I am guessing that they already get plenty of the 'low income' perks that the mainlanders enjoy so maybe that won't cost us more. However, OP is correct. That's a guaranteed two more left-wing Democrat senators.

This is a chance for the Republicans to capture the Latino vote. Champion statehood for Puerto Rico and make gains into he Latino electorate.

How nice another state full of give me free cheese parasites.

dont forget more electoral votes for the dems.

My P.R. graduate students, during my teaching days, told me that P.R. residents are not subject to the federal income tax system.
Give them statehood, and they would be.
In addition, 30% of its residents work for the Puerto Rican central government.
Finally, they did have revolutionaries in P.R., who in the early 1950s, shot up the floor of the House of Representatives in D.C., and tried to assassinate President Truman. They called themselves separatists.
Bill Clinton pardoned some of them, for the sake of HIllary's run for the senate from NY.
P.R. statehood would probably bring back the revolutionaries. Che style.

Permanent Democrat majority is what they want, but at the cost of forcing PR to pay taxes. It will no longer be the land of freebies and giveaways.

Having grown up in Trenton NJ, I have been around lots of Peurto Ricans.
If I were to comment on their proclivity towards sloth, envy, gov't dependency and defrauding same in proper terms, I'd be banned.
#2, you still misunderstand the shift in our Country. The PR's I grew up around DO NOT WANT FREEDOM, they like cocktails, late waking hours and to sexually assault young girls.

Ever spent any time in Puerto Rico?
Its one big trash bin. Literally!

I think I'll wait to buy my new flag. They'll be adding the hammer and sickle to it in a few years anyway, might as well hold out until then.

Another banana for the new banana republic of america.

Well I've been awaiting announcment of the new national flag for the USSA. Having another state will be just the ticket to issue one.

No doubt with that extra star the blue field will be determined to be just too full, so they will probably replace it with a nice pic of Dear Reader. Hooray.

A whole new passle of Obama voters right there!....Don't think for a minute that this won't happen.

Just what we need another state full of government teat suckers.

I was there a few years ago #9 and you are right. People who haven't visited PR have no idea what an open trash dump it is. The resorts keep their properties clean but the public areas are horrible. The public beaches were paved with cans and trash. You almost couldn't see the sand for the trash.

Ignore PR's travel ads and don't go there or you will be sorry.

Wha' hoppen to the Puerto Rican Independence Movement? Damn.

Most of PR doesn't want independence #16. Maybe a few wealthy natives and a handful of the usual activists. The majority are teat-sucking drones who know whether the gravy is coming from.

Sorry guys...51 stars don't really want to work on a flag so you'll have to wait until we get another one...then we'll see.

Texas can secede and they can have our star.

Just what the USA needs, a new State where 118% of the people are on some sort of welfare, where most do not speak English, that is sure to generate two additional liberal Democrat US Senators and several more liberal Democrat representatives.

What's in it for the rest of us to allow PR to be a state?

Sorry, but I see no advantage to the present 50 states to allow PR to join our union.

In fact, I say, no statehood and a complete withdrawal of American funds from the island.

What the hell are they going to do? Attack us militarily? They have nothing we need.....zip.

This is amazing. I lived in PR for a year -- and advocated that they should either be a state or independent because the commonwealth status helped no one and created both dependency and resentment.

There is a very long path to statehood, and I don't see it happening.

That said, the governor is a Republican and is doing a very hard job of reform. He has downsized the government payroll and done quite a bit to reform the "system". He spoke at the R national convention -- worth looking him up (Luis Fortuno).

That should cause some whining. Any numbers on how many have been living and working in the states for years and getting the taxes taken out of their checks and returned at the end of the year ?

One complained that when he and the babies momma moved here, they didn't receive a free apartment anymore, but she still had Medicaid for her and kids.