From: rodin@acs.bu.edu (luis del)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Subject: Statehood Puerto Rico
Date: 21 Nov 92 18:04:43 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Originator: rodin@acs.bu.edu

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The Original Message follows:

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Date: Fri, 20 Nov 92 23:09:44 -0500 
From: rodin@acs.bu.edu 
Message-Id: <9211210409.AA132969@acs.bu.edu> 
To: ritz@bnr.ca 
Subject: Re: Puerto Rican Statehood 
Dear Mr. Ritz,

		I realize that your article is as old and antiquated as its ideas. Nevertheless I believe that one must be tenacious in the pursuit of the triumph of reason and fact, over platitudes and predijuce. Therefore Mr. Ritz your article was so full of it, that I am pretty certain that your eyes are brown. Notwithstanding this supposition, I would greatly appreciated if you just let your mind be open, first, to cetain facts, and then to certain conclusions.

FACTS:

fact #1: Puerto Rico is not an independently governed commonwealth, the law of the federal government is supreme in Puerto Rico just like any other state of the Union. Independistas, the Status Quo, and the Estadistas will argue wether this good or bad but it still a fact.

Fact #2: Puerto Ricans standard of living in the last twelve has not grown what so ever:compared with the mainland that as we know has.

Fact #3: Unemployment is still the at the same exhorbitant level of 18% as twelve years ago. 

Fact #4:The welfare policies, having federal law being supreme, are the same as in the Mainland: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Housing projects are all policies wich are implemented in Puerto Rico, same as the states. Puerto Ricans do not share the same level of benefits and funding of these policies as in the states, but contrary to your argument we are pretty much the same, in that respect, as you. I hope you do not mind that.

Fact #5: Puerto Ricans while are second class citizens (as well as any other American who has residence in P.R.), they can travel to the mainland freely, set up residence and enjoy all the responsibilities and benefits of that particular state. Thus wether you like it or not, your 'welfare traps' are everywhere.

Fact #6: If the governmaent there is so pro-Business(which I think you areFact eluding to its federal tax free status), why then the government employs 26% of the labor force, and it still controls a lot of enterprises which in the states are in the private sector. I think, having your pro-business predijuces at worThuisk, that I have to explain how dour this is, how stagnating this is.

Fact #7: The best Puerto Rican' minds, the best prepared, and simply the people with the best valuesis;sick of nepotisim, low paying jobs, and lack of markets to sell there services are leaving Puerto Rico, to go to the U.S. In economic terms that is called the Brain drain phenomenon.


Fact #8: Operation Bootstrap was done in the 1950's yes the standard of living increased dramatically, but then at least in the 80's and 90's it has stagnated.
To verify this, please just check any government publication.

Conclusion:

Thus Mr. Ritz I hope you see that your perception that your pro-bussiness idelogy has a true home in Puerto Rico, is false. Thus by default idea that by becoming a state we would loose this nonexistant ideology is false. I also find your statement that although there strong grwoth we are still poor, demeanig, blind, and insulting: Seeing stagnation and bankruptcy first hand is hard enough, for to have a blind ideologue like yourself say that all is well with the status quo. Mr. Ritz in this letter you baha



ved and argued, believe it or not, you were as big a demagogue as Mr. Jackson. Long live the Statehood movement.