DC statehood: Things that make my blood boil:

[Anonymous]

Kojo does such a good job of bringing DC problems to the forefront. Today he had the acting director of DC housing on the show taking about the 10,000 people on the waiting list for public housing. He also pointed out the list dated from Muriel Bowser's first term.

The acting is trying outreach to people on the rolls and has about a 20% response rate. She admits many people don't want the offered apartments for reasons, but the principal one is crime. She gamely tried to claim that the public housing buildings have less crime than the rest of the city, but that is not saying much.

If they can't even house people in need, how can they run a state?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kojo does such a good job of bringing DC problems to the forefront. Today he had the acting director of DC housing on the show taking about the 10,000 people on the waiting list for public housing. He also pointed out the list dated from Muriel Bowser's first term.

The acting is trying outreach to people on the rolls and has about a 20% response rate. She admits many people don't want the offered apartments for reasons, but the principal one is crime. She gamely tried to claim that the public housing buildings have less crime than the rest of the city, but that is not saying much.

If they can't even house people in need, how can they run a state?

It is well known that none of the states have any problems housing people in need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kojo does such a good job of bringing DC problems to the forefront. Today he had the acting director of DC housing on the show taking about the 10,000 people on the waiting list for public housing. He also pointed out the list dated from Muriel Bowser's first term.

The acting is trying outreach to people on the rolls and has about a 20% response rate. She admits many people don't want the offered apartments for reasons, but the principal one is crime. She gamely tried to claim that the public housing buildings have less crime than the rest of the city, but that is not saying much.

If they can't even house people in need, how can they run a state?

It is well known that none of the states have any problems housing people in need.

Ha seriously. DC should be a state because its citizens should have the right to self govern. All states have homeless people, crime, car crashes, hunger, death, gun issues etc and none f them are subject to statehood tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kojo does such a good job of bringing DC problems to the forefront. Today he had the acting director of DC housing on the show taking about the 10,000 people on the waiting list for public housing. He also pointed out the list dated from Muriel Bowser's first term.

The acting is trying outreach to people on the rolls and has about a 20% response rate. She admits many people don't want the offered apartments for reasons, but the principal one is crime. She gamely tried to claim that the public housing buildings have less crime than the rest of the city, but that is not saying much.

If they can't even house people in need, how can they run a state?

It is well known that none of the states have any problems housing people in need.

Ha seriously. DC should be a state because its citizens should have the right to self govern. All states have homeless people, crime, car crashes, hunger, death, gun issues etc and none f them are subject to statehood tests.

There is a difference between a right to self govern and an ability to self govern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: it doesn’t make sense except for a handful of people

Lol, imagine wiping your ass with congressional representation for 700,000 Americans as "a handful of people." Complete and utter lunacy.

I weep for American democracy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another unspoken cost is a DC state legislature. The DC City Council acts like a quasi legislative branch with limited authority from Congress. However, a 13-member unicameral body would not pass muster as a full-fledged state legislature. More members would be needed to check legislators’ power. The smallest legislature out there I believe is Nebraska’s unicameral body with 49 members. Establishing and maintaining a state legislature (unicameral or bicameral) would cost significantly more than maintaining the current city council. Election costs would rise, too.

This has all been laid out in the proposed state constitution
https://statehood.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/statehood/publication/attachments/NCSC-Constitution-State-of-New-Columbia.pdf

Lol. This isn’t a state legislature. 21 members? Members elected at-large and from eight wards…excuse me, I meant to say…legislative districts? It’s the city council on steroids. It’s also dangerous. Only 11 votes needed to pass legislation? 14 votes to override a veto? This idea lacks sufficient checks on power and opens the door wide for potential abuse.

There would be so much corruption it would be insane.

Ohio’s state legislature has 132 members and is still corrupt AF. How big are we talking to avoid this situation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another unspoken cost is a DC state legislature. The DC City Council acts like a quasi legislative branch with limited authority from Congress. However, a 13-member unicameral body would not pass muster as a full-fledged state legislature. More members would be needed to check legislators’ power. The smallest legislature out there I believe is Nebraska’s unicameral body with 49 members. Establishing and maintaining a state legislature (unicameral or bicameral) would cost significantly more than maintaining the current city council. Election costs would rise, too.

This has all been laid out in the proposed state constitution
https://statehood.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/statehood/publication/attachments/NCSC-Constitution-State-of-New-Columbia.pdf

Lol. This isn’t a state legislature. 21 members? Members elected at-large and from eight wards…excuse me, I meant to say…legislative districts? It’s the city council on steroids. It’s also dangerous. Only 11 votes needed to pass legislation? 14 votes to override a veto? This idea lacks sufficient checks on power and opens the door wide for potential abuse.

There would be so much corruption it would be insane.

Ohio’s state legislature has 132 members and is still corrupt AF. How big are we talking to avoid this situation?

It’s not an issue of corruption per se, but an issue of power. A 21-member “state legislature” with extremely low thresholds for passing bills (11 votes) and overriding vetos (14 votes) concentrates significant power in a small group of people. Under this scenario a faction of only 15 people could do whatever they wanted. The bar needs to be raised higher. A state legislature with 50 or 60 members would disperse legislative power more broadly and to the benefit of DC residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another unspoken cost is a DC state legislature. The DC City Council acts like a quasi legislative branch with limited authority from Congress. However, a 13-member unicameral body would not pass muster as a full-fledged state legislature. More members would be needed to check legislators’ power. The smallest legislature out there I believe is Nebraska’s unicameral body with 49 members. Establishing and maintaining a state legislature (unicameral or bicameral) would cost significantly more than maintaining the current city council. Election costs would rise, too.

This has all been laid out in the proposed state constitution
https://statehood.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/statehood/publication/attachments/NCSC-Constitution-State-of-New-Columbia.pdf

Lol. This isn’t a state legislature. 21 members? Members elected at-large and from eight wards…excuse me, I meant to say…legislative districts? It’s the city council on steroids. It’s also dangerous. Only 11 votes needed to pass legislation? 14 votes to override a veto? This idea lacks sufficient checks on power and opens the door wide for potential abuse.

There would be so much corruption it would be insane.

Ohio’s state legislature has 132 members and is still corrupt AF. How big are we talking to avoid this situation?

Everyone should aim to be Albany level corrupt.

[Anonymous]

If DC becomes a state all the federal gov and fed jobs should be dispersed across the country. Keep Congress, SCT and WH but send everything else. It’s the only way to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If DC becomes a state all the federal gov and fed jobs should be dispersed across the country. Keep Congress, SCT and WH but send everything else. It’s the only way to go.

Federal jobs already are dispersed across the country.

[Anonymous]

Cannot roll my eyes any harder at people who choose to continue to live in DC, knowing full well they’re not living in a state, and then complain about it. Keep raging but it’s not ever gonna change in your lifetime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cannot roll my eyes any harder at people who choose to continue to live in DC, knowing full well they’re not living in a state, and then complain about it. Keep raging but it’s not ever gonna change in your lifetime.

I choose to live in DC because there are many good things about living here. Why should I move? I am a citizen of the US just like you. I should have the right to vote just like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cannot roll my eyes any harder at people who choose to continue to live in DC, knowing full well they’re not living in a state, and then complain about it. Keep raging but it’s not ever gonna change in your lifetime.

I choose to live in DC because there are many good things about living here. Why should I move? I am a citizen of the US just like you. I should have the right to vote just like you.

Yeah, I mean how absurd would it be to add a state to the United States. We have 50 of them and have always had 50 of them. 50 is a great number. It ends in a 0 and begins in a 5. It's hard to be more perfect than that. We should never consider changing it.

It's not like we've added any states to the US in the lifetime of anyone who is still alive or anything. We've always had 50 states. That's what the republican, creationist textbook I had in the midwest state I grew up in told me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cannot roll my eyes any harder at people who choose to continue to live in DC, knowing full well they’re not living in a state, and then complain about it. Keep raging but it’s not ever gonna change in your lifetime.

I choose to live in DC because there are many good things about living here. Why should I move? I am a citizen of the US just like you. I should have the right to vote just like you.

Yeah, I mean how absurd would it be to add a state to the United States. We have 50 of them and have always had 50 of them. 50 is a great number. It ends in a 0 and begins in a 5. It's hard to be more perfect than that. We should never consider changing it.

It's not like we've added any states to the US in the lifetime of anyone who is still alive or anything. We've always had 50 states. That's what the republican, creationist textbook I had in the midwest state I grew up in told me.

😆 You had me going there for a sec. I mean, how could you mess with a flag that’s this perfect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cannot roll my eyes any harder at people who choose to continue to live in DC, knowing full well they’re not living in a state, and then complain about it. Keep raging but it’s not ever gonna change in your lifetime.

I choose to live in DC because there are many good things about living here. Why should I move? I am a citizen of the US just like you. I should have the right to vote just like you.

Yeah, I mean how absurd would it be to add a state to the United States. We have 50 of them and have always had 50 of them. 50 is a great number. It ends in a 0 and begins in a 5. It's hard to be more perfect than that. We should never consider changing it.

It's not like we've added any states to the US in the lifetime of anyone who is still alive or anything. We've always had 50 states. That's what the republican, creationist textbook I had in the midwest state I grew up in told me.

😆 You had me going there for a sec. I mean, how could you mess with a flag that’s this perfect?

I mean just look at that staggered symmetry. Wonderful! Can't mess with that!