Despite numerous arguments against the effort, the push to make Washington, D.C. a state just won't die.
The well-worn argument in favor of D.C. statehood goes like this: D.C. residents pay federal taxes and otherwise bear the burdens of citizenship, such as signing up for the draft.
D.C. should be a state.
While the average U.S. resident took $2,000 more than he or she paid in taxes pre-COVID, the average D.C. resident took in almost $59,000 - for D.C. in total, that's $41 billion more than it pays in taxes.
D.C. has the highest average federal income tax per capita, proponents add.
In the final analysis, residents of D.C. have far more representation than those in any state.
The Constitution Means What it Says To quote again from the Department of Justice report, "Statehood for the Nation's capital is inconsistent with the language of the Constitution." The Constitution gives Congress - not D.C. residents - the power to exercise "Exclusive" power over "Such District," "Not to exceed 100 square miles of land ceded from the States, that occupies the Seat of the Government." H.R. 51 attempts to skirt this language by shrinking "Such District" to mini pockets of federal buildings, and letting the rest of the District turn into Douglass Commonwealth state.
To obfuscate the political nature of D.C. statehood, proponents attack the racist motives of those favoring our federal structure and the text of the Constitution.
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