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The Cost of Commonwealth is Enormous
Using the conservative convergence rate of 3.7 percent
found in the study, it is possible to show that in 1994, the average Puerto
Rican had an income of almost $6,000 less than the one he would have received,
had the Puerto Rican economy converged to Mississippi, the poorest state
in the Union. Accumulating this loss from 1955 to 1994 implies that each
Puerto Rican could have been $110,000 wealthier by 1994 |
The independence option for Puerto Rico...poses enormous
potential risks...and possibly significant bail-out costs in the event of
political or economic crisis.
[As] a result of normal investor behavior and the aspirations
and needs of its citizens, the costs of independence would be staggering.
The nearly 4 million American citizens of Puerto Rico
need and deserve political empowerment in order to attain economic empowerment.
The Hispanic-Americans of Puerto Rico cannot realize their full economic
potential until a self-determination process is aaccomplished.
It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) the Senate supports and recognizes the right of United
States citizens residing in Puerto Rico to express democratically their
views regarding their future political status through a referendum or other
public forum, and to communicate those views to the President and Congress;
and
(2) the Federal Government should review any such communication.
"A Decision Is Going To Have
To Be Made Soon As To What The Permanent Political Status Of Puerto Rico
Will Be. The Sense of the Senate Resolution
proclaims that the ultimate decision as to the political future of Puerto
Rico will be made by this Congress." Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. Alfonse D'Amato picked up endorsements from three
Hispanic politicians yesterday as he slammed Rep. Charles Schumer for missing
key votes on issues important to the Latino community.
"[W]hen it comes to the people of Puerto Rico,
Chuck Schumer has not been here," the Republican lawmaker said. D'Amato
later unveiled a new Spanish-language radio ad...charging Schumer missed
key votes on Puerto Rico status as a commonwealth and bilingual education.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Gov. Pedro Rosselló demonstrated
his firm grip on power within the pro-statehood New Progressive Party again
last week by persuading the party's governing board to vote unanimously
in favor of holding the status plebiscite Dec. 13 as originally planned.
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"After 500 years of colonial rule...it is time
for us to determine whether the political status of our island will be finally
resolved or whether we will languish in the quagmire of colonialism that
keeps us divided as well as socially, politically and economically impoverished."
-Luiso Rosselló Nevares
The tax would be replaced by a smaller consumer sales
tax. For Puerto Rican consumers...a sales tax represents a jarring change.
And therein lie the issue's politics.
Mr. Rossello's New Progressive Party, which favors statehood
for the island of 3.8 million people, generally seeks to mold local laws
to the U.S. model, and thereby eliminate legal obstacles toward its political
goal. Robert Walzer, Journal of Commerce.
– HERALD WHITE PAPERS –
The record before Congress is now
clear that permanent union and irrevocable U.S. citizenship can not be obtained
through commonwealth, even if it is reformed as proposed in the 1993 commonwealth
definition. Since only statehood provides the constitutionally guaranteed
status and citizenship included in the commonwealth definition, the real
question arising from the 1993 referendum results is how those who voted
for commonwealth with permanent union and irrevocable U.S. citizenship intend
to achieve that result if not through statehood.
"We will be repeating the mistakes
of 1952 if we do not inform the people of Puerto Rico that individual U.S.
citizenship is protected under commonwealth for the individual to whom it
is already granted against arbitrary loss, regulation or restriction, but
that the conferral of U.S. citizenship in the future is discretionary and
could be withdrawn."
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