Posted on 08/31/2007 8:26:21 PM PDT by LdSentinal
Not imposing federal taxes on DC residents is a more pracitcal and constitutional idea.
I live here. Both of these ideas are horrendous. DC is such a bizarre place, because of the Federal presence, that it does not need or deserve a right to vote in the elections. Remember, all it will do is to vote for whomever is backing the expansion of government and tax revenue.
The second idea of exempting DC from taxes is about the worst idea anyone has ever had. As you argued a plurality (but not majority) of folks here work for the Federal Government. They need to feel the pain of taxes just as much as anyone.
On a personal note, however, owning a house here, I applaud the idea of not paying federal taxes. My property value will immediately increase another million or so beyond the Alan Greenspan memorial housing bubble subsidy (praise be to his glorious name) because of the discounted value of the benefit. At that point no federal employee would be able to afford the place. It will ALL be high priced attorneys, corporate officers (and for reasons I fail to understand a lot of companies are now headquartered in the DC area), and overaged trust fund babies.
You would never get anyone competent to work in DC on a federal salary again.
This is wrong. Someone has to worry about cleaning the streets and issuing parking tickets. If you want to argue that "home rule" is a disaster, well, no one believes that more than me. Why is it that DC has the least effective public school system of any major metropolitan area in the world? It is an embarassment.
On your second point, residents have always lived in DC, even before it was DC and 3/4 of the land area is covered by housing and residential services and businesses, if not more. You do not even want to think about the kind of bureaucracy that would fill 100 sq miles of land, or the king of bureaucrats who would agree to commute from far away, every day to work there.
Huckabee has lost any moorings of sanity. I cannot believe that anyone who actually worked here would make such idiotic statements.
“The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states...”
Article I, Section II, US Constitution. Members of the House of Representatives are chosen by the people of the several states, not territories or Districts.
On a personal note, however, owning a house here, I applaud the idea of not paying federal taxes. My property value will immediately increase another million or so beyond the Alan Greenspan memorial housing bubble subsidy
Puerto Rico and other US territories do not pay US federal taxes either. Has what you claimed happened there?
The corporate officers of Lockhead Martin, Northrop, or the attorneys at Williams Connolly are not about to move to Puerto Rico to escape the federal income tax.
They already live in the DC area and you are just offering them an enormous tax break at everyone else's expense.
There is already a DC income tax, but by eliminating the federal income tax, you merely invite Marion Barry's cronies to raise the local tax and increase the flow to their coffers, at the very great expense of the US taxpayer.
I don't know why anyone outside of DC would be in favor of any special favors for DC. We deserve none and need none.
I live here, and I take it you don't.
In fact, I see you live in MD. You ought to be really against special favors for DC.
Yes, because this legislation is unconstitutional. They have 3 electoral votes.
This is wrong. Someone has to worry about cleaning the streets and issuing parking tickets.
I'm sure there'll still be Capital police & the capital can contract municipal services from the private sector.
The District Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 17) of the Constitution establishes how a national capital, separate from any State, may be created. It did not create the District of Columbia. The portion of DC that came from Virginia was retroceded (returned) to Virginia in 1846. All of the land that is the current DC came from Maryland. Therefore, it could only be returned to Maryland.
That's absolutely right. There should no more be people living there than in a big commercial office park.
Yes, he’s a lose cannon. Get him off deck ASAP.
Who cleans the streets and issues the parking tickets in this place?
C. B. Richard Ellis Property Management Inc., if I'm remembering correctly.
Hopefully the President will do what he promised he would do: veto this blatantly Unconstitutional attempt at amending the Constitution via legislation, rather than a Constitutional amendment. In 1978, such an amendment was passed by the Congress. Only 16 States ratified it (38 needed for adoption). Clearly the D's want to avoid giving the States a say this time. Amazing how the D's show their love for the Constitution (NOT).
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