Tag Archive: Bankrupt Puerto Rico Voting on U.S. Statehood

Bankrupt Puerto Rico Voting on U.S. Statehood

by Chriss W. Street The 3.4 million U.S. citizens on the Caribbean island of Puerto Ricans will vote today, for the fifth time, on a non-binding referendum to become independent or to apply to be America’s 51st state, despite already declaring bankruptcy last month. Puerto Rico has a poverty rate of 45 percent, 12.4 percent unemployment, and 86 percent of residents do not speak English in the home, but the island receives $22 billion in federal subsidies. The top income tax rate is 4 percent and residents are exempt from paying $2 billion in federal income taxes. That explains why 61… View Article