August 26, 2003 9:09 PM

Taxation without representation 2003

Not very often do I post work by other people. This is, after all, my sandbox, and I don't share well with others. Now and then, though, I do make an exception. My stepson, Adam, who really should have his own weblog, is one of the few people who can make me feel like an intellectual midget. He's written an excellent piece on The Taxation Without Representation Act of 2003. Without further ado, and without editing, here is Adam's contribution:

Sitting quietly on some desk somewhere are H.R. 1285 and S. 617. It is quite likely that you have never heard of either of these bills, through no fault of your own. Every year, literally hundreds of bills are proposed and sent off to a committee or subcommittee, never to be seen or heard from again. For example, you probably have little knowledge of House Concurrent Resolution 2 from the 107th congress. It was designed to “express the sense of the Congress that a postage stamp should be issued in honor of the United States Masters Swimming program.” And who could forget House Concurrent Resolution 191 from that same congress, whose purpose was to “express the sense of the Congress regarding the importance of parents and children eating dinner together as a family.”

We have become accustomed to Congress proposing varied useless legislation, only to see these would-be laws stall in a committee. It is my purpose today to try to ensure that H.R. 1285 and S. 617 do not become the next pieces of Amelia Earhart legislation, sent off on a journey to some committee never to be seen or heard from again.

At this point, you are probably asking yourself “what is this guy babbling about?” I am babbling about the “No Taxation Without Representation Act of 2003.” Before you maneuver your mouse to that attractive “X” button in the upper-right-hand corner of your screen, hear me out.

The No Taxation Without Representation Act is not some libertarian orgy of tax-repealing legislation full of “hate my government” angst that its name might suggest. In fact, it is far from that. The act is designed to grant the citizens of Washington, DC voting representatives in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Since the passage of the Organic Act of 1801, the District of Columbia has not had a voting representative in Congress. Despite this fact, The District is treated as a state, legislated as a state, and taxed as a state for all intents and purposes in more than 500 pieces of federal legislation, and its residents pay federal income taxes. In fact, Washington, DC ranks second on the list of federal income tax paid per capita.

There are many arguments put forward by people who are either too lazy to think, or too politically motivated to stick with the status quo, regarding why the current state of affairs is a-ok. In fact, you are probably thinking some of these thoughts right now. However, like the good person that you are, I am sure that you will read on to gain a better perspective of the situation.

The first (and perhaps the most common sense) argument against Congressional representation for DC is that The District is just too small or doesn’t have very many inhabitants. This myth could use some cold hard facts to dilute its power over people’s minds. DC has a population of almost 600,000. Its population is greater than that of Wyoming. It is one of eight states whose population is under 1 million. It has an area of 63 square miles, larger than at least one country. With these facts in mind, it becomes difficult to understand why Wyoming, with a population of 79,000 less, is represented in Congress by 3 voting representatives, while DC is represented by zero.
The second myth that needs to be dispelled is the myth that District residents pay no income tax, and thus should not be given representatives in Congress. In fact, District residents do pay income tax, just like every resident of every state in the union, and they pay more per capita than 49 states. There is a perception among the poorly-informed that US Taxpayers from outside of The District foot the bill for most of what happens there. This is patently false. The truth is that District residents pay over $5 billion in taxes to the federal government (this number does not include regular federal income tax paid), similar to a state income tax or other state tax. This money is sent to the congress, where it is budgeted, and sent to the District’s government to spend. This monetary tomfoolery gives the illusion that Congress just throws money at DC, when in fact they are just a middleman between the residents and their tax money.

The last myth that I will be exploring here is the myth that DC is entirely public land, is the capital, belongs to all Americans, and should not therefore need representation in Congress. If this argument is to be taken at face value, then it follows that Nevada should have no Congressional representation, for 88% of that state is owned by the Federal Government. Or what about Utah? 68% of that state is public land as well. In fact, of world governments calling themselves democracies, the United States is the only one who denies representation to the people of the capital city. Further, there is no justification for why a capital city is in need of special treatment. The original purpose behind having an independent capital was to ensure that the capital would not be dependent on any one state in the case of a revolt or attempted coup. This ideal is not mutually exclusive with the idea of congressional representation for the citizens of the capital city.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of myths and arguments that promote the denial of representation to American citizens, but it is an introduction to the three most used (and most flawed) lines of reasoning used by people too lazy to think for themselves.

The idea of government through the consent of the governed is violated every day here in the United States. In 1992, the United States became a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which article 25 guarantees equal representation among the citizens and equal representation in the national government. The case of Washington, DC shows the United States to be in violation of this covenant. In addition, the 14th and 15th amendments respectively guarantee equal protection under the law and equal, unabridged voting rights for all citizens. These principles are clearly violated by the status quo situation in Washington, DC.

After reading this, I hope you feel more aware, and possibly better educated. However, don’t let this be the end of your awareness. Do some research, find out why the people with the power to remedy this situation do nothing, and find out why nobody seems to know or much less care about this disgusting bit of American trivia. Hopefully, you will come to (or have already come to) the conclusion that something must be done. I encourage you to contact your congresspersons and let them know that you support H.R. 1285 and S. 617. Try to discuss this with at least one other rational person. Send them here, or to some of the information that is linked at the bottom of this article.
I would love for this issue to be put on the national radar screen by the news media, or put to the forefront in an election-year debate. However unlikely that scenario is, I thank you for taking the time to read this, and hope that you will at least give some thought to representing those who cannot represent themselves.

For more information, visit dcvote.org. Information for this editorial was garnered from US Census Data, the US Department of Commerce, congress.gov, the Internal Revenue Service, dcvote.org, and the writings of Mark David Richards.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on August 26, 2003 9:09 PM.

Now this is democracy in action was the previous entry in this blog.

Can't you just FEEL the compassion? is the next entry in this blog.

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