DC: the 51st state

      "Taxation without representation is tyranny."

        James Otis, Sam Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and all the founders of the American republic

Give DC residents the privileges of American citizens. If not, then let them be a tax haven.

Currently 700,000 Americans live in the District of Columbia. They pay federal and local taxes just like everyone else in America.  They are subject to America's laws. They are worse than second class Americans; they are subjects of tyranny.  We make the rules they must abide by and they haven't a vote. DC is not a state for the simple political reason that Republicans estimate that it would almost certainly elect Democratic senators, and they don't want two extra Democratic senators. It isn't complicated and it isn't a secret. 

I think Americans should fully own what we are doing. We say DC is a special place, an exception, a quirk, too small to treat like a regular state. So let's be true to our own theories of legitimate government. They are too small to matter, so let's make them a tax haven. They give up something to live in DC--full citizenship--and they get something--no federal taxes. The result would be instantaneous. Many people would see DC not as a handicap and disadvantage, but as a fair exchange. It might even bring conservative anti-tax people into the District, which might change the political balance there. 

I presented this idea to Jennifer Angelo, requesting her perspective. She is a retired federal attorney, now a resident of the District of Columbia. She is married to Jack Mullen, who will supply his own guest post perspective tomorrow.

Jennifer Angelo

Guest Post by Jennifer Angelo

When I returned to Washington, DC in 2016 after 17 years in San Francisco, there were a lot of things I didn’t miss about California: drought, fires, petty crime, smallish living quarters and – since we lived in a hipster neighborhood – always feeling like the oldest person in the room. But what do I miss? The Bay, the Oakland Athletics and having two Senators and a Congresswoman representing me in Congress.

DC is sometimes called a plantation, with the United States Congress in charge. This was brought home to me a few months after we moved back to DC. The DC City Council had enacted a Death with Dignity law after going through extensive hearings, public input and debate. The law allowed DC residents to end their own lives after going through a closely supervised process.

Under the Constitution, Congress has the right to overturn any law passed by DC if it acts within 30 days. Jason Chaffetz of Utah headed the Committee with jurisdiction, and its members included several Republicans from the Bible Belt. Naturally, they introduced a resolution to stop District residents from controlling their own end-of-life decisions.

My husband and I went to a small protest outside the House Office Building the evening the Death with Dignity law would be debated. Then we sat in the hearing feeling angry and helpless while Chaffetz and Congressmen from Georgia, Alabama, Texas and North Carolina talked about their own religious views on assisted suicide. They would not, as a matter of “conscience,” give DC residents the right to end their own lives, no matter how much pain they were enduring. Our own Representative, Eleanor Holmes Norton – who can vote in Committee but not on the House Floor – spoke passionately for DC self-government. Other Democrats and a few Republicans joined in. Luckily, there were enough Republicans on the Committee who, on principle, felt DC should have autonomy. The resolution to overturn the Death with Dignity law failed. So here in the District, which party controls Congress has extra significance. When the Democrats are in charge we can safely govern ourselves without fear of interference. When Republicans take over, we worry.

Voting in DC is important on a local level. We vote for Mayor, City Council and a representative for a neighborhood advisory body. We vote on local referenda. But when it comes to federal representation, we vote for President and have only one non-voting Delegate to Congress. Eleanor Holmes Norton has held this job for as long as I can remember. We also vote for “shadow” federal Senators. This is a symbolic act.

So over the last four years, when Trump’s Cabinet and judicial appointees were under consideration, the tax cut was debated, Republicans tried to overturn the ACA, the House and Senate held two impeachment proceedings, and countless important bills were introduced, we had no say. No Senator or Member of Congress spoke for us or voted for us. We watched.

In an attempt to be heard, I began writing to random Senators with my views. I never received a response. When I called or emailed a federal legislator, I had to give my address. I’m sure my opinions were ignored. I never spoke to a live person or had a responsive email. No vote, no voice.

This is especially aggravating because District of Columbia residents pay the highest per capita federal taxes in the country. We rank first among all states and territories in percentage of residents with Bachelors and Advanced degrees. We have more permanent residents than Vermont or Wyoming and aren’t far behind Alaska.

So will this ever change? Once again, DC’s (and Puerto Rico’s) inferior status is getting national attention. Yet I am not hopeful. There are two ways to change things: Make DC a state, or return it to Maryland, one of the states from which it was originally carved (retrocession). Democrats overwhelmingly favor statehood. After all, DC voted 92% for Biden, 5% for Trump. And although it is no longer majority African American, 47% of its residents are black and it has a long and rich African American history. Republicans favor retrocession because although it probably would add a Democrat to the House, the Senate wouldn’t change. Senators from Alaska, Wyoming and the Dakotas, with their small populations, would carry on with their disproportionate influence.

Neither Statehood nor retrocession has much chance of success. As long as the filibuster rule remains, Statehood has no chance in the Senate. Even if it could pass the Senate, there are questions about whether the Constitution would have to be amended, requiring an affirmative vote from 34 states. As for retrocession, Maryland would have to agree to take us. And most Marylanders don’t want us. We’re a city. We have problems.

While I would prefer Statehood, I would be satisfied with retrocession, though I know I’m in a small minority. My comfort level with being attached to Maryland probably stems from growing up in a Maryland suburb of DC; I am not so tied to the identity of DC as a separate entity because I always thought of myself as coming from DC. It’s the city where my father worked, where I played, and whose newspaper we read every day. My wish is to have voting representation in Congress. I spent my career in the federal government. I am extremely well-informed on the big federal issues. Many of my neighbors are federal workers. It’s unjust for DC residents to be on the outside looking in when decisions critical to our nation are made. One way or another, we want to be heard.