Imperialism...

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscong...tehoodproc.htm

Even if a petition were submitted, i see neither House of Congress approving it.

Cultural variety is nice, but having a language gap can be a huge problem given the number of English speakers who speak nothing else or other Spanish speakers who may not speak any English. It would be a lot easier if English was our official language - the vast majority of our people speak it and it would be easier if everyone did speak it. By the way, if Spanish was more prominent than any other language in the US I'd say that should be the official language, I'm not just saying English should be official because I speak it.

I wondered about this. Like, considering that Puerto Rico is a bit of a tourist destination, would the U.S. get some extra benefit out of that if it were to become a state?? I don't relly know how the economics & politics of tourism work..

I wouldn't exactly call the still-biggest force and one of the biggest economies in the world a sinking ship.

I hope it happens!

It's not a sustainable force nor -by any stretch of the imagination- a sustainable economy, so yes, yes I would.

It's unfortunate because even 20 years ago, no one would have ever imagined the States to be in the position they are today.

Because Republicans and especially the Tea Party extremists have no political interest (as of now) in Puerto Rico becoming a state. If PR becomes a state, they'll be given seats in the House, 2 Senators and electoral college votes. PR will more than likely vote democratic. Essentially, the Republicans would see it as giving the Democrats a gain in the House, further advantage in the Senate and more electoral college votes to win the Presidency. Maybe when Democrats regain control in the House, they'll have a chance of being confirmed.