Pros And Cons Of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is a beautiful and diverse island with a rich history, culture, and people. Currently, Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States of America but for many years there have been proposals for Puerto Rico to be granted statehood. Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States from Spain after the 1898 Spanish-American War and there have been notions for independence and statehood since the 1950s. As a territory of the US, Puerto Ricans are U. S citizens by birth but they do not have full rights like other states do. Puerto Ricans can vote in presidential elections but have no representation in Congress or the Senate and dont receive many financial benefits stateside citizens receive. By analyzing the pros and cons of Puerto Rican

Some advantages of Puerto Rico becoming a state would be the end of the legal inequalities currently taking place such as Puerto Ricans not receiving federal benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, and Social Security, even though Puerto Ricans pay federal taxes. If made a state Puerto Rico would also be in a better economic position as tourism, entrepreneurship, and investment in business would increase leading to more jobs for natives and money in circulation. A final advantage would be that Puerto Rico would have full legislative representation in the US making it able to vote on all legislation that would affect itself and America as a whole. A big disadvantage of becoming a state seen by Puerto Ricans is the loss of culture. Many fear that if made a US state Puerto Ricans would lose their national identity as more non-Hispanic English speakers would migrate to the island bringing with them the American culture. Another disadvantage to Puerto Ricans would be that they would have to pay federal income tax they do not currently pay. A final disadvantage would be that the United States would have to be responsible for Puerto Rico’s financial, political, and social

Puerto Rico’s economy is very poor and the government owes large amounts of debt which the US would have to absorb making the US national debt larger and the overall economy poorer. The US would also have to take control of and try to solve the social issues in Puerto Rico such as its high poverty and crime rates. Finally, the US would have to restructure Puerto Rico’s government and tackle its problem of corruption. Due to these responsibilities, it would not be beneficial for the US to make Puerto Rico a