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Latest #SCOTUS ruling on Puerto Rico came about because the US government sued a disabled man who moved from New York to Puerto Rico, demanding he pay back SSI benefits that colony residents aren't entitled to.Permalink On twitter.com
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SSI supports disabled people without an income, but not with enough money to escape living in poverty. yesmagazine.org/opinion/2021/08/18/disabled-elderly-supplemental-security-incomePermalink On twitter.com
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So in an effort to squeez blood from a stone, the US government sued this man for $28,000. He fought back with an equal protection argument.On twitter.com
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This question has been settled before, but district and appeals courts backed Jose Vaello Madero.Permalink On twitter.com
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On reflection, the Califano v. Torres claim that cutting off SSI undermined Vaello Madero's right to travel seems pretty damn convincing.Permalink On twitter.com
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But the 8-justice majority mainly argues that any rational reason to treat Puerto Rico differently is good enough for them.Permalink On twitter.com
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Perversely, this means that Vaello Madero might have paid taxes that support SSI for his whole life, but ineligible once he became disabled and moved to a lower cost jurisdiction.Permalink On twitter.com
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The majority also concern trolls the question of applying equal protection to Puerto Rico, arguing that hypothetically the 50 States might sue and demand Puerto Rico be subjected to the same tax regime.Permalink On twitter.com
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This is… a stretch. And in this hypothetical slippery slope of a universally extended welfare state leading to lawsuits that demand "significant new financial burdens on residents of Puerto Rico," the Supreme Court itself would again have the final word.Permalink On twitter.com
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Sotomayor: I see your anti-Puerto Rico slippery slope and raise you an anti-white rural counterexample.Permalink On twitter.com
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Silver lining in this pro-colonial judicial hurricane… @CarwilBJ/1517182644060049410Permalink On twitter.com