# What's the deal with Puerto Rico? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 6, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-puerto-rico/122633 "2002-08-06T16:38:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-puerto-rico/122633/1 "2002-08-06T16:38:04Z")
A friend of mine recently flew into a mini-rant about how Puerto Rico doesn’t have to pay taxes, and yet they recieve free health care. He says that they get “all of the benefits of being a state with none of the problems.” To me this sounds like BS, since I can’t see a) why if this was true PR would ever **want** to be a state, and b) why the US would agree to and keep up a deal that apparently on its face has no upside for us. I would really like some ammo to destroy his arguments, and so I turn to the top supplier of factual firearms to intellectual infantrymen (and women) in the war on ignorance, the Straight Dope. ---
**Author:** ![DarrenS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DarrenS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarrenS)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-puerto-rico/122633/2 "2002-08-06T16:50:05Z")
[Here’s](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=126915) a somewhat related thread I opened, where people give some interesting info about Puerto Rico. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-puerto-rico/122633/3 "2002-08-06T17:14:17Z")
From [“Puerto Rico at a glance”](http://www.puertorico-herald.org/PuertoRicoataGlance.shtml) > [@](#): > > Puerto Ricans have been statutory US citizens since 1917 > They have no voting representation in Congress and can’t vote for the president > They receive lower levels of federal benefits but don’t pay federal income taxes > Their future US citizenship and nationality is not guaranteed > Puerto Ricans have served in the U.S. armed forces since1917 > Over 200,000 have fought in all U.S. wars since WWI > More than 2,000 have made the supreme sacrifice > Four were awarded the congressional medal of honor Add to that the fact that most Puerto Ricans are so poor that they wouldn’t pay federal income tax anyway, and that Puerto Rico assesses its own (high) income tax, and I think it’s obvious that Puerto Rico is far from “cushy.” Oh, and they [don’t get free health care](http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/vol4n20/CBRx-en.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-puerto-rico/122633/4 "2002-08-06T18:26:39Z")
Thank you for your information. I didn’t really think that they got free health care, I was simply repeating what my ill-informed friend had said. So you think that becoming a state would be a good move for them? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2002, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-puerto-rico/122633/5 "2002-08-06T21:33:09Z")
BTW: Regarding the “free Health Care” comment – that was probably the result of a serious misreading of the very generous medical services coverage that is provided by the Commonwealth for those of us who don’t have employer-provided health insurance – the second link in **Nametag** ’s post – which is paid for to the tune of $1 Billion plus out of **PUERTO RICO** taxpayers’ dollars. [mini rant] Indeed, contrary to popular mythology, Puerto Rico does NOT get “all the benefits”. It gets many (mostly direct-to-the-person bennies such as Medicare, Food Stamps, VA, College Loans; and a tax break for US corporations with plants in PR that _is due to run out by 2005_) but hey, we ARE BORN AMERICAN CITIZENS and if the US government (elected by the residents of the 50-states-plus-DC) decides to grant a benefit to its individual or corporate citizens, should we say “oh, no, thank you Uncle Sam, we’d rather be miserable”? [/mini rant] As to the benefits of statehood, that’s really GD/IMHO material. ---
**Author:** ![tcburnett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@tcburnett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcburnett)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2002, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-puerto-rico/122633/6 "2002-08-07T00:53:55Z")
\>\>I would really like some ammo to destroy his arguments Ok. Worrying about Puerto Rico at the moment is really not a top priority right now with Canada and Australia clamoring for statehood. We will probably have to accept Canada eventually if for no other reason than to straighten them out, but I hope we don’t let Australia in unless we get New Zealand as a nuclear weapons storage depot as part of the deal.