I was reading this post on Yglesias that discusses DC being admitted as the 51st state. Many people that live in Washington DC feel that they aren't being properly represented and are using the example of "taxation without representation" to express that. But, many problems arise from this. Republicans probably wouldn't want DC to become a state, since it is heavily democratic. Another area would have to be carved to serve as the capital and federal district. And, one star would have to be added to the flag, but how would we actually fit 51 stars?
I personally don't have a strong opinion about this. I wouldn't mind the two democratic senators, but it seems like a lot of work. We should probably be focusing on more significant things. Anyways, what do you guys think? Should DC become our 51st state?
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23 comments:
No there isn't a reason for it to become a state. the reason it isn't a state right now is because that is where the government is and this way there is no bias.
If DC should become a state then alaska should become a separate country. It is totally unnecessary doing all that work just to satisfy one city when clearly we should be devoting our time and money to more important problems like our recession? the iraq war?
Honestly, if DC were to become a state it would throw of a lot of things. Whatever the political views of DC were, someone would complain. Having a capital that chooses a party to represent it would show a bias in the government.
If the people who live in DC want better representation, they should move. Maybe DC should be a city for government officials to live, but not the general public. The families of the officials can't really complain, because they have representation on a personal level due to their relation to a government worker.
DC is just a city and it shouldn't become a state because the city was created to be the capital of the country so that no one state is more important than another.
this is definitely an interesting topic. I understand where they're coming from with the whole "taxation without representation" thing, but DC not being a state is what makes it unqiue. Plus it totally kills the whole 50 thing. 50 is such a good number to stop at( just thought I would throw that in there). DC is NOT a state and yet still the capital. I think they should be happy with what they've got already.
I don't think that DC should become a state. It is important to not have a capital in one state versus another. However, I do think that it should have proper voting representation in Congress (at present, it has a nonvoting representative to the House of Rep.). I think this is criminal. I support the plan to give DC a voting representative in the House and Utah an extra representative (which is slightly underrepresented and is so solidly Republican, it wouldn't up set the balance of power in the House by favoring the Democrats one). This would accord the people of this democracy 's capital a stake in their own republic.
It isn't going to happen but i do think that they should get representation. After all, having all these people not represented at the very capital of our country is kind of wrong and what makes people upset. Furthermore, what if these people start protesting? Then it is going to be awkward for us if foreigners come in and see massive signs saying that they aren't being represented. Anyway, they should get the right however, with the senate being deadlocked, it is not going to happen
I'm not sure I quite understand the hangup everyone here seems to have about the nation's capitol being in a state. It might have mattered when the capitol was first chosen, so that no state would have appeared to have gained favor over the others, but what would be the harm in it now? The idea of bias doesn't really hold any water because all the current Congresspeople are going to be biased towards the states that elect them, not the state that the capitol happens to be in. I'm not saying everyone else is wrong, but I'd just like someone who feels this way to explain.
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I think that adding a new state will be a bit of a hassle. Going with what Sam said, 50 is a round number and makes the US seem strong. 51 is a really awkward number, and makes the US seem, well, awkward. Also, if we did make it a state, it would be the smallest one in terms of area. Does a state smaller than Rhode Island deserve to have 2 senators just like California?
On the other hand, I feel that Washington DC deserves some representation. People living there couldn't even vote for the president until 1961 (23rd amendment), and I feel they deserve something after being denied this right for so many years. Although Washington DC would be the smallest state in terms of area, it would not have the smallest population (Wyoming's is smaller). It would be the most heavily populated state of the US and it would also be the state with the highest percentage of African Americans. Washington DC would be no stranger as a state than any other.
I personally think it shouldn't become a separate state because the change would bring about a lot of work. however, i do believe that they should be more equally represented.
No.
We'd Have an odd number of states and fifty one is harder to say than fifty
+ it would ruin the "fifty nifty united states" song.
=D
This should not happen because there isn't a big problem not having DC as a state. People in DC can move if they don't like where they live. It would change our flag too. I agree with Sam Law that the Capitol of the country is in DC, they are gifted.
Why now? If Washington D.C. was going to be a state it should have become a state once in was named our nation's capitol. If anyone thinks that making Washington D.C. a state would make a difference at all, they are mistaken. The population of the state is relatively small and what are two more democratic senators going to accomplish that all the other democratic senators haven't ? This topic is a waste of time and I don't see the point in making D.C. a state when it hasn't been. This country has bigger problems.
We don't need another state. 50 is enough. It is a city, we nshould be worrying about the economy rather than this.
It doesn't really matter to me if Washington DC becomes a state but it certaintly would be a big hassle. Instead, we should focus our attention on current problems such as the economy and education. Also, 51 stars doesn't look that bad on a flag, but it just sounds weird to have 51 states instead of 50.
I'm sorry, but it seems awfully foolish to deny hundreds of thousands of American citizens a voice in Congress simply because of the aesthetics of the flag and because it would "be a hassle." Freeing the slaves was a hassle, giving women the right to vote was a hassle; hell, defending America against the British, the Confederates, and Spanish, the Germans, Japanese, and Soviets was a hassle. But we knew that even if fighting evil meant losing lives and a long struggle, we as Americans would persevere because we knew our cause to be right. While I don't think it is fair to equate denying DC a vote in Congress to fighting racism (though many of the disenfranchised DC voters are black), it seems entirely un-American to tell them their delegate in Congress cannot vote because, well, it would be uneven or what's two more Democrats. It isn't about politics, it's about fairness and democracy.
Americans once had this problem. They called it "taxation without representation." These people were called patriots and are now universally lauded for advancing the cause of freedom. This cause was American independence. It is completely against the principles they fought for to deny the very heart of our democracy a voice in it. Ironically, the Capitol building itself has no one to represent it in its own chambers. What a pity.
Well anyone who's candidate lost is being taxed without representation.
No ballin4life, they're not. Even though the representative might not be the one of their choice, the elected official is still representing that voter. This is completely different than the situation in DC where there is no one representing DCers of any political leaning.
You can say that they are representing everyone but they are not. When they are doing things that run opposite to your beliefs, you are not being represented. That's my point.
This is just semantics by the way.
I think that it would be strange if DC where to become a state, since it would be so small, but I think that DC should get some some kind of representation. It's unfair for half a million people to have no representation.
i do not think that dc is or should be added as a state, and not for the reason of adding another star to the flag, i think that the republicans will try to do watever it takes so dc does n ot become a state. as for the people if they dont like the way they are being taxed then move
If i lived in the D.C. district i would most deff. want it to become a state, but realistically is doesnt make sense. 1. its too small, waaaaay to small to have significance. 2. It would be too hectic between the national government and the D.C. state government traped into one county. 3. It's way too much of a hassle and I think there is deffinatley more urgent things to take care of in this country than to create another official state.
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