Puerto Rico the 51st State

The army and federal court system already operate in English for practical reasons, and by having an official language, the workings of the government would be more streamlined. Such a bill would mostly apply to government policy and federal documentation, and would make it clear that unless the government decides to provide it, no one is entitled to government services or documents in any language other than English; if there is a communication issue with laws or regulations in more than one language, English would take precedence. In a recent national survey, nearly two-thirds of Americans assumed that English was already the official language set by the United States Constitution, according to the Associated Press, 1987. (James Crawford 1) The lobbyists ‘U.S. English’ believe "It is a shared language that has allowed us to rise above our differences and come together as citizens of one nation... there was no resistance to the notion that learning English was the price of immigration." (James Crawford 1) In November of 1986, California voted on Proposition 63, a referendum to make English the official language of the state: three-quarters of the electorate were needed to pass, and it is not surprising that it did pass. Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Virginia had already passed

The biggest problem for Puerto Rico’s economy is the tax incentives for big corporations that establish operations in Puerto Rico. One of the advantages for a corporation to operate in Puerto Rico is that they can claim their profits and wages paid up to 60 percent for tax credits, in which does cost the United States and Puerto Rico billions of dollars each year in tax revenue (U.S. Census, 2003). These tax breaks they receive do not benefit the local economy; they go elsewhere. As a result of this and other factors, the United States’ total spending is $22 Billion dollars each year for federal funds to stimulate the Puerto Rican economy (Schaefer, 2010).

Although the founding fathers decided to leave the idea of establishing a national language out of the Constitution, there have been several movements to establish English as the national language since then. Even though none of these movements could garnish enough support to make this into a reality, they have been influential in that English is the official language in 31 states. In recent years, five additional states have considered legislation that would mandate English as well (Schwarz 2014). Since many individual states have sided on the issue, it poses the question of if the national government should follow the trend as well. A strong argument can be made that the United States should make English as the official language because it would promote unity and patriotism among Americans, be economically beneficial for the nation while rightfully placing the responsibility to learn English on the non-English speaking immigrants.

I relate each component with a historical event in Puerto Rican politics and also consider how through this historic mobilization Puerto Ricans have gained entitlement to more power, equality, representation, consciousness from other ethnic groups, and to some degree, social change. I focus on the Puerto Ricans’ migration to Connecticut, their development of ethnic awareness and power awareness, their realization of common interests, their competing ethnic projects, and the brokered representation they have endured as detailed in Jose Cruz’s book, Identity and Power: Puerto Rican Politics and the Challenge of Ethnicity. Finally, I examine an important point that Cruz only touched upon briefly, which is the idea of cultural citizenship in the Puerto Rican community. This added point helps us to fully understand the role identity politics played in Puerto Ricans’ lives.

Many politicians have different views on what Puerto Rico should do. Should the island become a State, stay a Commonwealth, or become independent. Either way, it would benefit the island.

Thus, if Puerto Rico does clearly agree upon the process of statehood, it is Congress’ obligation to deliberately consider and potentially aid Puerto Rico into statehood, even if it occupies a copious amount of time and effort.

One hundred years ago, in 1898, the United States was fighting the Spanish-American War. The victory over Spain made the United States a colonial power. The Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, as well as the formerly independent nation of Hawaii, became American possessions.

Since the last part of the 19th Century, the official language of Puerto Rico has stirred debate. Until the early 1900’s United States authorities insisted that the official language should be English, at least for the instruction in schools. Their reasoning was to produce English speaking students that were enriched in American culture, in the same way that was conducted by schools in the United States. However, objection to this policy brought a change in a sense that Spanish overcame English as the official language in schools. Later, in 1991, the governor of Puerto Rico, Rafael Hernandez Colon, endorsed a bill that made Spanish the official speaking language of the

However, the American citizens of Puerto Rico are still very far from attaining the same level of economic prosperity other American citizens enjoy in the other 50 states. Becoming a state would give Puerto Rico the opportunity of improving its economic situation."

Puerto Rico is smallest and Eastern of the Greater Antilles. The north of Venezuela has left approximately to 500 miles, 80 miles to the east of the Spanish, and to 1.200 miles to the Southeastern of the city of Miami, in the North American state of Florida. The U.S.A.

In the 1980s the United States experienced an economic boom that resulted in an economic recovery in Puerto Rico (Rivera-Batiz, Santiago, 65). The United States per capita of the average household income increased 18%, from $11,928 in 1979, to $14,052 in 1989 (Rivera-Batiz, Santiago, 65). The non-Hispanic white population of the United States experienced the greatest increase from $12,954 to $15,593 (Rivera-Batiz, Santiago, 65). The Puerto Rican population on the island increased from $3,353 to $4,099 (Rivera-Batiz, Santiago, 65).

When the United States invaded the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico (Guanica and Ponce), a majority of Puerto Ricans welcomed the Americans and enabled their invasion. They cooperated and aided the American expulsion of Spaniards. However, it is obvious by the consequences that the end result of U.S. invasion and rule was not what Puerto Ricans had welcomed in July of 1898. Puerto Ricans wished an end to autocratic rule and concentration of wealth, things they did not know would continue under American rule. The Americans were regarded as change and chance for progress, even though they retained the fear of not knowing U.S. intentions.

Puerto Rico’s economy has been in a recession for approximately 9 years and a major reason why was the

After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico the island was quickly thrust into a debilitated state. Although hurricane experts had prepared for the storm, they were simply not ready, the experts were forced to evacuate, slowing down an already difficult recovery process. This, and the power outage prevented officials from knowing the full extent of the damage for days. Everyday people in Puerto Rico have persevered and done their best to survive by helping each other, leading some people to believe that they are not in the state of emergency that has been broadcasted to the world. Puerto Rico is beginning to get support from the US government and FEMA, however, Governor Roselló believes the hindrance Puerto Rico has been experiencing didn’t

As well all know Puerto Rico is under a debt crisis of 70 billions of dollars , the fiscal position is unsustainable, the population is falling, and there is no growth. All those 4 issues are the responsible of how the situation is going in the island. More than 4 billion in annual tax revenues fund debt service and are not available for public service.The total public debt of Puerto Rico has nearly doubled over the past decade.The accumulation of debt accelerated when the island’s government began borrowing no to invest in infrestucture , but to cover budget shortfall. The biggest controversy during this crisis is that Puerto Rico can not declare in bankruptcy that’s why the United States will create a new federal law called PROMESA signed