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[Karlito]

Considering that they're effectively part of the States anyway, sans the right to vote and stuff...

It's a bit silly how it is now since, being citizens, all they have to do is move to Florida and register to be able to vote for President.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Considering that they're effectively part of the States anyway, sans the right to vote and stuff...

It's a bit silly how it is now since, being citizens, all they have to do is move to Florida and register to be able to vote for President.

Or anywhere else.

And by anywhere else, I mean anywhere else on Earth or even not on Earth. Only people living in active territories cannot vote.

[Darvi]

Even sillier is that, vice-versa, US citizens can't vote if they're inside PR but they can if they're somewhere else on the globe that isn't a territory.

[GlyphGryph]

That's... an exact repeat of what MSH said.

[FearfulJesuit]

Interesting to see what'd happen to PR economically; it'd be the poorest state in the union, but I'm not sure by how much: I've seen anywhere from $19,000-$27,000 for per capita income rates. (If the higher, as according to the Wiki article Economy of Puerto Rico, that puts the per capita income within a couple hundred bucks of Mississippi).

Perhaps even more importantly, it would be the first state in the Union where a majority of the population- and a big majority, too- speaks Spanish natively, the language of government and the courts is Spanish, etc. I dunno how long it would stay like that. Canada has Québec, and it works, but really only because Québec is so populous- it has what, 20% of Canada's population? (And, of course, it keeps trying to leave). Puerto Rico represents about 1% of the national population; several Western states have higher Hispanophone populations.

It might be a watershed moment for Hispanics of all stripes, though, not just Puerto Ricans; even New Mexico is 46% Hispanic, but less than 30% of its people speak Spanish at home, and like the rest of the States, the de facto language of the public sphere- especially when it's interacting with the rest of the nation- is English. But symbolically, I think it would change things, because Hispanics wouldn't just be a populous minority in an Anglo country. They would, at least in Puerto Rico, be on equal footing.

It might not last. As I noted, Puerto Rican statehood is likely to mean that PR might become a retirement haven, especially if it uses tax breaks to attract wealthy retirees. (But maybe not; you wouldn't really want to move there if you don't know Spanish).

Also, are we gonna get a Puerto Rico state quarter? It has a territory quarter, I know.

[Darvi]

That's... an exact repeat of what MSH said.

Because niiiiinjaaaaaas.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

It is worth noting that the United States does not have a legally official language. Some states do, and indeed Puerto Rico's territorial government has made both English and Spanish official languages of the territory.

I personally think the federal government would do well to continue not declaring an official language.

[RedKing]

Or the Republicans will insist that Puerto Rico change its name to an English equivalent before admission, giving us the Grand State of....Port Rick? 

[Karlito]

"Rich Port"

Anyway, that's silly. We already have a bunch of states with Spanish names.

[Owlbread]

I think they're making a big mistake. I know they're poor and all, but I'd never choose to join an "unbreakable union of unbreakable states".

They aren't doing it because they're poor (and they are only poor relative to the rest of the US, which is rich). Hell, they'll have to pay federal taxes now.

The Union isn't unbreakable, there's just never been any meaningful secessionist movement besides the Confederates and the resultant Civil War. Hence, there is no protocol for peacefully leaving the Union at the moment, and likely will not be unless the very unlikely happens and a state votes to leave. The states definitely aren't unbreakable, as stated before Texas has being able to break up in their Constitution, and West Virgina broke off of Virgina.

I was referring in a way to words spoken during the Texas v White case:

"Chase, [Chief Justice], ruled in favor of Texas on the ground that the Confederate state government in Texas had no legal existence on the basis that the secession of Texas from the United States was illegal. The critical finding underpinning the ruling that Texas could not secede from the United States was that, following its admission to the United States in 1845, Texas had become part of "an indestructible Union, composed of indestructible states." In practical terms, this meant that Texas has never seceded from the United States."

[RedKing]

"Rich Port"

Anyway, that's silly. We already have a bunch of states with Spanish names.

Yo no speako Espanol mucho.

Yeah, yeah....they've all been around long enough that they's done been Americanized! (Really, all but a handful of the early colonies are either Spanish or Native American in origin...)

[MetalSlimeHunt]

I was referring in a way to words spoken during the Texas v White case.

I wouldn't rely to heavily on a court case decided almost 150 years ago on an issue that has never really come up aside from the civil war.

The fact is Owlbread that the modern United States simply does not have secessionists beyond fringe movements numbering in the singular thousands at the most. You would probably not see a Texas v. White ruling in the modern day, but there is no way to know since it isn't an active issue. Plus, Texas v. White was principally about getting paid for war bonds sold by the Confederacy, not actually seceding.

[RedKing]

Well, the position of the Union government was pretty much always that the rebel states had never actually left, because to do so would have amounted to tacit recognition of the CSA's sovereignty, and turned the war from one of "putting down an insurrection" to "forcible reunification". Whereas the position of the CSA had always been that they were a seperate and sovereign entity from the United States of America. Even went to the point of the US threatening embargoes or worse against any European powers that formally recognized the CSA. None ever did.

[Lightningfalcon]

I say that we sell follow my World Geography teacher's suggestion and sell California to the Chinese.  We keep the same flag, solve our debt problems, and get rid of California, all at the same time. 
And if for some reason you like California, we can always invade Quebec, or turn another territory into a state.  Like the Virgin Islands or something.  (If that is a territory)

[kaijyuu]

There are some crazy fundies in California but otherwise it ain't so bad. After all, San Francisco is there.