Well, since it doesn't exist...

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

I've always wondered whether the territories have the same obligation as far as paying taxes goes to the federal goverment, or basically the goverment's ability to collect them.

That's where i thought you were going with that Scribbler.

I wasn't really going anywhere with it, other than suggesting it could become another US territory and solve all our "problems" in one shot.
And as far as taxes go, you can't pay them if you don't earn any money.

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Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

Right i confused it with Tax haven, my apologies.

And yeah by becomming a territory of ours it should sure would solve a lot.

Why would Cuba want to be a US territory?
They have a long history of independence, plus the recent discovery of large offshore oil deposits mean that Cuba will be re-integrated into the family of nations sooner rather than later.
Chinese and Indian oil companies are scooping up all the production agreements, leaving the American Oil companies to look longingly at huge deposits of oil, 50 miles from the US, that they are forbidden to touch.
Maybe, Baby Bush lifts the embargo after the election as last gift to his buddies in the oil biz................

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“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

I think the article is overly negative. 46% labor participation is not a low figure. And if you put it in context of the economic situation in the region it's not bad at all. You can't compare it to Colorado or blame the governement. The article is probably rightwing biased.

Blaming welfare and unemployment payments for poverty is like blaming umbrellas for the rain.

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“ The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state.”

Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations 1776

"We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics"
FDR's second Inaugural Address

When did I blame anything for ANYTHING? I was postulating that Cuba, being as poverty stricken as it now is, would likely end up like PR if we took it over. The biggest difference would be the US would foot the bill for their assistance, which we don't do now, thankfully.

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Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

I wasn't comparing it to anything. THAT particular article did the comparing. I linked it just for the numbers, to answer Wallaroo's question.

And 46% labor participation is 54% UNEMPLOYMENT! That might not be "overly negative" to you, but to almost anyone else, it stinks.

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Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

There are 145 million (138,1 official DoL january 2008) people with a job in the US. Thats 48% (46%) of the population. Other western countries have similar figures.

How then does that contrast with Puerto Rico, in terms of those ABLE to work and don't have jobs as opposed to those who do?
I took the term "labor participation" to mean out of the available labor force and not those who can't work at all.

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Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

I don't think the writer used that definition, although it is commonly the figure to use. He wrote "Only 46 percent of the population has a formal job". I assume he means the entire population else he would have been more specific.

I'm thinking he couldn't mean the entire population, including the old, sick, disabled,children and others who make up the population as a whole. And he also said "Unemployment, although officially reported between 12 and 14 percent, is more likely to be between 40 and 50 percent because of the island's low labor participation rate."

But either way this deserves further scrutiny. Perhaps tomorrow.

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Not a day goes by that I don't see something that reinforces my belief that people are idiots.

Not a very good analogy. Welfare and unemployment payments are an incentive to be poor and unemployed. Unless your umbrella is really awesome, chances are you don't want to use it at all, rain or not. Also, people can choose to be poor, but can't choose to have rain.

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Little known fact #46: Every definition of a given word in a dictionary is used equally as often.

Little known fact #53: Your testicles serve only one purpose: to reproduce. Every other function is a complete accident.

Little known fact #65: Because the human body does not prepare for death, humans never die.

Did you happen to miss the 60's-80's ??
Ever hear the term "welfare momma" or "welfare society"?

Welfare can absolutely create/maintain poverty if unchecked or w/o restrictions.