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untonugganSo I haven't seen a lot about this recently on social media, which makes me think that the organizers of this campaign are just bad at social media. BUT it is an important issue, and I can't deal with tweeting about it in 140 character chunks, so I'm just going to share here for now.
DC is not a state. It's in the Constitution because of bad planning, honestly, and now it's a political shenanigans about the number of votes in the Senate (because adding DC would presumably give the Democratic party two more votes), la la la.
However, one of the shittiest issues about DC's statehood is that the city's budget must be approved by the US Congress before they can spend it. This goes exactly as well as you can imagine.
Right now, the DC Council and Mayor are trying a fairly ballsy move. Last November, DC voters passed referendum -- the text of which I cannot find -- basically saying the Council and Mayor can skip the step of requiring Congressional approval before they start implementing their budget.
There's been a court case which has upheld the city's referendum, but House Republicans are fighting back. Apparently they are not so concerned about small government after all? I mean, it's in the Constitution!
For a humorous but accurate video about DC Statehood issues, John Oliver has you covered.
DC is hoping the next president will back a vote on statehood, and that their play for budget autonomy will work. I can't find a relevant change.org petition or even a hashtag. However, if you want to share the John Oliver video/relevant news article and/or (if you live in the US) contact your House or Senate representative and tell them that you support the city of Washington DC's right to budget autonomy, that would be great.
DC is not a state. It's in the Constitution because of bad planning, honestly, and now it's a political shenanigans about the number of votes in the Senate (because adding DC would presumably give the Democratic party two more votes), la la la.
However, one of the shittiest issues about DC's statehood is that the city's budget must be approved by the US Congress before they can spend it. This goes exactly as well as you can imagine.
- The US government shuts down because Ted Cruz is grandstanding? DC government shuts down/furloughs employees, too.
- A Congressperson from a conservative state wants to make a point? Attach a rider to a bill about DC's abortion funding or needle exchange programs or how DC's marijuana legalization is implemented.
- Metro funding comes from all three local jurisdictions, so that means Congress can also hold up necessary repairs while they demand that Metro be more profitable or whatever and then complain that Metro has to shut down for repairs.
Right now, the DC Council and Mayor are trying a fairly ballsy move. Last November, DC voters passed referendum -- the text of which I cannot find -- basically saying the Council and Mayor can skip the step of requiring Congressional approval before they start implementing their budget.
There's been a court case which has upheld the city's referendum, but House Republicans are fighting back. Apparently they are not so concerned about small government after all? I mean, it's in the Constitution!
For a humorous but accurate video about DC Statehood issues, John Oliver has you covered.
DC is hoping the next president will back a vote on statehood, and that their play for budget autonomy will work. I can't find a relevant change.org petition or even a hashtag. However, if you want to share the John Oliver video/relevant news article and/or (if you live in the US) contact your House or Senate representative and tell them that you support the city of Washington DC's right to budget autonomy, that would be great.
