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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction
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To: Solon who wrote (40492)9/18/2005 6:09:17 PM
From: Constant Reader  Read Replies (3) of 90947
 
I think that, like most Puerto Ricans, most residents of the states would prefer to ignore the problem. (Full Disclosure: A couple of my best friends (more than 20 years) were born in Puerto Rico.)

I personally have no objection to statehood for Puerto Rico, but most Puerto Ricans do (as the vote totals show in previous plebiscites on the question). Only a tiny minority want independence (and most of them are stateside, teaching in colleges ;-)

If the subject ever develops into a genuine possibility, the biggest problem supporters stateside will have is selling the idea of a state populated almost entirely by Spanish-speakers (although a significant portion of the population is quite capable of conversing in English). The language issue is also one of the primary issues driving any discussion of statehood within Puerto Rico itself. There is great concern (perhaps not entirely unfounded) that they might be forced to adopt English as the primary language, or that, after joining the union as a state, an amendment to the Constitution stating that English is the language of the United States would gain support and be enacted. (Having witnessed the great Canadian success of integrating Quebec into Canada, and the subsequent effort to integrate Canada into Quebec, many U.S. citizens are a bit wary of what might result ;-)

As you undoubtedly know, Puerto Rico derives huge sums of money to support its government and social welfare programs as a result of its association with the U.S. Were it to become a state, many of these programs would experience significant reductions, others would be judged in direct competition with the demands of 50 other states (and undoubtedly suffer as a result as well). My sense is that the majority of Puerto Ricans may be poor but they aren't fools, and the downside risks of statehood dwarf any possible benefits.
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