Sorry. D.C. Statehood Isn’t Likely – By Philipp Elliott (TIME) / Mar 22 2021
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For anyone who has been in Washington for more than a minute, the arguments for statehood are well-worn territory.
Residents of Washington, D.C., pay the highest per capita tax rate in the country. We contribute more to the federal tax rolls than 22 other states in terms of raw dollars but have no say in how those funds are spent. There are more people in D.C. than either Wyoming or Vermont. Washingtonians’ voting power in Congress? Zero. The District has no voting Senators, and no Representatives in the House. The President and the Senate pick our local judges, the Justice Department runs our police force, our city budgets require Congress’ approval.
The frustration is tangible. In 2016, 86% of D.C. voters approved a non-binding referendum to become the 51st State — which until 2017 also happened to be the name of a great dive bar over by George Washington University’s campus. Our default license plates literally carry the message: “End Taxation Without Representation.”
All of which is part of today’s hearing in the House on D.C. statehood, which has grown from parochial local interest into a national priority for Democrats. There are legitimate and sincere reasons to consider a system that is designed to deny the political clout of a city whose population is historically Black, and where 47% of residents are Black today. For some, the lack of representation for these voters remains unfinished work of the Civil Rights movement, and the statehood question drew a renewed sense of urgency during last year’s reckoning over racial injustice.
CONTINUE > https://time.com/5948974/why-dc-statehood-isnt-likely/
