Law in Contemporary Society

View   r3  >  r2  >  r1
AdrianHernandezSecondEssay 3 - 06 Jun 2022 - Main.AdrianHernandez
Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="SecondEssay"

You Get Out What You Put In, According to the Court

Changed:
<
<
-- By AdrianHernandez - 26 Apr 2022
>
>
-- By AdrianHernandez - 05 Jun 2022
 The difference in what it means to be a citizen in Puerto Rico, Texas, Wyoming, DC, Northern Marina Islands, and so on is arguably a subject that isn’t discussed enough. The recent decision by the Supreme Court in the US v Vaello-Madero case—where the court decided that Puerto Rican citizens are not eligible to receive funds from the Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program—however is a place to get the conversation started. Being a citizen of the United States doesn’t mean you are seen as equal in the eyes of the government.
Line: 33 to 33
 

What Should Be Done?

Changed:
<
<
Puerto Rico becoming a state appears to be the best way to resolve any discrepancies in treatment of its citizens. However, this is another can of worms that the people of Puerto Rico have had a lot of differing opinions on.
>
>
Ideally, citizens should be treated the same, regardless of if they are in a territory or in a state. Citizens in territories already don’t get an opportunity to vote and receive representation, so the least the government could do is provide them the same protection as if they were in the states. Puerto Rico becoming a state can also resolve any discrepancies in treatment of its citizens. However, this is another can of worms that the people of Puerto Rico have had a lot of differing opinions on.
 
Changed:
<
<
However, something that our legislature should do when implementing these programs is clearing up what citizens are meant to benefit from this program and what exactly are the distinctions, if any. For Puerto Rico, it’s hard to have a voice when they don’t have any representation in the legislature. Ideally with this case, it should spark the conversation on how citizens are being treated differently because of where they reside.
>
>
Even during life-threatening situations, the US government has treated its people in territories as second class citizens. The United States held back billions of dollars from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands after they were impacted by hurricanes in 2017. Even recently, during the pandemic, the US government has still maintained that the territories will continue to receive caps on the funding for their Medicaid financing.
 
Changed:
<
<
It can’t be overlooked that a lot of the territories of the United States are made up of a largely ethnically minority population. Programs that exclude citizens of these territories don’t seem to be discriminating on the superficial level, but they’re essentially kicking people who are a suspect class. In the Puerto Rico example, though there are Latine people in both the United States and Puerto Rico—only one of them is predominately Latine. A territory made up of a historically and currently powerless group that is under United States control.
>
>
The reason why the citizens of the Puerto Rican island don’t receive all the same benefits of those in the states, including SSI eligibility it appears is because of the Insular Cases. These cases create a racial classification like the Plessy and Korematsu cases. There has been a lot of criticism that the Supreme Court hasn’t overturned them. Even though the US government denies it is using the Insular Cases in the Vaello-Madero case, their existence leaves the door open for them to be used against Puerto Rico’s predominately-Latine population.

It can’t be overlooked that a lot of the territories of the United States are made up of a largely ethnically minority population. Programs that exclude citizens of these territories don’t seem to be discriminating on the superficial level, but they’re essentially kicking people who are a suspect class. In the Puerto Rico example, though there are Latine people in both the United States and Puerto Rico—only one of them is predominately Latine. A territory made up of a historically and currently powerless group that is under United States control.

 There shouldn’t be a distinction of what a citizen benefits from because of where they live—especially when it comes to our Federal programs. At the end of the day, the United States benefitted or is currently benefitting from having these territories, so it’s unfair to treat its citizens differently. If they don’t mean to treat them the same as citizens in the states, then why are they giving them citizenship to begin with?

Though it’s easier said than done, the best way to resolve this problem is to get rid of the antiquated distinctions of citizens based on where they live. It’s almost a caste system of the United States. Though one can (arguably) move easily, they shouldn’t be punished for it if they are living on the same land that has a United States flag planted on it.

Deleted:
<
<
I think the best route to improvement is to put the draft in touch with at least a bit of the no insubstantial literature on you subject. The complete absence of links,leaving the reader only your words and one Supreme Court opinion, makes it hard for you to do justice to the subject.
 
Deleted:
<
<
You might address along the way some of the legal questions involved. We assume that past legislation can apply without modification to future-admitted States because they are States. We assume that when Congress wants to provide benefits to the populations of particular places, it must designate them, which it does all the time. Does it matter what Congress intended when it passed, for example, the Social Security Act, with respect to Americans not resident in a State? Or is its intention irrelevant for some (here unstated) reason? Does the history of application of federal statutory law in Territories rather than States of the US matter? We are aware that some US constitutional rights do not apply to US citizens who are resident in foreign States. How does the principle you are propounding affect this question? May, for example, the US take the foreign real estate of US citizens without paying just compensation as determined by a US jury?
 



AdrianHernandezSecondEssay 2 - 24 May 2022 - Main.EbenMoglen
Line: 1 to 1
 
META TOPICPARENT name="SecondEssay"
Deleted:
<
<
It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted.
 

You Get Out What You Put In, According to the Court

Line: 45 to 44
 Though it’s easier said than done, the best way to resolve this problem is to get rid of the antiquated distinctions of citizens based on where they live. It’s almost a caste system of the United States. Though one can (arguably) move easily, they shouldn’t be punished for it if they are living on the same land that has a United States flag planted on it.
Added:
>
>
I think the best route to improvement is to put the draft in touch with at least a bit of the no insubstantial literature on you subject. The complete absence of links,leaving the reader only your words and one Supreme Court opinion, makes it hard for you to do justice to the subject.

You might address along the way some of the legal questions involved. We assume that past legislation can apply without modification to future-admitted States because they are States. We assume that when Congress wants to provide benefits to the populations of particular places, it must designate them, which it does all the time. Does it matter what Congress intended when it passed, for example, the Social Security Act, with respect to Americans not resident in a State? Or is its intention irrelevant for some (here unstated) reason? Does the history of application of federal statutory law in Territories rather than States of the US matter? We are aware that some US constitutional rights do not apply to US citizens who are resident in foreign States. How does the principle you are propounding affect this question? May, for example, the US take the foreign real estate of US citizens without paying just compensation as determined by a US jury?

 
You are entitled to restrict access to your paper if you want to. But we all derive immense benefit from reading one another's work, and I hope you won't feel the need unless the subject matter is personal and its disclosure would be harmful or undesirable.

AdrianHernandezSecondEssay 1 - 26 Apr 2022 - Main.AdrianHernandez
Line: 1 to 1
Added:
>
>
META TOPICPARENT name="SecondEssay"
It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted.

You Get Out What You Put In, According to the Court

-- By AdrianHernandez - 26 Apr 2022

The difference in what it means to be a citizen in Puerto Rico, Texas, Wyoming, DC, Northern Marina Islands, and so on is arguably a subject that isn’t discussed enough. The recent decision by the Supreme Court in the US v Vaello-Madero case—where the court decided that Puerto Rican citizens are not eligible to receive funds from the Federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program—however is a place to get the conversation started. Being a citizen of the United States doesn’t mean you are seen as equal in the eyes of the government.

Where do Puerto Ricans get their citizenship?

Citizens of Puerto Rico did not gain their citizenship through the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, and instead got their citizenship through the Immigration and Naturalization Act and the Jones Act. However, this only allowed for naturalized citizenship. It wasn’t until the Nationality Act of 1940 that allowed anyone to be born in Puerto Rico to be considered citizens. Although the United States considers people of Puerto Rico citizens, because Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory they are only entitled to fundamental rights under the Constitution.

Who is eligible for SSI benefits?

The federal SSI program is a program designed to help low-income adults once they become disabled. To become eligible to receive SSI benefits, outside of the at dispute requirement of state residency, seems to be based on your income, disability status, and age. There is not a further requirement—such as paying into the program for a certain amount of time over your lifetime—in order to qualify to receive the benefits from the program.

Court’s Decision and Rationale

The court’s main rationale for stating that Puerto Rican citizens were ineligible to receive benefits from the program because they don’t pay all the taxes that citizens in the states pay, so they should not be eligible for the same benefits. That was the argument that the United States government presented and was only accepted by the Supreme Court.

Why this Doesn’t Make Sense

Though the argument of the court accepted makes sense on the surface, there are holes in its rationale.

The first one being that a lot, if not most, of people who are on the SSI program are probably not paying taxes towards the program—the main reason Puerto Rican citizens are ineligible to receive funds from the program. The program is meant to assist low-income and arguably the neediest citizens with a monthly income. It is highly doubtful that the recipients of this program are making enough income to be contributing to the program.

Looking at the requirements of the program, it only states that a certain income and disability status is what’s necessary in order to be eligible. The court’s rationale is adding a requirement that wasn’t stated by the program. The program was established by the Federal government, and by adding a qualifier that was not stated in the initial eligibility, it could lead to further implications.

As Justice Sotomayor stated in their dissent of the case, this could have implications on states that aren’t contributing to the same level as others and could receive less assistance because of it.

What Should Be Done?

Puerto Rico becoming a state appears to be the best way to resolve any discrepancies in treatment of its citizens. However, this is another can of worms that the people of Puerto Rico have had a lot of differing opinions on.

However, something that our legislature should do when implementing these programs is clearing up what citizens are meant to benefit from this program and what exactly are the distinctions, if any. For Puerto Rico, it’s hard to have a voice when they don’t have any representation in the legislature. Ideally with this case, it should spark the conversation on how citizens are being treated differently because of where they reside.

It can’t be overlooked that a lot of the territories of the United States are made up of a largely ethnically minority population. Programs that exclude citizens of these territories don’t seem to be discriminating on the superficial level, but they’re essentially kicking people who are a suspect class. In the Puerto Rico example, though there are Latine people in both the United States and Puerto Rico—only one of them is predominately Latine. A territory made up of a historically and currently powerless group that is under United States control.

There shouldn’t be a distinction of what a citizen benefits from because of where they live—especially when it comes to our Federal programs. At the end of the day, the United States benefitted or is currently benefitting from having these territories, so it’s unfair to treat its citizens differently. If they don’t mean to treat them the same as citizens in the states, then why are they giving them citizenship to begin with?

Though it’s easier said than done, the best way to resolve this problem is to get rid of the antiquated distinctions of citizens based on where they live. It’s almost a caste system of the United States. Though one can (arguably) move easily, they shouldn’t be punished for it if they are living on the same land that has a United States flag planted on it.


You are entitled to restrict access to your paper if you want to. But we all derive immense benefit from reading one another's work, and I hope you won't feel the need unless the subject matter is personal and its disclosure would be harmful or undesirable. To restrict access to your paper simply delete the "#" character on the next two lines:

Note: TWiki has strict formatting rules for preference declarations. Make sure you preserve the three spaces, asterisk, and extra space at the beginning of these lines. If you wish to give access to any other users simply add them to the comma separated ALLOWTOPICVIEW list.


Revision 3r3 - 06 Jun 2022 - 04:39:57 - AdrianHernandez
Revision 2r2 - 24 May 2022 - 15:15:08 - EbenMoglen
Revision 1r1 - 26 Apr 2022 - 03:33:48 - AdrianHernandez
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform.
All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
All material marked as authored by Eben Moglen is available under the license terms CC-BY-SA version 4.
Syndicate this site RSSATOM