Should Puerto Rico remain a US territory or become the 51st state?

State

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by Robert C. Sage

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Although the question of the future governmental status of Puerto Rico must be decided by vote of its citizens, the USA should facilitate and encourage Puerto Rico to formally join the union as a state. It has been a U.S. territory since 1898, when we were victorious in the Spanish-American War. There are millions of Puerto Ricans who are now residents in continental America, but at the federal level, Puerto Ricans have no direct representation. That is not reasonable.

America would become stronger as a nation and benefit from the voice of Puerto Ricans in Congress, upon admission to statehood, at this time of tremendous increases in the Hispanic and Spanish-speaking population in every state. Obviously, Puerto Rico would have Spanish as an official language, presumably along with English, however if it became a state, there would be good justification for adding Spanish as an official language for the federal government and teaching Spanish in all of America's elementary schools. That would have long term economic and sociological benefits for our nation.

There are some integration issues that need careful consideration. Puerto Rico continues to have a lower standard of living than the rest of the U.S.A. and the gap needs to be bridged. There are incentives for companies to locate operations in Puerto Rico and such programs need to be maintained for a number of years (at least 10 or 20). Similarly, consideration should be given to a phase in on Puerto Ricans being subject to income taxes. Obviously, Puerto Ricans are likely to oppose statehood if that disadvantages them substantially versus the status quo. Becoming a state should be made to confer clear benefits on Puerto Ricans.

At the same time as encouraging Puerto Rico to become the 51 state, Puerto Ricans should be permitted to freely choose among becoming a state or becoming an independent nation. Although it is America's largest territory, there should be limits to how long it is possible for a jurisdiction to remain a territory. Even the name of our nation holds justification for Puerto Rico becoming a state... the United States of America. It is onl upon becoming a state that an area truly and permanently becomes part of the U.S.A. Traditionally, territory status is the temporary situation before becoming a state.

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