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[mmmmm]

Hmm, lose pluto as a planet, gain puerto rico as a state.  My 4th grade education is going out the window

Yeah.  "Fifty, nifty United States" just rolled off the tongue.

So what's the next step?  What's the criteria that Congress uses?

Also, I was surprised that only 53% of voters supported this.  What's the downside for Puerto Rico?

Federal taxes!

No, Puerto Rican's are US citizens, earning income on U.S. territory and most residents are subject to U.S. federal income taxes.

They also pay into Social Security.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Puerto_Rico

They pay some federal taxes, but not all of them (looks like they pay payroll taxes but most don't pay federal income tax from my reading though that could be out of date). They also can avoid a lot of federal labor and other laws as well.

Okay - that's interesting.

I was basing this on what one person I know of there was.  He and his social circle all paid fed personal income taxes.   There seem to be quite a few variables as to what constitutes income from 'outside' vs 'inside' Puerto Rico.  In their case - they all worked for the same company so that probably put them under the former umbrella.

[Fafnir]

My guess is that if you work for a US corporation you'd pay Federal Income tax, but it seems pretty complicated.

As Nick says Puerto Rico has changed a lot (McDonald's etc..) so it sounds like the percentage paying federal income tax would go up right along with those changes.

[D Dub]

rincon tres palmas here I come!

[Brendan]

If I'm a conservative politician I insist on splitting California before letting in PR.

[guava_wrench]

Hmm, lose pluto as a planet, gain puerto rico as a state.  My 4th grade education is going out the window

Yeah.  "Fifty, nifty United States" just rolled off the tongue.

So what's the next step?  What's the criteria that Congress uses?

Also, I was surprised that only 53% of voters supported this.  What's the downside for Puerto Rico?

Federal taxes!

Ah, that's a biggie.  Of course, we know that 47% of those folks won't be paying income tax anyway. 

  I'm guessing the number will quite a bit higher than 47%.

Do they have a lot of seniors, military in combat zones, and billionaires with trusts?

Seriously though, I would expect the number of working poor to be higher in PR than in the 50 states due to my expectations of their economy and the fact that local cost of living isn't factored into our tax bracket.

[guava_wrench]

Hmm, lose pluto as a planet, gain puerto rico as a state.  My 4th grade education is going out the window

Yeah.  "Fifty, nifty United States" just rolled off the tongue.

So what's the next step?  What's the criteria that Congress uses?

Also, I was surprised that only 53% of voters supported this.  What's the downside for Puerto Rico?

Federal taxes!

Ah, that's a biggie.  Of course, we know that 47% of those folks won't be paying income tax anyway. 

You obviously haven't traveled the island. The number is a lot higher than 47%...I'm serious about that.

Nope, never been there.  My pale skin isn't partial to tropical climates.

But yeah, I guess I feel like we should bring Puerto Rico in as a state if they're going to benefit the country as a whole, and we should reject them if they're going to be a financial burden.

Can we dump Mississippi while we are at it? There are quite a few states down south that aren't pulling their weight.

[guava_wrench]

If I'm a conservative politician I insist on splitting California before letting in PR.

Split Texas too. Would be a great move for improving American education by squashing their financial power in mangling textbooks.

[coco]

Well, I am glad for Puerto Rico.  I hope The Island joins the union some day soon.

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico.  I live and work in the mainland.  I try to visit as often as I can.  It's a beautiful Island filled with fun politically educated people who enjoy a good time.

As for the electorate;  Puertoricans are about 50/50 Republican/Democrat.

Although residents of Puerto Rico can't vote for presidency,  they get drafted and fight for the American flag all the same as ordered by the commander in chief.  So yes,  I am glad the Islad has taken the first big step in hopes of joining the Union.

[Moranis]

If I'm a conservative politician I insist on splitting California before letting in PR.

It isn't allowed.  Besides that would just get 2 extra senate and electoral college votes for Democrats because there is no way to split California that makes geographic sense that would yield a Republican controlled state.

[Rondo2287]

If I'm a conservative politician I insist on splitting California before letting in PR.

It isn't allowed.  Besides that would just get 2 extra senate and electoral college votes for Democrats because there is no way to split California that makes geographic sense that would yield a Republican controlled state.

Can we just swap PR for CA then?

[Moranis]

If I'm a conservative politician I insist on splitting California before letting in PR.

It isn't allowed.  Besides that would just get 2 extra senate and electoral college votes for Democrats because there is no way to split California that makes geographic sense that would yield a Republican controlled state.

Can we just swap PR for CA then?

California had more people vote Republican then every state except Florida and Texas and that might actually change since much of California still isn't in (while most of Florida and Texas are). 

The answer is simply just not making the states winner take and all and doing it like Nebraska does i.e. by district with the popular vote winner getting the two extra electoral college votes

[Fafnir]

The answer is simply just not making the states winner take and all and doing it like Nebraska does i.e. by district with the popular vote winner getting the two extra electoral college votes

Once again, gerrymandering.

Under that system Romney would have almost certainly gotten more Electoral college votes from PA/OH than Obama despite Obama getting more votes.

[fairweatherfan]

The answer is simply just not making the states winner take and all and doing it like Nebraska does i.e. by district with the popular vote winner getting the two extra electoral college votes

Once again, gerrymandering.

Under that system Romney would have almost certainly gotten more Electoral college votes from PA/OH than Obama despite Obama getting more votes.

Yup - gerrymandering goes through the roof.  Remember the Nebraska House was so upset about Obama taking one of their EVs in 2008 that they redistricted to make it very difficult to repeat in 2012.

http://nebraska.statepaper.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2011/10/10/4e92d4929b7bb

[guava_wrench]

If I'm a conservative politician I insist on splitting California before letting in PR.

It isn't allowed.  Besides that would just get 2 extra senate and electoral college votes for Democrats because there is no way to split California that makes geographic sense that would yield a Republican controlled state.

Can we just swap PR for CA then?

Or Texas. Deporting Perry would be such a boon. Clowns like that made me able to take Arnold seriously as a politician.

Though it would be sad to lose the music scene in Austin.

As an original New Yorker, I would be glad to become a separate state. If the blue northeast separated, I'm pretty sure the northeast has the easier road ahead once disconnected from so many states that haven't pulled their weight for a long time.

This whole tangent is questionable. Just using the PR issue as a reason to mention our partisanship.

[Rondo2287]

If I'm a conservative politician I insist on splitting California before letting in PR.

It isn't allowed.  Besides that would just get 2 extra senate and electoral college votes for Democrats because there is no way to split California that makes geographic sense that would yield a Republican controlled state.

Can we just swap PR for CA then?

Or Texas. Deporting Perry would be such a boon. Clowns like that made me able to take Arnold seriously as a politician.

Though it would be sad to lose the music scene in Austin.

As an original New Yorker, I would be glad to become a separate state. If the blue northeast separated, I'm pretty sure the northeast has the easier road ahead once disconnected from so many states that haven't pulled their weight for a long time.

This whole tangent is questionable. Just using the PR issue as a reason to mention our partisanship.

New york is such a funny state politically.  Its a huge geographic state obviously and when you get out of NYC so much of it is republican. 

Being in Ithaca for 4 years it was funny because Ithaca itself was very liberal but if you went 5 minutes outside the city in any direction you were surrounded by nothing but republican political signage