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   From: liberals@cowards.org   
      
   (CNN) -- If it were up to Surey Miranda, she would have never   
   left her family in Puerto Rico. Miranda, a college graduate,   
   says she had little choice.   
      
   "It was a challenge to find a job in Puerto Rico," said Miranda,   
   24, who graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a   
   political science degree in 2012. "Unfortunately, finding work   
   in government can be challenging, especially since it's the   
   island's main source of employment."   
      
   Miranda did everything she was supposed to do: She got her   
   degree, worked as an intern in various places and even landed a   
   part-time position with the Puerto Rico House of Representatives.   
      
   Now, Miranda is one of thousands of Puerto Ricans who have left   
   the U.S. territory in recent years in search of a better life in   
   the U.S. mainland.   
      
   In 2011 and 2012, about 55,000 residents migrated from the   
   island to the mainland each year, according to the Census   
   Bureau's Community Survey. The Puerto Rico Institute of   
   Statistics is still collecting data for those who left in 2013,   
   but it estimates the numbers are about the same.   
      
   While Puerto Ricans have migrated to the United States for   
   several generations, the number of departures from 2000-2010   
   marks the largest migration wave, at 300,000, since the 1950s,   
   when close to a half-million migrated to the mainland during the   
   entire decade.   
      
   So many residents have left the island over the years that there   
   are a million more Puerto Ricans living in the mainland United   
   States (4.9 million as of 2011) than in Puerto Rico (3.7   
   million).   
      
   Why such a massive population shift in recent years? Mario   
   Marazzi, executive director of the Puerto Rican Institute of   
   Statistics, says it's mainly because of the 2006 recession that   
   is still punishing the island's economy.   
      
   Puerto Rico's unemployment rate is above 15%, more than double   
   the 7.3% in the mainland, according to the Bureau of Labor   
   Statistics.   
      
   Last month, Standard & Poor's announced it had cut Puerto Rico's   
   credit rating to junk status as the U.S. commonwealth faces $70   
   billion in debt, including the debt from its utility companies.   
      
   Last week, in an attempt to avoid financial ruin, Puerto Rico   
   Gov. Alejandro García Padilla signed a bill authorizing the sale   
   of $3.5 million in tax-free general obligation bonds. Even if   
   the auction is successful, the bonds are considered pretty risky.   
      
   In other words, if you thought Detroit was in trouble, Puerto   
   Rico is much worse mainly for this reason: Unlike Detroit, the   
   island cannot file for bankruptcy court protection. That option   
   is only for municipalities and Puerto Rico is an unincorporated   
   territory.   
      
   In 2012, Puerto Ricans overwhelmingly cast their ballots in   
   favor of becoming the 51st American state, hoping that might   
   help alleviate the territory's economic woes. But the vote was   
   nonbinding and never went anywhere in Washington.   
      
   Puerto Ricans favor statehood for first time   
   For Miranda, getting a job wasn't the only factor in her   
   decision to leave Puerto Rico. The rising cost of utilities,   
   rent, gas and tolls were also something she needed to consider.   
      
   "Back home, I was sharing an apartment with six other students   
   and still my expenses were taking up 70% of my salary. It was   
   simply impossible," Miranda said.   
      
   While the cost of living in New York City is more than double   
   the national average, the cost of living in Puerto Rico is not   
   the best-case scenario for a recent college graduate. For   
   example, basic monthly utilities including electricity, heating   
   and water cost about $246 in Puerto Rico as opposed to New   
   York's $161.   
      
   "The cost of living all depends on where you live in Puerto   
   Rico, because while a middle class does exist, very few fall   
   into that category," said Marazzi, "The middle class has to   
   spend a lot more money for quality of life."   
      
   For example, two years ago many Puerto Ricans had to invest in   
   water tanks after serious droughts sapped the water supply. The   
   cost of purchasing and maintaining a water tank isn't something   
   people in the United States have to worry about, Marazzi added.   
      
   Also, the electric supply isn't as reliable in Puerto Rico as it   
   is in the United States, so Puerto Ricans have to pay more to   
   protect their televisions and computers.   
      
   "The power goes off for a microsecond every day in Puerto Rico   
   and electronic items don't take well to that. So, anyone with an   
   electronic item worth having has to invest in a universal power   
   supply, which costs about $100 here," Marazzi said.   
      
   Puerto Ricans aren't just moving to New York, where many have   
   typically migrated in the past. They are also moving to Florida,   
   Texas, North Carolina, Virginia -- wherever there are jobs.   
      
   "Since the early 20th century, Puerto Ricans have been   
   contributing to create what some scholars are calling 'El Nuevo   
   South,'" said Edwin Melendez, director of Center for Puerto   
   Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York. "With an influx of   
   Hispanics, the south is becoming more diverse."   
      
   The latest influx of Puerto Ricans includes people primarily   
   between ages 20 and 40, he said.   
      
   "Families and young children are migrating as well -- basically   
   entire households are moving," Melendez said.   
      
   While many Puerto Ricans migrating to the United States are   
   young, educated professionals like Miranda, they also include   
   people from across the socioeconomic spectrum, according to the   
   Center for Puerto Rican Studies, which examines the migration   
   phenomenon.   
      
   Opinion: Treat U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico fairly   
   "In Puerto Rico, there's a generalized perspective that there's   
   a 'brain drain' because so many young professionals have left,"   
   said Melendez, "but they aren't the only ones leaving.   
      
   "It's also labor workers and families. We didn't find any over-   
   representation of a certain kind of people."   
      
   Puerto Rico's education system spends close to $8,000 annually   
   per student, according to the Department of Education. And while   
   that's not as high as the United States, which spends an average   
   of $10,000 per student, it's still a significant loss for Puerto   
   Rico, particularly as it faces a major economic crisis.   
      
   Each college-educated Puerto Rican who establishes a career   
   elsewhere is a big loss for the commonwealth, explained Puerto   
   Rican political analyst Jay Fonseca in an interview with CNN en   
   Español.   
      
   "Why invest so much time and money for a student in Puerto Rico   
   only to have them leave to the U.S. and contribute to society   
   elsewhere?" Fonseca said.   
      
   There's even an active recruiting process by U.S.-based   
   organizations, like police departments, nurse associations and   
   hospitals, who come to Puerto Rico to search for future   
   employees, Marazzi said.   
      
   "They not only recruit the best bilingual candidates but they   
   help diversify the workforce in the United States, of course to   
   their benefit," said Marazzi.   
      
   It's a seamless process considering all Puerto Ricans, whether   
      
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