Reply to Bowser is testifying again in favor of statehood, while DC govt dissembles on statehood costs

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]State of Washington has already been taken. They need to scratch that.

And to anyone who thinks their taxes wouldn't drastically go up- you're fooling yourself.[b] I also think DC is very poorly ran. [/b]

A better proposal would be to make the "federal triangle" area with the fed buildings and white house into DC and the rest of DC where people live can join Maryland. Virginia already annexed a portion of DC. [/quote]

DC has a $6B+ surplus in the bank.
DC has a AAA bond rating with all three agencies.
DC had a 9 figure surplus, despite COVID.
DC has a 70%+ vaccinated rate.

So what part of it is poorly run as compared to other jurisdictions?[/quote]

Sure. DC has plenty of money. Which is why they can’t afford specialty science teachers for your kids school, or even keep the rest rooms stocked with toilet paper.  Or never get around to restriping the crosswalks near the school.  Or can’t maintain DC’s meager supply of public housing.  And want to cut like 300 officer positions from MPD.  But spend an extra $2 billion a year on statehood, sure go ahead![/quote]
There are blatant false statements and misinformation here.

DC is not in good fiscal shape. While it had a budget surplus this year of $500m that was legally required to be used for affordable housing, it is projected to run budget deficits for the next 4 years.

Needless to say, it’s outrageously far fetched to claim that DC has $6+ billion in the bank. They have a federally mandated requirement to maintain 60 days of operating reserve, which is about $1.5 billion.

DCs total outstanding debt position is over $11 billion and growing. Over the past decade total debt has increased 50% while per capital general obligation debt has doubled.

You also fully misunderstand bond ratings. Rating agencies have rated DC’s income tax secured bonds as AAA. The way these bonds work is that all income tax revenue goes directly to the bond Agent until the coupon payments are satisfied, then DC gets to keep the remaining income tax revenue. It’s the municipal finance version of garnishing your paycheck. While revenue bonds are common, income tax secured bonds are a very rare instrument and are not used by states who are in strong fiscal positions, for obvious reasons. [/quote]

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