[gogFloark]

In an earlier thread, I inquired if we should move the US Capital. But I also wanted to entertain thoughts on how to fix Washington D.C. if we leave the capital there.

Some people say we should abolish home rule in DC and have the US Government run the city altogether. Some people pay DC should be a state. Some people say DC should be made part of Maryland. And some people say DC should be merged with Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland to form a new "Metro-State" of Washington.

How should we fix Washington D.C.

[Coededgeme]

I believe the most practical option would be to abolish home rule and have the President appoint the Mayor and administration of DC. The DC Police would also be merged with the White House Police and US Capitol Police to form a larger city-wide police force. I would like to see Arlington and Alexandria given back to DC at the very least.

Ideally, I think Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland should be merged with Washington D.C. creating the new Metro-State of Washington (MSW or Washington M.S.). The new Metro-State will cover 2500 square miles and have a population of 4 million people. The MSW will have two Senators and seven representatives in Congress. Now for the loss of tax revenue and population, the states of Virginia and Maryland will be compensated by the USG at the rate of $1 billion/year each.

In addition to either of these changes, I would propose a series of building projects.

First, a series of transportation projects like building I-95 all the way through DC. Building I-266 to connect with I-66 and cross the new three sister's bridge to downtown DC, building the new Outer Beltway, the Washington Bypass, and the "Techway". I would also propose extending Metrorail out to Dulles Airport and having Metrorail run 24-7.

Second, I propose expanding the National Mall along the east side of the Anacostia River providing space for more monuments as well as for an annex of the Arlington Cemetery to bury our fallen heroes. The West Side of the river is already being built over with new hotels, condomidiums, offices, etc.

Third, I propose razing RFK stadium and building a new US Capitol Building. The new US Capitol Building will have a 1,000 seat US House of Representatives, a 1,000 seat US Senate building, and a hall with a 1000 foot high dome and a seating capacity of 200,000 people for state of the union addresses as well as for annual congressional meetings. The old US Capitol Building will be used for the Metro-State government as the new "City Hall".

I also propose building a new "White Palace" that will rival Buckingham Palace or Versailes. The White Palace will be the new residence and office of the President while the White House will be the home of the Executive V.P. and the V.P.s home will go to the Prefect of the MSW.

I propose raising the height limit on the East Side of the Anacostia River. The height limit should be kept on the West Side of the Anacostia River to maintain the exisiting cityscape and the panoramic view of the US Capitol. But the East Side needs the development and I wouldn't mind seeing Donald Trump buying up the impoverished East Side and rebuilding it into Battery Park II. I also propose building the new baseball stadium as well as a domed Olympic sized stadium for the Washington Redskins, the DC United Soccer Team, as well as to host the Super Bowl and the Olympics.

I also propose building more affordable housing units for teachers, firefighters, rescue workers, civil servants, police officers, health care workers, and military personnel. We should do this in all major cities. We should also change the policy concerning public housing in America. All heads of households in public housing must be enaged in either public or private employment, school, or community service 40 hours a week. We should also give public housing residents the option of buying the units they live in and phase out public housing. Finally, we should consider relocating all inner city residents, especially residents of public housing, to new cities we would erect in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountian states while we rebuild our inner city communities like in Washington.

Finally, I would propose while Congress is in session in Washington that all members of Congress actually reside in what is now the DC City Proper.

By the time this rebuilding and reforms are made, the city would be clothed in Marble. The 100 Square mile center of what is now Washington D.C. would boast a population of five million people and the MSW would boast a population of 25 million people.

[andrekuper]

I don't think anyone in the DC Metro area would want to be a part of DC.

I say give it to Maryland.

[Cersdog]

Interesting enough, there are people in Virginia who think Northern Virginia should break away and become a state of its own.

It may sound unapealling at first to suburbanites in Maryland and Northern Virginia. However, if Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland vote to join this new Metro-State, the new Metro State would have a much more diverse political, economic, and social mix. For example, right now, DC itself with a population of 580,000 is 60% Black. The Metro-State would have a population of 4 million that is much more diverse. The idea would be a tough sell at first but NoVa might go for it.

As for Virginia, well, the state legislature may frown over the lost tax revenue. OTOH, the population of southern Virginia may welcome the loss of Northern Virginia. For one thing, if it weren't for Northern Virginia, Mike Farris may have been elected Lt. Governor in 1993, Ollie North may have been elected U.S. Senator in 1994, and John Warner may not have been re-elected to the US Senate. Virginia may be able to elect more Conservative officials if they can get rid Northern Virginia.

Not to mention with the creation of the Metro State, Virginia can halt suburban sprawl as the Metro-State boundary can function as an urban growth boundary. Virginia can limit development to the Metro-State line if Virginia chooses to do so.

[Patgaepx]

My first thought was that a few kilotons ought to do it, but there are probably some worthwhile people there that shouldn't be condemned by association.

These grandiose ideas sound spiffy, but (mostly) ignore the two biggest problems of the Federal government - That it's too big and out of touch with the country. The best way to make such a radical change is probably to start over someplace else. DC was partly chosen because it was centrally located and convenient to transportation, especially of the international type. These days it's Far from centrally located, and international travel depends (almost) only on having a decent-sized airport. Moving the capitol so that our rulers are more likely to encounter 'real people' and less likely to encounter bureaucrats on a daily basis might help them do the job they're supposed to.

Washington DC: 68 square miles surrounded almost completely by reality.

[rojettafoxx]

That is an option in the poll. However, I would like to hear your suggesstion on where to move the US Capital to in the thread about relocating the US Capital.

Its possible we could move some of the federal agencies outside of Washington and move them to other cities. We could locate the Treasury Department in New York, the Trade and Industry department (formerly the departments of commerce, labor, transportation, agriculture) in Detroit, the Justice Department in Boston, the Land Department (formerly the EPA, Interior Department, and Agriculture Department) in Tucson, AZ, the Communications Department in Nashville, TN, the Veterans Affairs Department in Witchita Falls, TX, and we could spread the independent agencies throughout America. The field offices of each federal department, the EOP agencies, and the agencies of defense, state, homeland, health and human services, and education in Washington.

[AngelBee]

Its possible we could move some of the federal agencies outside of Washington and move them to other cities. That's a good idea. Tho given the logistics involved and the disparities of our current tax-n-spend policies, I'd recommend ranking the various departments and/or agencies by budget, and moving them either to states that current receive more in gov't expenditures than they pay (excluding pork, if possible), to ones with the lowest per-capita incomes, and/or just to ones that can be had the cheapest. This could be done in conjunction with appropriate tax reforms, especially if the first option is chosen.

(That ratio by which citizens recieve less benefit from federal funds than what they pay in varies considerably from state to state. One would be less likely to find this offensive if the reason was "Because ND houses the Dept of Interior" rather than simply "Because".)

[fetesiceWaist]

My first thought was that a few kilotons ought to do it, ...

My thoughts, too. It wouldn't really be a loss, as Denver has the Federal Center, the largest conglomeration of Washington would-be's in the country. No need to start over. Outlaw the retirement and bennies that elected crooks get, and we might get some better ones. Another good choice would be Wolf Point, Montana.