http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2012 ... -wildcard/

It's so hard to find different subjects than the same old stuff that always gets rehashed here. I thought this would be a bit different.

Puerto Rico is putting forward a vote for statehood again. (probably doesn't mean all that much to those of you outside the US.) So far it looks like the people there will once again vote it down, but what if they actually say yes?

I really hope they do become a state, I think I would move there. Of course that is a personal preference and not based on anything politically motivated. I sort of wish the US Virgin Islands would become a state as well. I just don't like the idea of territories in this day and age. Alternatively if they were to vote for independence I think the US should let them go that route as well. How would that affect their citizenship though? As of right now Puerto Ricans are US citizens. If they were to become a sovereign nation, would the people lose that? Would there be an option to retain it? I am not sure how that works. I might have to google that.

The only arguments I've ever seen regarding this issue is that no one wants them to become states because they're too far away to protect. I never understood that line of reasoning, though. Puerto Rico is a part of our territory. We're already protecting them. It's sort of part and parcel to the whole "part of our territory" deal we've got going on.

What could it hurt to grant them statehood?

Tha reasoning is flawed in the sense that Hawaii is farther away than Puerto Rico is. I think it would only be a benefit to them. As a territory they seem to me to be in a limbo of sorts. As a state they have more of a say in the US government and if they were to declare independence they would have the most say.

I'm pretty sure the big thing is personal income taxes. Namely, they don't pay them. They get hit with Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes, but they get to live under the umbrella of the largest military in the world gratis. Their ability to self govern is technically limited by Congress, but practically they can run the island (apart from foreign policy) largely as they see fit.

I've actually been reading up on this on Wikipedia. To save you reading, here's the summary of what I've found, as best as I can determine:

Current Status

• P.R. has a level of autonomy similar to a state, lacking the full sovereignty of an independent nation (can't manage external relations with other nations, for example).
• Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens and are subject to U.S. federal law.
• Residents enjoy fundamental rights, and retain them while traveling to other areas under U.S. jurisdiction, just as residents of states do.
• Citizens born in P.R. are considered natural born citizens and can be elected President. However, time residing in P.R. does not count towards the 14-year residence requirement.
• Except for fundamental rights, territorial governmental powers originate from the federal government, not the people of the state.
• Residents do not qualify to vote in federal elections, but can participate in the primary process of the Democratic and Republican parties.
• Rights granted to states via the U.S. Constitution apply to P.R. only as explicitly ruled by the U.S. judicial branch:
  
  • Article Three applies to judges appointed to P.R. federal district court.
  • 11th Amendment: P.R. enjoys immunity from being sued in federal court.
  • 14th Amendment: Citizens are guaranteed due process and equal protection under the law.
• The federal government may regulate P.R. commerce with other states and nations.
• Federal agencies have presence in P.R., just as in other states.
• Residents pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security, Medicare), but are exempt from federal income taxes unless working for the federal government. For some reason, Puerto Ricans see far less of the money they put into Medicare and Medicaid come back to them compared to the amount they'd get if P.R. was a state.
• P.R. is protected by the U.S. military. Residents may enlistand are included in any compulsory draft.

Statehood
If the plebiscite indicates that Puerto Ricans desire statehood, P.R. will apply to the federal government for statehood. The application must be passed by both houses of Congress and the President before P.R. can become a state. Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have indicated that they would support Puerto Rican statehood. Changes that would occur with statehood include:

• The full U.S. Constitution applies to P.R. automatically, rather than only those parts explicitly granted by the U.S. judicial branch.
• State governmental powers originate from the people rather than the federal government.
• Residents can vote in federal elections.
• Residents pay federal income taxes, and will see much more of their money from Medicaid and Medicare return to them.
• Residency in P.R. counts towards the 14-year residence requirement to become President. (I don't know if that would apply retroactively.)

Independence
I have no idea how the federal government would react to P.R. asserting independence. If such a move succeeded, changes would include:

• Puerto Rico gains full autonomy from the United States, and the U.S. Constitution no longer applies to it.
• The new government determines the source of governmental power, though it would likely be from the people.
• The new government manages commercial regulation.
• Federal agencies pull out.
• P.R. is no longer protected by the U.S. military.

Additionally, the citizenship status of Puerto Ricans is up in the air: Do they lose U.S. citizenship or become dual citizens? Could they optionally retain U.S. citizenship and be considered living abroad? If U.S. citizenship is retained, then Puerto Ricans would have the same rights and responsibilities as any other U.S. citizen living on foreign soil.

If someone loses U.S. citizenship as a result of Puerto Rican independence, the following apply:

• They are no longer subject to U.S. federal law.
• Their fundamental rights as individuals living under U.S. jurisdiction and their rights granted by the U.S. Constitution are revoked, unless the new government also grants them.
• They no longer pay U.S. federal taxes, and cannot participate in the primary process or the U.S. military.

The biggest oppositions to independence seem to be:

• P.R. has few natural resources to support its own economy.
• Tourism from the U.S. would take a hit, as tourists would be required to have passports and visas.
• It would be unable to provide the same level of military defense it now enjoys.
• P.R. is subject to frequent hurricanes. As an independent nation, it would no longer get support from FEMA and other U.S. federal agencies in the event of a natural disaster.

I'm not sure this would necessarily be the case. There ae independent nations that exist under the military protection of a foreign power in exchange for giving up any say over their foreign affairs - Monaco, for example, which is under the protection of France. The difference to somewhere like Puerto Rico is that the government of Monaco is still the sovereign body, and could legally abrogate this arrangement as and when they chose without France having any legal ability to do anything about it (apart from withdraw military aid, of course).



Why? Tourists from the US only need passports and visas if the Puerto Rican government says they do. Ireland and the UK were made a common travel area decades ago without the need for passports or visas whilst still being independent countries. You don't need a visa to travel to Canada, nor to Mexico, and didn't need a passport until recently. You also don't need a visa as an American citizen to visit most of Europe, and I can travel through at least half of Europe without a passport and all Europe except Belarus and Russia without a visa. I'm fairly sure I can go to Thailand without a visa as well. This would all be up to the Puerto Rican government, and if they want to encourage tourists they can ust make it easy for them.

Puerto Rico's decision not to require passports won't stop the U.S. government requiring passports upon return from international travel. The US used to have a fairly lax policy with passports at the Canadian and Mexican borders, but they shut that down a few years ago. As I recall, it caused a major backlog of passport requests.

True. When coming back from Mexico after a family trip all I used to need was the travel version of my birth certificate. Now I need a full passport.

To go along with that Monaco thing. The US military is Iceland's primary defense.

My question is who would want to attack Puerto Rico anyway?

Some kind of tentacular horror from beyond the outer reaches of imagination and reality? Foreign invaders setting up a staging area where they can build runways for long range bombers and naval bases? Merpeople looking for a vacation resort?

Having to carry a passport isn't that bad. It's needing to get a visa in advance that's a pain in the neck.

Now that the referendum has somewhat come down in favor of statehood, how long will it be before the Democrats introduce a bill in the Senate to admit PR into the Union? It will go nowhere, of course; but since that's the entire point, it's pretty much a given that they'll do it eventually.

For a more interesting question; if the Democrats take the House in 2014, will they pass that bill through Congress and send it to Obama?

Grillick's comment to me in the simple pleasures thread got me to thinking. Do PR and the VI pay income taxes, and if so why, since they are not officially represented. If they don't then my question doesn't really matter.

Edited to Add:

It does appear that people in PR and the VI do not in fact have to pay federal income tax, they do however pay into social security and medicare.

I don't have a source right now but I believe I heard from the television that John Boehner stated the Republicans were open to discussing PR's potential statehood. Since this doesn't seem to be a partisan issue if I was him I would support them enthusiastically to try to rebuild support for the party. Let them join or let them go would probably be the traditional anti-colonialist conservative opinion anyway.