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I’ll try to explain briefly. If you look at my profile page, there’s a quote from Justice John Harlan, the “Great Dissenter”, from the early 20th century “Insular Cases”. In short, Puerto Rico was deemed by the various Supreme Court decisions as a “non-incorporated territory” of the U.S., a status that didn’t exist untl then, and according to Justice Harlan, something outside of the U.S. Constitution.

Now, throughout the first half of last century, Puerto Rico, wholly under the control of Congress, was granted piecemeal additional rights like U.S. citizenship and certain autonomy, similar to that of the several states. But, since Puerto Rico is not a state, it cannot send a delegation to Congress and its residents cannot vote in presidential elections. That leaves us politically insignificant. It is a de facto colonial status. We live at the whim of Congress without the power to influence its decisions that affect us. We are at a disadvantage when compared to the other states.

How again does this affect our day-to-day lives and our economy? I’ll give you an example. We in Puerto Rico pay full social security taxes, like any other state, yet our social security benefits are capped by Congress. Same tax rate, but unequal return on those taxes. And that’s just an example.

It’s easy to think of Puerto Rico as a foreign land, but, remember, its residents are citizens of the U.S. We have the same conscription requirements as any state, our boys go to the same wars, yet we’re treated as second-class citizens. That is a political and a moral shame.

It will be said here and every thread on Puerto Rico, that we have constantly chosen to remain as is, but that changed in 2012. The current status (so-called Commonwealth), was rejected by a majority of voters in a referendum, and U.S. statehood was chosen as the next step. That, of course, is up to Congress and the several states to accept, but in essence, the current status does not have the consent of the governed.

As to your specific question, Puerto Rico is about the size of Connecticut and its population is 3.5 million. And that is a big part of the problem. Puerto Rico would have more representation and power in Congress than several states, and those states won’t easily give up their share of the power. Same thing that happened to every other territory in the past when they tried to join the Union.

There’s much more to this, of course. E.G., there are many entrenched economic powers vested in the status quo. And then there’s the myth that Puerto Rico would be a solidly Democrat state. All that is holding us back.

Hope this helps. I’ll be happy to answer any other questions.