Issue 310 51st State (Puerto Rico) April 9, 2014

Have you thought about Puerto Rico becoming the 51st State of the United States? I have and it seems like a really cool idea. Here are my thoughts on why I think Puerto Rico would make a great addition to the United States.

Advantages: Puerto Rico is currently a United States territory in the form of a commonwealth. This means that all citizens of Puerto Rico are United States citizens already, but with one problem. That problem is if they are residing in Puerto Rico then they cannot vote in Presidential elections. In short, they have no say over the countries leadership. By becoming a full fledged State they would rectify this problem.

Tourism is another great advantage to having Puerto Rico become an official U.S. State. It is a tropical island in the Caribbean with a rain forest. There are clear tropical waters and great beaches. So this would add a great amount of revenue to the countries treasury through taxation. Not to mention this would alter electoral maps and representation in Congress possibly changing the countries priorities. At current, Puerto Rico operates independently, but as a State it can gain advantages in the national government it has not had before.

Problems: Aside from the fact that 50% of Puerto Ricans vote no to State hood, this means more people to take care of. Currently as it stands, the federal government seems to enjoy spending our hard earned money on welfare. As such anyone in Puerto Rico who qualifies will be supported by the federal welfare system (though this may benefit the Puerto Rican welfare system). Puerto Ricans will also be taxed the same as regular Americans which means they would actually become poorer. They also have a lower minimum wage which would increase if entering the United States fully which puts businesses at risk of failure. All this is an impediment to Puerto Rico joining the United States as a full fledged State.

Conclusion: Economically, unless something changes with respect to the American tax code and welfare system, Puerto Rico should not become a State. But if the changes do occur and in such a way that is advantageous to the citizens of Puerto Rico, then the citizens of Puerto Rico would benefit greatly as full fledged member of the United States. So it is up to our national government to fix its spending problems, tax code and welfare before Puerto Rico should even look twice about officially becoming the 51st State.