Statehood for Puerto Rico is a lie

Statehood for Puerto Rico is a lie. Not in the past, nor present or future has it been something realistically probable. There simple does not exist sufficient consensus on the island nor interest in Washington for Puerto Rico to be admitted as a state of the Union. Meanwhile, there is an entire political class - especially a powerful political party - that has based its entire existence on promoting the myth of statehood.

First, statehood is not a right, it is a concession. The same goes for funding and social welfare parity. Nor is U.S. citizenship a one-way ticket to statehood. Obtaining representation in the federal congress and the presidential vote is a state’s right, and not an individual citizens. Fault for not being able to access these “rights” does not belong to opponents of statehood on the island, but forms an integral part of the U.S. Constitution that statehood proponents so wish to adopt.

Second, the people of Puerto Rico have never requested statehood. Despite being in power six times, millions spent on lobbyists and four plebiscites, the statehood movement has not once been able to produce a clear, convincing, and controversy-free pro-statehood majority. Referendum results and opinion polls have shown that support for Puerto Rican statehood has not grown in decades. Even if able to surpass the 50 percent mark, it is doubtful that Washington would offer statehood to Puerto Rico without there existing sound consensus on the matter. The last state admitted, Hawaii, voted in favor of statehood by 93 percent.

Third, there exists very little interest in Washington to admit Puerto Rico as a state. Of the six congressional bills submitted to tend to the Puerto Rican status question, none have survived. Only two were able to make it out of the House (along strict partisan divisions) only to die in the Senate. Congressional hearings and sessions records demonstrate widespread ignorance, apathy and fear over Puerto Rican statehood.

Finally, even if Puerto Rico were to be admitted as a state, the results for the local population would be disastrous. According to research from the Government Accounting Office, the tax burden would be gigantic. Even after applying tax credits and deductions, Puerto Ricans would pay up to $2.3 billion in federal income tax. They would also have to pay more than 18 cents per gallon in gasoline tax (on top of the local 15 cent tax) and up to $2.3 billion in corporate income tax. Statehood would hit middle and working class taxpayers hard and new federal funds would do little to counteract the devastating impact on the local economy.
There are politicians that continue to play with the emotions of electors, promising something that will never arrive. “Statehood Now!” said the political banners of one particular state legislator, as if statehood was something ready for the taking only if Puerto Ricans were to ask for it. Nevertheless, perhaps the saddest sight are the politicians which utilize statehood as the remedy-for-all scapegoat in absence of real proposals and solutions to local ills.

Gallardo is a municipal legislator from Puerto Rico. He has an MPA from Valdosta State University and a JD from the University of Puerto Rico. You can connect with him at @LuisGallardoPR.







By Luis Gallardo

Statehood for Puerto Rico is a lie