Puerto Rico is like the democrats dream of a future, just like Detroit.
My parents have went there a few times and they said it's almost like Jamaica, full of crime and slums with great scenery in the less populated areas.