DC Statehood!

Yglesias supports the idea of DC becoming the 51st state. This would be great news for Democrats since the party would be rewarded with a brace of Senators and an additional Congressman. That's one reason why it will never happen.

Still, DC's lack of voting representation in Congress is a boon for foreign correspondents needing an idea every so often. I reckon you can squeeze a piece out of the matter at least every 18 months. And it's true that foreigners are astonished to discover that residents of the US capital have no votes in Congress.

So yes, it's nice that DC car license plates carry the slogan "Taxation Without Representation". But what about a grand bargain? In return for not having a vote in Congress, how about abolishing the federal income tax for DC residents? I suspect there are many who'd be all in favour of that. And of course such a move would do more to repopulate the city - complete with the kind of urban density Matt's in favour of - and regenerate its schools and so on than just about anything else...

Comments

[Sean Carroll]

I do hope your tongue was placed roundly in cheek while posting your suggestion about abolishing the income tax for DC residents. If there's anything more obnoxious than taxation without representation, it would be a government run by people immune to said taxation.

[William]

Correct me if I'm wrong...but I'm guessing that a majority of DC residents pay little to no income tax. Thus, abolishing the income tax would do little to help the current residents of the city, but would bring a huge influx of outsiders to gentrify the living hell out of it. Rents would rise, along with property taxes, which would force out current residents (read: poor people) and fill their properties with more suitable rich people.

I like the idea of creating a new Hong Kong, a super-city on the Atlantic...I just can't get past the more immediate concerns.

[monty]

William, I'm not sure what the stats are, but I know I get taxed 9.3% for DC income tax in addition to federal. There are a lot of residents like me who make under $45K and find it next to impossible to find affordable rent or purchase a home. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the cost of living is, well, high. That being said, VA and MD (within the DC metro area) are also expensive. While I agree with your point about the mass gentrification that might ensue, it is still difficult for me to understand why we still pay federal taxes in the District.

[Allen]

Sean, the President, Senators, Representatives, and their families are all considered residents of the states from which they come, not of the District. Thus they *are* represented in Congress and they would still have to pay federal taxes. This year the pictures were of Obama voting in Illinois, McCain in Arizona, Biden in Delaware, and Palin in Alaska. Four years ago, it was pictures of Bush in Texas and Gore in Tennessee.

[Nathan P. Origer]

DC Statehood is a humorous pipe dream.

Humorous, anyway, until we realize that to grant statehood to these people is to grant statehood to the people who still elect Marion Barry to serve them. Lord only knows what troublesome fool the would send to represent them in Congress.

[Brendan M.]

"Lord only knows what troublesome fool the would send to represent them in Congress."

First of all, they already have Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton as their non-voting delegate to the House of Representatives, and she is no fool. If you've ever seen her spar with Stephen Colbert or met her, you'd know that. Secondly, if you're worried about the prestige of Congress being damaged by someone who may have committed as heinous a crime as drug abuse and possession, you would have to be completely delusional or extremely ignorant. Are you familiar with the Alaskan delegation? The GOP members of the Georgian delegation are in a constant contest to out-stupid each other (and it is a hell of a competition). Your concern is absurd.

[Felipe]

I was always a little surprised that the Gingrich era Republicans didn't try to pull some no income tax or real low flat tax on DC. Then use it as a experiment to show how rapid the rebirth of the city would be with low taxes so you could make truly disastrous policy for the rest of the country.
It seems to me any attempt to stop federal income taxes in the city would probably be killed by the MD and VA delegations- if they aren't having a commuter tax they are not going to be in favor of the rich suburban folk swapping living places with the poor folk in town.
As one DC born and raised I have to say that the lack of a legislative vote does piss me off but it seems to me that the most logical answer is retrocession with a serious federal sweetener package to Maryland. Unless we get to have Arlington and Alexandria back- if that is the case then we should be a real state. Republicans could chill out because our Senators would be canceled out by the new deep red Virginia.

[Mike]

As a Hong Kong resident, let me assure you that we pay income tax. In fact, I have to fork over around $26k (US$ equivalent) by January 20th.

[William Burns]

If this is such a great idea, why restrict it to DC? Just allow people to swap out voting rights for tax exemption on an individual basis.

Here's another idea--find out whether Nathan P. Origer has ever voted for someone who proved to be a fool or a rogue. If he has, disenfranchise him!

[jay]

the key is not a simple abolition of income tax for ANY resident - it should be for long term residents. Create a minimum threshhold of 5 or 10 years. This would prevent the rapid gentrification, and would still allow taxing the short term residents of DC - i.e the wealthier folks who move in to work for 2-3 years.

[John Burgess]

This is a solution I've been proposing for decades, ever since I was first a DC resident.

Some of the commenters suggest that gentrification is a bad thing. How droll. If DC properties, now deteriorating as rentals to non-taxpayers, can be converted into commercially viable properties, I'm all for it.

Extend the federal tax freedom to corporations and DC will see a revitalization as never before witnessed in the US.

DC could even raise its own taxes to a 20%-25% level and taxpayers would still benefit while the city would have sufficient cash to maintain its infrastructure, from roads to schools.

It's true that federal tax freedom would only benefit those who pay DC taxes. So? Non-taxpayers should benefit from this precisely why? Because we think they're just swell?

[Adam Bee]

I'd think this offer would have to be restricted to current DC residents with little or no forewarning, or the Federal government would have a difficult time raising money.

Every billionaire in the country would move to DC. It would be the greatest regulatory arbitrage ever. Traffic would be even worse as laborers are forced to live outside the district and commute in.

Sure, it'd fix the public schools, but there would be nobody left in those schools! Meanwhile, the rest of us would be paying more to make up for the massive lost revenues.

The corporate tax idea makes even less sense, since they don't vote anyway and it's even easier for them to relocate.

[N.]

I've lived in DC for ten years and totally oppose making DC a state - just check out the folks on the city council and Eleanor Holmes Norton (contrary to what a previous poster says, she's a total boob) to gauge what quality of politician this town produces. This city and its government are like a lab experiment for how not to do things - like having 30,000 employees to serve a population of 600,000.

Maybe giving back the city to Maryland would be a solution, although I'm not sure they would want us.

[citizenw]

It's great to dream about DC with no Federal taxes, but anyone with even a bit of understanding will recall that the bedrock principle of legitimate government is that "just power derives from the consent of the governed" and the unforgettable bit about inalienable (innate, inherent, intrinsic) rights. So all the logistical plusses and minuses aside, exempting DC from taxation would still leave a gaping hole in the nation's longstanding efforts to create "a more perfect Union" based on frequent reference to fundamantal principles, as recommended by the Founders (Madison, Mason, et al.)

Leaving DC without the opportunity to grant or withold Consent over the laws under which we all must live (as all other citizens in the fifty states enjoy) solves nothing, and leaves the power exerted by Congress over the District just as illegitimate and tyrannical as it is now (arbitrary, anachonistic, and artificial provision of the Constitution notwithstanding). Recall that our Constitution as originally written denied these same fundamantal rights to blacks and women, too. We have corrected that over time as we strive for "a more perfect Union." The task is not yet complete.

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