Comments on: "Taxation without Representation"

"Taxation without Representation"

john — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 10:57:29 -0800

"Taxation without Representation" - The new DC license plates are giving the people a way to express the fact they pay federal taxes, but have no voice in Congress

By: lileks

lileks — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 12:20:52 -0800

Here's a suggestion for DC residents: if you want a voice in Congress, move. Here's a suggestion for Congress: make DC a federal tax-free zone, and watch all the millionaires move there. My old DC plate used to say "A Capital City," which looked really stupid, considering DC had a reasonable claim to being the capital city.

By: john

john — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 12:30:37 -0800

If you don't like it, move. That is not a real solution. I don't see what is wrong with them having a voice in government. Though 2 senators seems lke a bit much for a city.

By: lileks

lileks — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 12:55:23 -0800

It's a city, a Federal enclave, not a state. They could give it to Maryland or VA, but neither one wants the botheration. DC is screwed in a variety of ways that plague big cities, but it has one unique disadvantage: huge amounts of land are off the tax rolls. Until Congress pays more than it does for assistance, the city will have to tax the locals at ridiculous rates. Giving DC Congressmen and Senators wouldn't change a thing.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 13:04:55 -0800

Hey! We have 600,000 people here, on par with North Dakota, Alaska, and Wyoming (maybe some others--I just looked up some of those sparsely-populated wastelands that no one in their right minds would live in). Why should I have to move to have a voice in the federal government?

By: dhartung

dhartung — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 13:19:48 -0800

Yeah, take away a senator from each of those states and give them to DC, why doncha. If that seems unfair, well, Alexandria could always rejoin the district to help balance things out, in more ways than one. That's the rub, though. To give DC representation would necessarily take away from somebody else, even if you drop out of the equation the whole three-guaranteed-Democrats thing.

By: lileks

lileks — Mon, 06 Nov 2000 14:02:00 -0800

Having lived in both NoDak and DC, trust me: the percentage of people "in their right mind" was much higher in the former. Statehood was always a sham, a means for some local pols to strut on a larger stage. Wouldn't have done a damn thing for DC. I repeat: more money from Congress, and make it a tax-free zone. And now that I'm repeating myself, I'll shut up about it.