There’s a weird little comment thread going on over at the Post blog Raw Fisher, where columnist Marc Fisher has highlighted D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi’s recent annual address to Congress.

The District of Columbia makes little sense as a going concern. It can’t tax most of the people who work in the city. It has enormous responsibilities, including a large poor population with overwhelming needs and a federal government that demands all manner of special services, including ceremonial police escorts that rob neighborhoods of the basic police protection they so desperately need.

Fisher implicitly suggests that D.C. ought to find some other configuration for itself. He quotes Gandhi at length, who cries that our tax base is too low, our financial burden is too high, and we don’t have a state to turn to for help. As we all know, those who usually trumpet this cause (including some of Fisher’s commenters) often suggest the District could cease to exist for the most part and and give itself over to Maryland. Except neither Gandhi nor Fisher would go so far as to actually propose such a solution. Why not? Gee, could it be that we all know that D.C. has had a balanced budget for 9 consecutive years, and is actually capable of managing its unique situation quite well?

Not to say that Congress shouldn’t decrease its reliance on D.C. to pay for special police escorts for federal officials, etc., etc. But wondering out loud whether the city is sustainable is more than a little silly. Contrary to, apparently, popular belief, the District tax base is growing strongly. As we’ve noted on numerous occassions, population loss in the city has slowed and possibly reversed. Property values for businesses and homes are soaring. So what’s with all the doom and gloom from Gandhi, who theoretically understands this? He’d like Congress to give us a break, so obviously, he’s overselling his case a bit so that they’ll listen up. Fisher would have done better with his post if he had actually thought about the context of Gandhi’s remarks.