4 ms·

> Becoming a state would put enough regulation and oversight in place to make those problems go away, or at least put their corruption on the same level as a no

> Becoming a state would put enough regulation and oversight in place to make those problems go away, or at least put their corruption on the same level as a normal US state. Becoming a state wouldn't fix the combined impact of NAFTA + the Jones Act, which alone is enough to wipe out the economy[0]. Corruption may be a cherry on top, but eliminating that doesn't solve the problem that there is simply no way they can export anything at a competitive rate, and that they also can't import things they need at reasonable prices either. And becoming a state is in Puerto Rico's best interests, but it doesn't fix this problem either. Hawaii is suffering as well from the Jones Act - the difference is that Hawaii's economy was slightly less dependent on NAFTA-affected trade, and over 20% of Hawaii's economy comes from the military and national defense. So Puerto Rico is hit harder, but not for reasons that would be solved by statehood. [0] NAFTA itself would not have been as much of a problem for Puerto Rico if it weren't for the Jones Act, so it's specifically the combination of both that's relevant.

dbjacobs 9y ago
Hawaii definitely needs an exemption from the Jones act. It is crazy that goods from Asia to Hawaii go through California because if the non US flagged ship stops in Hawaii, it can't continue to California. As stated, statehood would not solve this part of the problem for Puerto Rico (i.e., they would need a Jones Act exemption as well).
- uiri 9y ago
  Wouldn't going from Hawai'i -> Canada/Mexico -> US solve this? Similarly for Puerto Rico, wouldn't Florida -> The Bahamas -> Puerto Rico solve some of the issues? The only issue with adding foreign stops is the additional import/export regulations. NAFTA solves some of that for an intermediary stop in Canada/Mexico, but doesn't do much to help Puerto Rico's situation.
- flukus 9y ago
  I never knew there was a rule against that. Wouldn't it potentially drop the cost and environmental impact of trans pacific cargo if hawaii was used as a refueling station?
sqeaky 9y ago
> there is simply no way they can export anything at a competitive rate Statehood itself might not directly solve this, but it would get them representation. Two senators and a handful of congressmen can solve a great deal of problems. I agree the export situation is not ideal. I disagree that this is the a game-ending proposition for the Puerto Rican economy. Without corruption, or at least some corruption mitigation the state of Puerto Rico could at least move in one direction... One direction, speaking of famous people Did you Ricky Martin, Benicio Del Toro and Joaquin Phoenix are all Puerto Rican. Did you know that there are software companies there, mostly boring B2B and financial stuff because of the friendly tax situation there. It seems a real place with real people can produce Stars and Software even when there is corruption. Imagine if they could use some federal funds to clean up the broken glass and old plastic from their beaches while they clean out their oligopoly. An actual tourism industry with actual competition. Exports can be important or can be minor. Clearly it is not the only thing in $103 billion per year economy of Puerto Rico. Consider that Nebraska (I keep using NE because the other half of my family is there) is only generating $80 billion per year and is landlocked so the Nebraskan export situation is even worse and few are attesting to the dire state here.

dbjacobs 9y ago

Hawaii definitely needs an exemption from the Jones act. It is crazy that goods from Asia to Hawaii go through California because if the non US flagged ship stops in Hawaii, it can't continue to California. As stated, statehood would not solve this part of the problem for Puerto Rico (i.e., they would need a Jones Act exemption as well).

uiri 9y ago
Wouldn't going from Hawai'i -> Canada/Mexico -> US solve this? Similarly for Puerto Rico, wouldn't Florida -> The Bahamas -> Puerto Rico solve some of the issues? The only issue with adding foreign stops is the additional import/export regulations. NAFTA solves some of that for an intermediary stop in Canada/Mexico, but doesn't do much to help Puerto Rico's situation.
flukus 9y ago
I never knew there was a rule against that. Wouldn't it potentially drop the cost and environmental impact of trans pacific cargo if hawaii was used as a refueling station?

sqeaky 9y ago

> there is simply no way they can export anything at a competitive rate Statehood itself might not directly solve this, but it would get them representation. Two senators and a handful of congressmen can solve a great deal of problems. I agree the export situation is not ideal. I disagree that this is the a game-ending proposition for the Puerto Rican economy. Without corruption, or at least some corruption mitigation the state of Puerto Rico could at least move in one direction... One direction, speaking of famous people Did you Ricky Martin, Benicio Del Toro and Joaquin Phoenix are all Puerto Rican. Did you know that there are software companies there, mostly boring B2B and financial stuff because of the friendly tax situation there. It seems a real place with real people can produce Stars and Software even when there is corruption. Imagine if they could use some federal funds to clean up the broken glass and old plastic from their beaches while they clean out their oligopoly. An actual tourism industry with actual competition. Exports can be important or can be minor. Clearly it is not the only thing in $103 billion per year economy of Puerto Rico. Consider that Nebraska (I keep using NE because the other half of my family is there) is only generating $80 billion per year and is landlocked so the Nebraskan export situation is even worse and few are attesting to the dire state here.