On June 11, the residents of Puerto Rico voted to become a state, although the turnout was very low. This is a bad idea. It would mean we would have to add an additional star to our flag. How do you configure 51 stars?

Here are two real reasons Puerto Rico should not become a state. First, its economy is a mess with $70 billion of public debt. The United States would end up bailing out the country. It would be another wealth redistribution program that would never end. We are already paying $22 billion each year. That should stop now.

Here’s the second reason, and it’s a big one:

“With over 4 million people, Puerto Rico can have an impressive 9 electoral votes in elections and would have 7 house representatives and 2 senators representing them on current issues, causing a large shift in political control.”

These would all be Democrats. How do I know? “Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez, the first Latino elected chairman of the DNC, also is endorsing the push” for statehood for Puerto Rico. “I hope Congress and the administration will listen to those voices and enable Puerto Rico to become the 51st state. Its people — already American citizens — deserve full and equal representation in the Congress and equal treatment by federal agencies,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said. (Fox News)

Not all Puerto Ricans are keen on statehood:

Some government officials, though, are skeptical of the movement and its supposed benefits. Former Gov. Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá wrote a column for The Hill discrediting the referendum for its historically low voter turnout and saying statehood is not the answer.

“For economic, identity and cultural reasons, statehood is a bad proposition for both Puerto Rico and the United States, and Puerto Ricans know that,” Acevedo-Vilá wrote. “It is time to move on and look for a different mutually beneficial alternative to solve the colonial status of Puerto Rico.”

Look at the Puerto Rico caucus vote. The majority of Puerto Ricans voted for the two socialists:

Unlike Florida’s “Cuban Americans, the Puerto Rican population is not ‘reliably Republican.’ In fact, they are helping Florida Democrats pull ahead in the race to register voters for November [2016].” (Think Progress) It’s no wonder the Democrats want statehood for Puerto Rico.

The goal should be to cut Puerto Rico loose, elect Ron Paul as President, and require everyone to read Henry Hazlitt’s Time Will Run Back.