51st State

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed an innocuous resolution which appeared to be a non-binding invitation for Puerto Ricans to vote on their status. As you know Puerto Ricans have voted four times to remain a U.S. protectorate. Why would this vote be any different?

1) naturalized U.S. citizens of Puerto Rican extraction (some 2.5 million) living in the U.S. will be allowed to vote. It is expected that this group will swing the vote.

2) The governor of Puerto Rico promises to use the "Tennessee Plan", i.e., following the "non-binding" vote, and assuming it is for statehood, he will appoint two U.S. Senators (reliably democrat) and six U. S. Congressmen (also reliably democrat), send them to Washington, demand they be seated, and in so doing insure the 51st star on Old Glory without an act of Congress.

http://www.examiner.com/x-34929-Manhattan-Conservative-Examiner~y2010m4d30-HR-2499-passes-moving-Puerto-Rico-one-step-closer-to-statehood

This is not the hope or change I can believe in.

What's next? Naturalize and immunize 20 million illegal aliens and voila! - a new majority for the next sixty years. This is the "fundamental transformation of America" we were promised (or threatened with depending on your point of view).

Can you imagine what this will do to the price of Obamacare?

And I guess the "fundamental transformation" to Sharia Law will be next on the Big O's agenda.

Stephanie wrote:Can you imagine what this will do to the price of Obamacare?

Its not hard to imagine considering, to wit:

Puerto Rico's population – 2008 --3,954,037
Population Below Poverty Level: 44.8% or 1,771,408

ohio county wrote:Yesterday the House of Representatives passed an innocuous resolution which appeared to be a non-binding invitation for Puerto Ricans to vote on their status. As you know Puerto Ricans have voted four times to remain a U.S. protectorate. Why would this vote be any different?

1) naturalized U.S. citizens of Puerto Rican extraction (some 2.5 million) living in the U.S. will be allowed to vote. It is expected that this group will swing the vote.

2) The governor of Puerto Rico promises to use the "Tennessee Plan", i.e., following the "non-binding" vote, and assuming it is for statehood, he will appoint two U.S. Senators (reliably democrat) and six U. S. Congressmen (also reliably democrat), send them to Washington, demand they be seated, and in so doing insure the 51st star on Old Glory without an act of Congress.

http://www.examiner.com/x-34929-Manhattan-Conservative-Examiner~y2010m4d30-HR-2499-passes-moving-Puerto-Rico-one-step-closer-to-statehood

This is not the hope or change I can believe in.

What's next? Naturalize and immunize 20 million illegal aliens and voila! - a new majority for the next sixty years. This is the "fundamental transformation of America" we were promised (or threatened with depending on your point of view).

They won't vote for citizenship. They don't want to have to pay taxes.

The 2.5 million Americans of Puerto Rican extraction already in the U.S. but certified to vote will put them over the top. The democrats will claim that their impetus was to get the extra tax payments. With fully half of them below the poverty line they'll be entitled to a "negative" tax responsibility which means they'll get a check.

Ah yes, with a couple kids that Earned Income Credit check can be several thousand dollars every year.

I read this as the Demcrats getting desperate. They are going to get it handed to them in November and they are trying whatever they can. My guess is that they secretely thank God (or Vishnu or Darwin) for the Arizona immigration law, as it focuses attention away from their great number of failures.

Yesterday the House of Representatives passed an innocuous resolution which appeared to be a non-binding invitation for Puerto Ricans to vote on their status. As you know Puerto Ricans have voted four times to remain a U.S. protectorate. Why would this vote be any different?

1) naturalized U.S. citizens of Puerto Rican extraction (some 2.5 million) living in the U.S. will be allowed to vote. It is expected that this group will swing the vote.

2) The governor of Puerto Rico promises to use the "Tennessee Plan", i.e., following the "non-binding" vote, and assuming it is for statehood, he will appoint two U.S. Senators (reliably democrat) and six U. S. Congressmen (also reliably democrat), send them to Washington, demand they be seated, and in so doing insure the 51st star on Old Glory without an act of Congress.

Maybe, or maybe not.

U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Puerto Rico is classified by the U.S. government as an independent taxation authority by mutual agreement with the U.S. Congress by the federal law 48 U.S.C. § 734. Contrary to common misconception, residents of Puerto Rico do pay U.S. federal taxes: import/export taxes,[1] federal commodity taxes,[2] social security taxes, etc. The only exemption is federal income taxes since residents pay federal payroll taxes (Social Security[3] and Medicare[4]), as well as Commonwealth of Puerto Rico income taxes. All federal employees,[5] plus those who do business with the federal government,[6] in addition to Puerto Rico-based corporations that intend to send funds to the U.S.,[7] and some others[8] also pay federal income taxes. Because the cutoff point for income taxation is lower than that of the U.S. IRS code, and because the per-capita income in Puerto Rico is much lower than the average per-capita income on the mainland, more Puerto Rico residents pay income taxes to the local taxation authority than if the IRS code were applied to the island. As residents of Puerto Rico pay into Social Security, Puerto Rican residents are eligible for Social Security benefits upon retirement, but are excluded from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and the island actually receives less than 15% of the Medicaid funding it would normally receive if it were a U.S. state.[9] Yet, Medicare providers receive less-than-full state-like reimbursements for services rendered to beneficiaries in Puerto Rico, even though the latter paid fully into the system.[10][wikipedia]

Yep. They have a real sweet deal...