Why Washington DC Should be a New State

Washington DC is a federal district  in the United States where George Washington set its borders. Virginia and Maryland both gave land for the capital, and the capital has many problems. It is the only democracy in the world with no voting representation in the national legislature. DC has many problems with its legislature because it is not considered a state, so it doesn't get the power of one, but still bears the responsibility. There are three main reasons why it should become a state or at least get the powers of one: it has the ability to become a state, it doesn’t get necessary benefits that the states get, and they do not get enough representation.

 

First off, even though DC would become the smallest state in the US if it were to become one, it would still be perfectly capable of being a state. The 23rd amendment states the maximum size the capital can be, but it does not require it to have a minimum size. Currently, Washington, DC has 712,816 residents living in the area. That amount is more than Vermont or Wyoming has. Washington DC is also financially stable enough to become a state. Residents in DC pay the highest federal taxes per capita in the nation, yet they do not get all the rights or privileges of a US citizen. 

 

Next, Washington DC does not get many benefits that other states because they are ultimately controlled by the federal government. On January 6, 2021, after the defeat of Donald Trump in the election, a mob of Trump supporters attacked the capital building in DC because they believed that the election was fraudulent. Because DC can’t use the DC National Guard without the president's consent, the Mayor could not get apt defenses to protect their people. This caused the Capitol Police to be outnumbered and the D.C. Metropolitan Police department to be stretched too thin to protect its own residents. Then, they had to find aid from neighboring districts. In no other place in the US would this be a problem. 

 

Lastly and most importantly, they do not get the same representation or powers as other states do. This is, again, because they are controlled by the federal government too much, so they barely have a say in anything. Citizens of DC are not able to vote on any of the federal laws that govern them and control their livelihoods. The federal government can also completely abolish the local government. They were granted home rule in 1973, which allowed them to make local solutions to problems, yet the federal government can still prevent their decisions. This doesn’t even happen rarely, having years where the federal government can try to prevent 25 local laws in one year. Even though they have a representative in the house, they can’t even vote.

 

Because they can be a state, but don’t get the benefits of representation like the states, they should be able to become one. All in all, Washington DC is given the responsibilities of a state, yet it does not get the power of one because the federal government takes too much control over it.

 

Sources:

 

https://statehood.dc.gov/page/why-statehood-dc#:~:text=Washington%2C%20DC%20is%20large%20enough,%2C%20Alaska%2C%20and%20several%20others.

https://norton.house.gov/issues/why-dc-should-be-a-state

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/543333-why-dc-should-become-our-51st-state/

 

Questions:

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Do you think that DC should become a state?

 

Do you think that DC should get the benefits of being a state without officially being one?

 

Why?

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Replies

  • Great topic choice and super job overall Ben!

  • I think that they should make D.C. a state not only because of what the public wants but because of how large their population is. Their population is enough to make up a state. Over all, I do think that they should make D.C. a state because they would function well as a state and would be able to handle it. 

    • In my opinion, I agree that D.C. has a big enough population to become a state. I also agree that they could function well as a state and are capable because they already pay their fair share of taxes.

  • In my opinion, I think because they can become a state, but they don't get the benifits of representation, it would be a good thing for them to become a state. I think this could benifit the United States a lot. This would increase public safety by having them being able to act quicker without needing permission.

    • I agree with you that having DC becoming a state would increase public safety because they don't need to get permission from the president to deploy the national guard, so they can act faster. I agree, again, that it would be better because they don't get all the benefits of representation and it could benefit the US.

  • I think that they could make D.C and offical state. I think they do have votes for the Electoral College during the presidential elections and they have a bug population to be able to have enough voted. I think that it could benifit alot of things.

    • Personally, I agree with you that they have enough population to be able to become a state. I also agree that it could benefit many things for DC, like public safety and better representation.

  • I agree with you, I mean, they already have votes for the Electoral College during Presidential elections, and they have high enough population to do that. But then you would have to think about Puerto Rico, and possibly adding that too, and you would have to make a Capital for Washington DC, every state needs a capitol.

    • I agree with you that DC should be a state because they can do things like vote in the Electoral Collage and has a representative in the House, even if they can't vote. I also agree that it can bring up discussion for adding Puerto Rico to the US because we would be adding new states, and I hadn't even talked about that in my post.

  • I agree with you, I think because they can become a state, but don't get the benifits of representation, it would be good to become a state. I'm not sure what good or bad it would bring to other states, but it would be good for DC.  Even if they don't become a state, I think giving them the benefits would be good.

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