Hey, give them their independence.

Or full statehood.
Isn't Samoa in the same position?

I think so

I think that until relatively recently, there was a pretty even 3-way split amongst Puerto Ricans to:
A) Stay a commonwealth / territory
B) Go independent
C) Become a US State

But recently (likely thanks to shit like the video is describing), "stay the same" support has been dropping dramatically.


From the US population in general, I think poll results (on the rare occasions the question gets asked) tend to remain a pretty even 3-way split.


I think the 3-way division of options wasn't doing them any favors for a long time; status quo remained because none of the 3 options could get a majority. So I guess here's hoping that their situation will improve now that they seem to have largely cast aside that 3rd choice.


(I should note that I am by no means an expert or even particularly clued in on this topic. I've been to PR twice, and loved it. My "info" comes largely from a High School report I did on the topic like ~20 years ago, and a continuing genuine interest that has motivated me to keep vaguely informed *read - I wikipedia it once every few years. But although I may be way off or out of date on my info in the post above, my hope that their situation improves to their satisfaction is sincere.)

LOL. Man, white people just love finding new reasons to feel sorry for themselves. It's getting to the point where it's bordering on self-indulgence.

I'm confused.... who are the white people you're talking about?

Are you saying that white americans shouldn't feel bad that their country is fucking over one of it's own territories?

Or are you classing the latino people of Puerto Rico as whingy white people who should STFU about being fucked over?

Either way, it doesn't make much sense.

@MilkmanDan, as it happens, there was a referendum a few weeks ago and "become a state" won by 97%. This followed on from a 2012 referendum.

I think both results were discarded because the voter turnout was crazy low.

From my standpoint, I would prefer we give them independence. We really do not need another state and they are pretty much going to declare bankruptcy as soon as they are granted statehood. The island serves no strategic or economic purpose and we have enough states/cities that are skirting the edge of falling into insolvency as it is. Illinois, for instance, is having massive money issues and is likely to default on close to a quarter of a TRILLION dollars in pensions.

We could build in a period where people there could still move here as citizens, say 10 years or so.

Fair point, I hadn't read about the voter turnout, I had just heard about the vote and was looking for a reference. I should really have read it first!

In terms of the US giving them independence, I kinda think that the US owes them the opportunity to be a state even if it's not in the best interests of the other 50.

If you were to give them independence, it would have to come with a huge payout.

I would agree to a payout or maybe even absolving the current debt. Making them a state simply seems more trouble than it is worth. That's just my opinion though.

@Mordhaus @ChaosEngine
I knew about the 2012 referendum, and the lack of overwhelming support for the direct yes/no question to change the current status or stay with the status quo (about 55% wanted to change, 45% wanted to stay back then). Didn't know about the most recent vote on it -- thanks for the heads up.


Personally I'd like to see PR become the 51st state, but I think my opinion is drastically less important than that of the people actually living there. Basically, I think they should make the choice and the US government should honor it whichever way they choose.

I'm not in the know enough to have a good opinion on whether or not they would need some sort of payout / debt severance / whatever, but I'd be OK with it if it was deemed a good thing to do. On the other hand, if they went independent they'd have the right to set corporate tax rates etc. to pay off debts and/or chase out US based businesses that are taking unfair advantage. Maybe that'd be enough of an olive branch without requiring an additional "severance package", I dunno.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

Sift of the week.