The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled through 8 votes against 1 to deny to every US citizen who lives in Puerto Rico Supplemental Security Income available to those living in the 50 states who are older than 65, blind, or disabled. Such a decision is a potential brake on the constitutional order on equality and is being labeled as discriminatory.
Read the links below and, articulating with the lectures and course contents, present an analysis taking into account the following topics and questions:
- How come the highest legal institution in the world’s wealthiest country can rule in such a questionable way regarding equality?
- How the condition in which those who live in Puerto Rico’territory find themselves, without having even the right to vote for representatives, can represent a contradiction to the frequent pro-freedom and democracy promoted by the US?
- How can this decision harm the equality of rights stated within the US constitution and in Human Rights treaties signed by this country?
Sources:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/21/politics/puerto-rico-supreme-court-federal-disability-benefits/index.html (Links to an external site.)
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/scotus-declares-u-s-citizens-in-puerto-rico-inferior