Business
Since Hurricane Maria’s devastating strike to Puerto Rico in 2017, there has been renewed interest in granting statehood for the island. In the second edition of our podcast, Real Washington, we explore the arguments in favor of Puerto Rican statehood with former governor Pedro Rosselló and George Laws, the Interim Director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration. Independent research has confirmed what most people suspected: that the U.S. federal government spent far more money and resources on Harvey and Irma, the hurricanes that hit the mainland, than on Maria. In addition to the issues of fairness and equity, there is also a compelling economic argument to make Puerto Rico the 51st state.