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Photo by Josh Novikoff
Members of the council and the District's shadow delegation today inaugurated an electronic billboard that lists the amount of federal taxes paid by District residents while not having a vote in the U.S. Congress. (Currently, that's $5 billion a year, second only to Connecticut.) The "tax ticker," which was endorsed by the council last year, is modeled after the electronic billboards in the 1980s that counted the national debt, dollar by dollar, to make a point about reckless government spending. The sign wasn't working at the time of the unveiling this morning, but the display should be working later today.
The council's legislation called for a sign to be placed outside the Wilson Building on Pennsylvania Avenue and near the new baseball stadium in Southeast, though the latter sign has been caught up in a dispute with the owners of the Washington Nationals, who deemed it "political" and "controversial."
Proponents of the sign claim that it will make a point about D.C. voting rights that more easily resonates with many American taxpayers -- if D.C. residents are paying into the system, why aren't they being fully represented in return? Of course, such an argument also yields calls for D.C. to be exempted from paying federal taxes in exchange for not having voting rights. As nice as that sounds, I've always been skeptical of this argument. Rights shouldn't be traded away for tax breaks, IMHO.
Those debates notwithstanding, it's good to know that millions of people may well walk by the sign over the next four days and agree with what we know to be true -- it's patently unjust that 600,000 people who serve in the military and pay their federal taxes don't have true representation in Congress.
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This is an argument that has a lot of discussion associated with it. How about the real story; taxes paid minus services provided for those dollars?
Well, if you want to get technical, federal appropriations make up about 27% of DC's total revenues. Compare that to the states which, on average, take in about 30% of their total revenues from the federal government. There were 32 states that received more money back from the federal government than they paid in federal taxes, yet they're not forced to give up their voting representation in Congress.
As for other appropriations, just because Congress spends lots of money in the District, that doesn't necessarily mean that the money goes to the city or its residents. For example, money technically appropriated to federal agencies in D.C. gets "spent" around the country. Further, more than 400k non-residents work in the city and take their federal paychecks, and income taxes, back home to Maryland and Virginia. To me, it seems like our neighboring states are the real winners in this scenario.
I'm not saying that the federal government doesn't do anything for the city, or that revenues provided by the federal government are all-important. Obviously, the government is the reason this city even exists, and it's the reason we get millions of tourists, etc. However, I don't think that those reasons alone should bar DC residents from obtaining voting representation. Besides, even with voting representation, we still don't have full control over our own affairs - but maybe that's something I can live with as long as I have a say in the body that's making those decisions.
hmm, i hope the millions of people walking by the sign know that we don't have voting representation, and don't just think that we're really, really proud of how many federal tax dollars we pay. maybe the sign should have said "DC Residents Federal Tax Dollars Paid Without Congressional Representation"?
Agreed. I can imagine the tourist reaction: "Kids look at this - Washingtonians think paying taxes is patriotic!"
Good grief. There's nothing on that "tax ticker" to indicate that we don't have representation in Congress. What I'd like to see, though, is what percentage of DC residents actually pay federal taxes.
The "tax ticker," which was endorsed by the council last year, is modeled after the electronic billboards in the 1980s that counted the national debt, dollar by dollar, to make a point about reckless government spending.
I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure nobody paid any attention to those tickers either. Still, what a quaint use of bygone technology to reach a limited audience with a message that doesn't even mention DC's disinfranchised status. Kudos to you, irrelevant political timeservers! Kudos! Now if you'll excuse me, I believe some thieving blackguard is making off with my pennyfarthing! Thief! Vile bawdy villain!
Wizzyliz: DC residents' filing rates are relatively high. 52% of DC residents file Federal income taxes, compared to a national average of 44%. MD and VA are around 48%.
I got this by dividing number of individual income tax returns filed in 2007 (IRS) by 2005 estimated population (U.S. Census).
Er, sorry: national average = 47%.
DC has always done a pretty $h!tty job of educating its youth. Now they're doing an even $h!ttier job of educating visitors about disenfranchisement.
This goes up there with that lawyer and his pants lawsuit...it just never goes away. You're not going to win.
Game over. Why waste more of our tax dollars on this. They were better off creating T-shirts with this slogan, selling them for a dollar at every corner, everybody wears them, everybody sees them, and everybody wins. They get their message across and we get to keep the cheap T-shirts that cost waaaaay less than that stupid sign.
Y'know, I really hope more people pay attention to this tax ticker than the "DC Residents Tax Dollars Stolen by Harriette Walters" ticker she set up in her own front yard. DCRA finally made her take it down because she didn't get the right permit.
You might want to clarify that "second only to Connecticut" statement. It's a little deceiving...it's second only in per capita federal taxes paid. Also, you probably don't want to mention the ratio of federal expenditures to taxes paid in the District as it puts even those rugged, invidualistic, Western states living off federal welfare to shame.
Measuring federal expenditure (particularly vis-a-vis the District) is a very tricky affair and normally reflects the desired message of the meausurer rather than some objective truth.
To wit: much of what is frequently considered "expenditures" in DC include federal jobs. It's true that DC benefits from having these jobs, but to compare it to some rural welfare program is wrong. Not the least of reasons is the consideration that most government employees don't live or pay taxes to the District. Moreover, the federal government creates a huge burden on the District that it does not on other states.
With regards to just plain old cash grants, the District is not exceptional.
while taxes without representation is 'patently unjust', voting in federal elections is not a 'right' of district residents. doing away with the federal tax burden for district residents would end an unjust situation; it would be all win for district residents, not a 'tradeoff'.
evilolive makes a good point that the council, as usual, even muddied up their message. the district has never shown itself to be fit self-gov't as a state and should be given back to maryland, whether they want it or not.
Merry-land...Merry-land...Merry-land...
I believe this is the first time I've ever seen Paul Strauss in public without some B-list actress on his arm.
In addition to the tax ticker, Chairman Gray told me after the press conference that they will hang a banner outside the building to make a statement about DC's lack of political rights. The slogan is still being finalized, but it will be right in front of the temporary structure being built to house the VIPs watching the parade. Both items should get us some press attention on Tues.
Well, you definitely need a subcommittee to figure out a way to say something as complicated as "DC Residents Pay Taxes But Have No Voting Representation." I can easily see people staring at that banner, scratching their heads, and pleading, "I'm sorry. I just don't understand what you're talking about. Could you please rephrase it in terms of Yu-Gi-Ho?"
Looking forward to the news coverage of visitors reading the sign and shrugging.
Knowing the District, the banner will be installed Wednesday.
Exactly. Where is the message? How is this telling the Inauguration visitors anything about the plight of DC residents? All it says is Federal taxes paid. The problem is not communicating the tax figures, the problem is telling people of the problem in the first place. Most people aren't even aware that DC residents don't have full representation. I think they totally missed the mark.
Brilliant!
Shouldn't there be a comma after "DC Residents"?
How about another ticker that tracks the proportion of DC and federal income taxes paid versus the number of DC residents who pay no taxes yet complain about wanting more welfare subsidies?
Will the DC ticker count only federal income taxes? What about social security and medicare taxes?
Did the city get the necessary building permits for the sign? And doesn't some historic preservation agency have to review the sign?
I think you mean an apostrophe, since it takes the posessive (the taxes are paid by the residents). They should have just said "FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS PAID BY DC RESIDENTS" but that would be totally clear writing, which runs counter to Yoda-esque ass-backwards bureaucrat-speak where the put the verb at the frigging end of the goddamned sentence. "Hmmmm...taxes paid they are....tax protest begun we have..."
From the Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 12, 1776
(Written by Geroge Mason, mentor to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison)
"6. That elections of members to serve as representatives of the people, in assembly, ought to be free; and that all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented for the public good."
How long does it take to practice what you preach? 2009 minus 1776 equals 233 years.
When WILL it become a priority???
From the Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 12, 1776
(Written by Geroge Mason, mentor to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison)
"6. That elections of members to serve as representatives of the people, in assembly, ought to be free; and that all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented for the public good."
How long does it take to practice what you preach? 2009 minus 1776 equals 233 years.
When WILL it become a priority???
Ad hominem. Red Herring. Off-topic.
Ad hominem. Red Herring. Off-topic.
May I suggest "Governed Without Consent"
From the Virginia Declaration of Rights, June 12, 1776
(Written by Geroge Mason, mentor to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison)
"6. That elections of members to serve as representatives of the people, in assembly, ought to be free; and that all men, having sufficient evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to, the community, have the right of suffrage and cannot be taxed or deprived of their property for public uses without their own consent, or that of their representatives so elected, nor bound by any law to which they have not, in like manner, assented for the public good."
I'm curious what citizenW's stance is on this issue.
Shouldn't there be a picture of Harriette Walters saying:
Thanks a million DC!
Correct you are, grammar monkey. Apostrophe meant I to say, not comma as I did say.
So bottom line, this dopey sign is emblematic of how the Council f's things up: the language used on the sign is grammatically incorrect and confusing, the money amount wasn't listed when the sign was unveiled, and the overall message is lost on anyone who stops to wonder why there's a big sign in front of Mr. Wilson's Building.
Another question: Will the tally include all federal taxes paid by DC residents since the imposition of the federal income tax? Or only since Home Rule?
According to the AP Stylebook, you do not use an apostrophe for descriptive phrases such as this. Yes, you could maybe say "Federal Tax Dollars Paid of DC Residents," but it makes more sense to say "Federal Tax Dollars Paid by DC Residents." And if you use "by" instead of "of" it's descriptive and not really possessive.
Would they even be using AP Style? Government agencies usually use GPO Style. Anyway, AP Style can eat a dick. I got about as much use for AP as I do for a second glass of pee. Straight UP.
In our BDSM relationship with the Feds, we are a bottom. Nobody should be surprised. Embrace it.
Perhaps we should have a second ticker showing how many DC residents have died in service of this country. That's a little more powerful than paying taxes in my opinion.