No need to make another stupid mistake |
Native Washingtonian. Fully support independent statehood, am appalled that this is the state if things with the seat of our federal government. Horrendous. |
Same here. DC is 90% democrat; MD is 2 to 1. It simply pushes MD a little further in a direction it's already headed. |
It's hard to see DC being economically sustainable as a state, particularly if the level of direct federal payments were to drop. A direct commuter tax is a political non-starter. VT and WY are sustainable as states because they have relatively low concentrations of urban poor and can spread demand and funding for state services across a broader economic base. While DC has pockets of wealth, it needs to/chooses to provide social services at a high level (well, at least high cost level) to a substantial needy population. Moreover, if DC were to raise taxes on businesses in a short-sighted move, many trade associations, etc. would easily decamp to Rosslyn or Bethesda. Ask yourself for examples of other US cities that are basically self-sustaining with no broader state aid. There aren't any. |
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I'm not sure, PP. NYC is not self-sustaining? San Francisco?
I think urban areas are getting more wealthy by the year. But if you are right, maybe they sweeten the pot by paying taxes on the federal facilities as they do now. |
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It is the best idea in terms of gaining full Congressional representation for DC, however, Maryland would never bite.
Western Maryland would object to the state becoming that much more Democratic. Baltimore would object to having to share political power, influence, etc. with the city formerly known as Washington, DC. Outside of retrocession of most of current Washington, DC, the idea of redrawing state lines is a no-go (i.e., no joining MoCo, most of DC, etc). |
Many states have more than one team in a league. |
Heh. Indeed. They are trying to secede already, just imagine if we added 600,000 more Democrats! |
| Would the votes from DC tip the scales enough for legal weed in MD? |
| I predict legal weed in MD in the next couple of years, DC or no DC. |
I agree. It's time for proportional representation. 2 senators each represent Wyoming (584,000) and Vermont (626,000). Two senators represent California's population of 38 million. That's insanity. |
It's a bicameral legislature. |
No, NYC is not self-sustaining. It gets a ton of aid from New York State. NYS and the feds also kept the city afloat when it needed the bailout several decades ago. The Port Authority, which is a state agency operated jointly with New Jersey, also maintains NYC's airports, tunnels, most bridges, etc. |
The city would still be called Washington. I wouldn't be sorry to see the overused "DeeCee" name go. |
+1 CA's House delegation is 53 times larger than either VT's or WY's. |