by Bob Walsh
A referendum on Puerto Rico statehood was held on Sunday. Trouble is, nobody except people living there really gives a shit.
Since we stole Puerto Rico from the Spanish about 120 years ago there have been 15 referendum on statehood. Some were so badly executed that nobody could figure out what the hell anybody wanted. Most were just NO THANKS.
Right now Puerto Rico is in deep financial trouble, so much that congress has essentially taken over their budget process. They are about $123 Billion in debt, which is more than the whole island is worth. (Maybe we could give it back to Spain?) As part of the austerity program civil service workers, about the only people there with any sort of financial security at all (other than hookers and sweat shop workers) lost their pensions.
97 percent of the votes favored statehood in the non-binding referendum but only 23 percent of eligible voters participated because opposition parties called for a boycott, claiming that the ballot language was rigged.
Not that the outcome will actually accomplish anything, but it is interesting to watch nevertheless.
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