ipl-logo

Pros And Cons Of Puerto Rico

865 Words4 Pages

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 …show more content…

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 …show more content…

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

Show More
Related
771 Words | 4 Pages

In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s poem, “On the Island I Have Seen” she provides a glimpse of what life in Puerto Rico is like from a unique perspective. She was born in Puerto Rico, but growing up she moved back and forth between Puerto Rico and America. In an interview she shared: “But I think culture is very complex. You could say that I’m Puerto Rican by birth. I certainly enjoy and appreciate my heritage, and have used a lot of my culture for my art and incorporated it into my life” (Kevane and Herdia, 753).

Read More
826 Words | 4 Pages

Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer and the first governor of Puerto Rico. According to Minster, “Juan Ponce de Leon was born in Spain, in a small village. The name of the village was Santervás de Campos which is today called Providence of Valladolid” (2017). Young Ponce de Leon “joined the war to conquer Granada, the last Moorish state on the Oberian peninsula”

Read More
594 Words | 3 Pages

Many Cubans defied this policy and control strategy because they saw it as a violation of their independence, but they felt obligated for cooperation because they relied on American sugar markets. The Spanish-American War led to Puerto Rico becoming a U.S. territory. The strategy towards Puerto Rico was different from Cuba's in that it implemented initiatives aimed at "Americanizing" Puerto Rico, such as encouraging the study of American culture and teaching English in education systems. As a result of Puerto Rico's status as an unincorporated territory of the United States, residents were still considered citizens of the country but lacked the same political freedoms as those residing on the US mainland.

Read More
749 Words | 3 Pages

The answer is an emphatic no. It was a waste of money and resources, they were as cruel and inflexible as Spain in their opinion of how to treat the natives, and it went against all governmental beliefs the U.S. stood for. Annexing the Philippines was not a wise decision. Although the idea seemed great at the time, annexing the Philippines was a major waste

Read More
896 Words | 4 Pages

In a vote 61 percent of Puerto Rican citizens voted for statehood. Citizens of Puerto Rico have shown nationalism for the US by waving the United States flag and supporting the

Read More
1273 Words | 6 Pages

These words by poets Aurora and Rosario Morales, Puerto Rican Americans, reveal the struggle of the average Puerto Rican. For example, most islanders do not fully understand who they are or how to present themselves when someone asks, “What is your family’s ancestry like?” or, “Where does Puerto Rico get its unique culture?” These questions spark the idea of a questioning identity. This is because the island of Puerto Rico was formed with the help of many different cultures. Are the people of this island African?

Read More
74 Words | 1 Pages

The relationship of systemic racism to the unemployment, underemployment, and poverty facing Puerto Ricans is view as institutionalized discrimination. Some of the cases of institutionalized discrimination towards the Puerto Ricans can be clearly seen when they have been defined by color and also bias towards their languages. Thus restricting them from applying in many jobs making a big scale of differences between the high unemployment rate and also Puerto Ricans in the low-level

Read More
1044 Words | 5 Pages

How does that influence Puerto Rico's view of statehood? Who

Read More
1385 Words | 6 Pages

Puerto Rico, an unincorporated island of the United States, have their own set of cultural beliefs. The foundation of the Puerto Rican structure is family. The word “familismo” is a Puerto Rican word that means close family connections, and it emphasizes the concern for the well-being of the family (Maria de Lourdes B. Serpa, Ed. D, 2005). Although I was born in the United States, my family is from Puerto Rico (Kay, 2018).

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Informative Speech Outline By: Katherine M Perez-Arroyo 1. Speech Topic: The History of Puerto Rico and its ties to the United States 2. Attention-Getter: Hi, my name is Kat and I was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and I would like to ask you a question I was asked a few years ago when I was living in Topeka, Kansas “What kind of documentation do I need to travel to and from Puerto Rico?

Read More
1506 Words | 7 Pages

Chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, and petroleum products are among the main items constituting Puerto Rico imports. Import duty and taxes are due when importing goods into Puerto Rico whether by a private individual or a commercial entity. The valuation method is Free on Board which means that the import duty payable is calculated exclusively on the value of the imported goods. However, some duties are based part in value and part in quantity.

Read More
1962 Words | 8 Pages

As a territory, Puerto Ricans do not receive all of the benefits; but if they were to become a state, then they would receive all the trade benefits, thus increasing their revenue. Puerto Rico’s island is very prosperous and has many different fruits and vegetables for trade or purchase. If Puerto Rico were to enter into the trade alliances with the United States, this would help them so much. Granting statehood to this poverty-stricken country would offer so many opportunities to Puerto Rican

Read More
222 Words | 1 Pages

As a Puerto Rican citizen, I do not fit in to that part of our history very much. In the late 1800’s, Puerto Rico was not a U.S. territory; instead, it formed part of the Spanish empire. It wasn’t until the end of the Spanish-American war that Puerto Rico became a U.S. property. Even then (after being conquered by the U.S. in the year 1900), the common American belief was that Puerto Ricans weren’t inherently equal any more than they thought that blacks were racially equal to whites. Rather, because the American public wouldn’t consent to treating Puerto Ricans as equals or granting them citizenship, the U.S. had trouble keeping the island as an imperial possession.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

When I Was Puerto Rican When I Was Puerto Rican is a memoir written by Esmeralda Santiago. She writes of her childhood life in Puerto Rico and how she lived in primordial conditions. Santiago paints a vivid picture of her early life which creates unforgettable memories of her childhood. The author talks about her life from her rural home in Puerto Rico to Brooklyn, and to her graduation in Harvard University.

Read More
1390 Words | 6 Pages

Many Puerto Ricans have always dreamed of seeing their beautiful commonwealth become its own country. American laws today are imposed on the territory, but by leaving Puerto Rico to make its own choices, the citizens could design their government whichever way they would like. This choice has the support of many current Americans, from former inhabitants of Puerto Rico wishing for independence to politicians not wanting to support the island in times of need. On the contrary, Puerto Rico has been the colony of a nation for hundreds of years. They have not had independence since before Spain took over the island in the 1500s, and because of that, it could be disastrous to simply cut all ties with the nation.

Read More

More about Pros And Cons Of Puerto Rico

Related Topics

Open Document