51st State or an independent country

Puerto Rico voted 93% in favor of statehood.  At least the 25% of eligible voters who turned out did.  Wait, 93% of 25%, that's 23% of Puerto Rican voters who want to become a state.  OK.

The Governor announced that it was important that the United States respect the democratic wishes of the people of PR.  Wait, what?

I'm pretty sure that the people of the United States have no obligation whatsoever, none, to respect the democratic wishes of anyone outside the United States regarding our internal organization.  Hey buddy!  You are asking to join our union!  You are asking for a favor from us!  Your "democratic wishes" are not binding on us and irrelevant EXCEPT to the extent that we may wish to add a new state to the union.

More from the Governor: "3.5 million citizens seeking an absolute democracy".  How about if the Governor does a little basic research into the history and civics of the nation that he wishes to join and figures out that we aren't an absolute democracy but rather a representative republic.  If he doesn't even understand our system of government maybe he isn't the guy to lead them into statehood.

However, I have a better idea.  Given that Puerto Rico is a dump completely dependent on welfare payments from the United States, and given that making them a state would not only increase the amount of welfare that we would send due to eligibility for all sorts of federal programs, I say that we instead push for nationhood.  From the United Nations, a body that I generally despise:

The UN's Special Committee on Decolonization has often referred to Puerto Rico as a "nation" in its reports, because, internationally, the people of Puerto Rico are often considered to be a Caribbean nation with their own national identity. Most recently, in a June 2016 report, the Special Committee called for the United States to expedite the process to allow self-determination in Puerto Rico. More specifically, the group called on the United States to expedite a process that would allow the people of Puerto Rico to exercise fully their right to self-determination and independence. ... allow the Puerto Rican people to take decisions in a sovereign manner, and to address their urgent economic and social needs, including unemployment, marginalization, insolvency and poverty"

I vote yes.  The people of Puerto Rico should be able to fully exercise their right to self determination and to take decisions in a sovereign manner.  Absolutely.  Good for them.  This does not mean, however, that they have a right to become a state and it does not mean that we should have to pay for any of this.  They need to address the policies that they have adopted that have caused their unemployment, marginalization, insolvency, and poverty, namely socialism.  They have a public debt that is higher than their GDP.  The course they are on is unsustainable but it needs to become "not our problem".

Cut them loose, give them freedom, and let them do with it what they will.  There are plenty of Puerto Ricans in the United States, many of them good, hard working people.  They can, if they so choose, support their country by returning and working to establish a system that will benefit the people and the nation in the long run.  Or they can stay here and continue doing what they are doing. Either way, it should be up to the people of Puerto Rico to sink or swim as a nation.