By Thomas Madison
Of all the stupidity! While Puerto Ricans are ripping the United States, calling us imperialist dogs, and colonizers and invaders of their vulnerable island, the US is granting Social Security disability payments to Puerto Ricans. Guess what their disability is? THEY CAN’T SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY!!!! On an island where 95% of the population speaks Spanish! In other words, not speaking Spanish may be a hindrance there, but not speaking English is like living in Alabama and receiving Social Security disability payments because you don’t speak Russian. How much more stupid can we get?
I have a solution for the Puerto Ricans begging for independence from the imperialist dogs. Give it them! Give it to them today! They are a drag on our economy. Puerto Ricans pay NO federal income tax, while receiving mucho dinero (for the 95% of Ricans who speak only Spanish) in US benefits. In fact, the imbalance was over $20 billion in 2009, projected to be $25 billion in 2010, and if that trend has continued until today, then the US is a conservative $30 billion in the hole, taking care of Puerto Ricans. There is a handful of states that also enjoy more money from the US than they return in federal taxes, but none of them comes close to our cash deficit with Puerto Rico. And Puerto Ricans want to leave? They are bigger morons than our politicians!
Turn ’em loose! We have enough freeloaders on the mainland. This is not the United States of Santa Claus!
From Josh Hicks, The Washington Post
Hundreds of Puerto Rico’s residents qualified for federal disability benefits in recent years because they lacked fluency in English, according to government auditors.
The Social Security Administration’s inspector general questioned the policy this month in light of the fact that Spanish is the predominant language in the U.S. territory.
Under Social Security regulations, individuals are considered less employable in the United States if they can’t speak English, regardless of their work experience or level of education.
In a report this month, the independent watchdog suggested that a more appropriate standard might be to consider local conditions when making benefits decisions.
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data, 95 percent of Puerto Rico residents above age 5 speak Spanish at home, and about 84 percent say they do not speak English “very well.”
The inspector general noted that a nurse in Puerto Rico who speaks only Spanish could be considered “unskilled” under current Social Security standards.
“A claimant’s inability to communicate in English can lessen the relevance of work experience and education, potentially making it more likely the claimant will receive disability benefits,” the report said.
Individuals born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens, making them eligible to apply for Social Security benefits. However, they do not automatically qualify for disability payments.
Nonetheless, auditors identified 218 cases between 2011 and 2013 in which the the Social Security Administration granted disability status to Puerto Rico residents because of the existing guidelines.
