Why does the U.S. still have "unincorporated territories"?

[theHandpuppet]

Shouldn't places like Puerto Rico and Guam have the option to become states or claim independence from the U.S.? I don't understand why the system of claiming "territories" is still in place. Can someone explain this for me?

[dtexdem]

1. Puerto Ricans are split.

Pro-statehood vs. remain as is have been about even, with a smaller percentage supporting independence.

[KamaAina]

8. For whatever it's worth, the pro-statehood party is affiliated with the repukes

and the status quo party with the Dems.

[mdmc]

2. Perhaps it is good for the people in Guam and PR

Some Puerto Rican tried to explain why it was good to be a territory and not a state. His gist was that the people made out better..
I wonder if they have to register for the draft?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. We have to register for the selective services and were drafted when there

was a draft.

[mdmc]

24. thanks for the info

peace and low stress

[Hosnon]

10. I heard that they do not pay federal taxes.

Not sure if that's true, though. But if so, that would be one big plus.

[arcane1]

3. Not to mention places like Saipan! n/t

[TheWraith]

4. That status does have certain benefits for those areas...

...although there are drawbacks as well. A little under half of Puerto Ricans want US statehood, the rest mostly prefer the current arrangement, or did as of the 1998 referendum on the subject. For instance, currently Puerto Ricans are legally US citizens, goods made in PR are considered "Made in the USA," and their tourism benefits because you don't need a passport to travel there. Similar rules apply for Guam.

[WingDinger]

5. If they try to go it alone, they will be the new Cuba.

[theHandpuppet]

7. Why do you believe that?

Just curious.

[WingDinger]

22. We are hypervigilant right now to any nation that flouts our pax americana.

That is the major reason we had to remove Sadaam, including his head. Same with Noriega. We wanted to renege on leaving the canal zone. He was miffed. Gotta go.

Even more so now. Our hegemony is questioned by China, and to a lesser part, even south and central america. Capitalism, as we knew it is morally bankrupt. We paid off all the foreign banks, so they wouldnt blow the whistle on us. Having hacked all world bank books/World Bank. ANd any Arab spring strays will be dealt with. As countries get poor, they gravitate towards socialism. That is why they scream so loud that Communism is the devil, and we bomb and invade viet nam. Our dollar is dead, they just cant replace it, and the world economic model. Yet. We will go all medieval on anyone that opts out of our sphere. We could easily become the bully, if not careful. This crash, and replacement of us as the most powerful nation on earth hurt our national pride, thus all the fake speaking in tongue american exceptionalism blather.

[kenny blankenship]

15. Or the new Cayman Islands

[ceile]

9. I've wondered that too...n/t

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

11. they get alot of protections and freedoms that americans get... the only catch is they can't vote.

However, I don't think general elections really mean anything anymore. It's all decided beforehand or stolen afterwards... and in the end it's the group of beureaucratic goons running the country regardless of party affiliataion.

So in the end, I think the territories come out on top just by being territories. Plus there are some taxation perks as well.

[kenny blankenship]

12. Puerto Rico has declined statehood by referendum. The last occasion I'm aware of was 1998

They have preferred Commonwealth status several times over either independence or statehood. Under commonwealth status, Puerto Ricans receive federal benefits but do not pay federal income taxes. They also have no vote in federal elections, no Senators or Representatives. Obviously, independence would mean the end of all benefits from the mainland. So an enduring majority of Puerto Ricanos have liked the existing arrangement well enough to keep it, and apparently do not mind not having a vote in the government enough to get further in, or further out, of our hated imperialist clutches.

They can change their status anytime they organize another plebiscite and a majority vote for a change from territory to statehood or independence. However the US federal government cannot improvise new conditions and a new status for Puerto Rico, as it is bound by the territorial clauses of the Constitution.

[tabasco]

13. How come voters in the US proper can't vote to make PR

an un-territory? Or can they? :shrug:

[pitohui]

20. why would we vote to make them an "un" territory?

it makes no sense, the usa went to the trouble of going to war to steal PR from spain, i don't know why we'd vote to throw them away now

or do you mean, do you think we should be able to say, by fiat, they are now a state? i think we went about as far as we could go w. the whole teddy roosevelt charging in and taking over the place...in all fairness we have to give them their space if they want it

[white_wolf]

14. So I have a question on this topic.

If a citizen of Puerto Rico or Guam wanted to move to the U.S. and gain full citizenship would they have an easier time of it than people from foreign countries?

[KG]

16. they are citizens now.

[Critters2]

17. They are US citizens from birth. nt

[Babette]

18. The people of Guam are fairly happy with the status quo.

There is no state tax, but we pay federal taxes. All the money stays here on Guam to run GovGuam. We've had problems with the government not giving people their tax refunds for the last few years. The government needed the money to keep things running. Right now Governor Calvo is trying very hard to get that money back to the people who are owed.

People born here are US citizens. A resident of Guam cannot vote for President, but as soon as they establish residency in any of the states they can.

The US also has a deal with the Federated States of Micronesia to allow the people from the outer islands to come here and get all the rights of citizens right away. I was not on island when this deal came through, so I'm not sure why the US pushed it. The people here are unhappy with it because it means that outer islanders can get off the plane and immediately get section 8, food stamps and other forms of assistance, while locals having trouble have to jump through hoops.

There has been a small vocal community of people who want Guam to become independent. The vast majority of people here realize that if that happened, Guam would become like any other small island nation with no resources. Full statehood would mean that the island wouldn't get as much funding from the federal government.

[pitohui]

19. puerto rico does have the option

thus far, each time they have voted, they have opted not to become the 51st state

i don't know anything about guam, isn't it mostly a military base? i think if they went independent, they would have no economy, but i don't know if there are enough locals there to make a state? i never met anyone from guam who was from guam, just guys who served there so i know VERY little

on edit, ok now i have read babette's post from guam, thanks, that is very informative to know!

[KamaAina]

21. I once met Guam's nonvoting congressional rep

My old agency in Hawai'i had a satellite agency out there (since spun off), so when we were visiting DC for a national conference, we stopped by for her celebration of Guam Liberation Day. Spicy and tasty Guamanian food washed down with a bizarre assortment of cheap wine coolers!

Guam is indeed more than a military base. There's a tourism industry, too, with Japan being the No. 1 customer. In some ways it's kind of like Hawai'i, Jr., even down to the predilection for Spam; Guamanians far outpace Hawai'i people in per capita consumption of canned pigmeat and even have new flavors test-marketed to them!

[Douglas Carpenter]

23. I just so happened to have moved to the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands about a

month ago. The local indigenous people voted overwhelmingly in 1986 to change their status from being a U.S. Trust Territory to becoming a full U.S. commonwealth and thus conferring full U.S. citizenship on all the local indigenous population. There is no political movement of any significance to alter this status.

From the standpoint of the local population they gained full U.S. citizenship and numerous social and educational benefits and a great deal of economic aid which brought about a great deal of development. With a total population of less than 80,000 people of which 70,000 live on the main island of Saipan this was viewed as affordable by the U.S. government. From the standpoint of the U.S. government, although there are no major military bases on any of the islands the waters surrounding the islands is the bathing ground for U.S. Navy and a place where great deal of military hardware is stored on ships ready to storm off to whatever destination in the Pacific Rim where these resources are requested. U.S. military planners considered it in their interest to have this area under direct U.S. sovereignty.

People living here do not usually pay U.S. Federal income tax. But they do pay a lower rate of tax to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. They have a full time Senate and a full time House of Representatives and elect a representative to the U.S. House who cannot vote on the floor, but does vote in committee.

There really isn't much economic viability in the modern sense of the term here without the U.S. arrangement. For about ten years there was a thriving garment industry which employed primarily Chinese and Filipino garment workers at sub-minimum wage jobs and were able to stamp their products, "Made in the USA". However with the full implementation of GATT in 2004 most of this industry was closed down. Following the federalization of U.S. Labor Law enacted following the Democrats control of Congress in 2006, all the remaining garment factories closed by 2009 because the factories could not competitively pay the full U.S. minimum wage.

It is simply a case of mutual interest. The local people wanted the benefits of U.S. Citizenship and the U.S. government wanted a region from which its military power could be projected across the Pacific.

The atmosphere is like no where else on earth. The island really is like America and it is also and equally really like Asia and it is located in northern Micronesia. There is a large population from numerous countries especially from Asia. Ethnic Filipinos actually out number the two local indigenous groups, the Chammarros and the Carolinians. There is also a large population of Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. The local kids have embraced baseball with a passion seldom seen anymore on the American mainland and they frequently speak with "hipster" American accents.

With the time zone here fourteen hours ahead of the East Coast, 17 hours ahead of California and 20 hours ahead of Hawaii, the Saipan Tourist Associations slogan is, "Visit Saipan - Where America's day begins."

[EstimatedProphet]

25. Puerto Rico does have the option. They voted statehood down last time it came up.

[FLAprogressive]

26. Because the majority of people in those territories wish to remain as such.