Back on On June 11, the residents of Puerto Rico voted to become a state, although the turnout was very low. This is a bad idea. It would mean we would have to add an additional star to our flag. How do you configure 51 stars?
Here are two real reasons Puerto Rico should not become a state. First, its economy is a mess with $70 billion of public debt. The United States would end up bailing out the country. It would be another wealth redistribution program that would never end. We are already paying $22 billion each year. That should stop now.
Here’s the second reason, and it’s a big one:
“With over 4 million people, Puerto Rico can have an impressive 9 electoral votes in elections and would have 7 house representatives and 2 senators representing them on current issues, causing a large shift in political control.”These would all be Democrats. How do I know? “Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez, the first Latino elected chairman of the DNC, also is endorsing the push” for statehood for Puerto Rico. “I hope Congress and the administration will listen to those voices and enable Puerto Rico to become the 51st state. Its people — already American citizens — deserve full and equal representation in the Congress and equal treatment by federal agencies,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. (Fox News)Not all Puerto Ricans are keen on statehood:
Some government officials, though, are skeptical of the movement and its supposed benefits. Former Gov. Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá wrote a column for The Hill discrediting the referendum for its historically low voter turnout and saying statehood is not the answer.