The 51st

Scott Hardie | August 16, 2019
Should any of the populated U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands) become states?

Should the District of Columbia become a state?

Erik Bates | August 16, 2019
[hidden by request]

Steve West | August 16, 2019
Puerto Rico for sure and if any of the other territories' citizens are being taxed, then yes. I'm okay with DC not being a state.

Samir Mehta | August 17, 2019
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | August 17, 2019
Interesting answers! I was expecting a simple yes or no. I appreciate the thought in this. Ok then, follow-up questions:

- If DC becomes a state, what should its name be?

- If the Pacific Islands all became one state, where should the capital be, and what should its name be?

- What should happen to Puerto Rico's crippling debt if it becomes a state?

Samir Mehta | August 18, 2019
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | December 10, 2019
I neglected to follow-up at the time on this. :-(

This topic really interests me. It's partly a historical thing, that most generations of Americans saw the the establishment of new states and I'd like to see it happen in my lifetime too. Since the early 1900s, there has been an understandable international trend away from imperialism/colonialism and towards sovereignty, but the territories listed above are not going in either direction! A few U.S. territories became independent nations like the Philippines, but many of them are just languishing, not becoming nations and not becoming states, just stuck in limbo.

But it's also partly a moral thing. I believe people subject to the law should have some representation among the legislators, one of the founding principles of our nation. And it pisses me off that partisan obstruction is the primary obstacle to righting this wrong. How can I pride myself as an American on the stories that we tell ourselves about demanding our rights to representation and to vote, and not be furious that some of my own countrymen are denied these rights?

Anyway, to answer my own questions:

- Yes, all of them should become states. I would not bother with the unpopulated territories, but any American land with people living on it should either become a state or become part of an existing state. Puerto Rico has 3.7 million residents according to the last census, which is more than 22 states! The other territories have small populations, so I like Samir's idea of combining them all into one state; that's really clever. It might make sense to have two states, one for Atlantic islands (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) and another for Pacific islands (Samoa, Gwam, Mariana). Either way, Hawaii's statehood makes that weird.

- Yes, D.C. should become a state. Absolutely, 100%. Its population is small (larger than Wyoming and Vermont but smaller than the 48 other states), but its citizens deserve proper representation all the same.

- I would call D.C. "Columbia" as well. If it's confusing since there's already a nation of Columbia, well, there's also a nation of Georgia.

- If the Pacific states combined, Guam or Hawaii is probably the best location for a capital.

- We should pay off Puerto Rico's debt whether or not it becomes a state. I'm aware that this is an unpopular opinion, but I consider it the ethical thing to do.

Samir Mehta | December 10, 2019
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | December 10, 2019
Yes, good point. :-D

Erik Bates | April 28, 2021
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | April 28, 2021
What's the argument for a 50-state status quo? I have heard arguments against DC statehood on the grounds that it's a power-grab by Democrats, but not yet an argument that "51 states is worse than 50," and if you were referring to the latter, I'd sincerely be interested in hearing why anyone thinks that. (Yes, I know it could simply be that "round numbers are nice." Even after this terrible year in which I have learned of many really dumb things that people believe, I still kind of want to know.)

Agreed on representation. While I'd prefer for DC to achieve statehood independently, adding it to a neighboring state is better than nothing, because what matters most is that residents get full representation.

I'm 99% behind the current push for DC statehood. That 1% reservation that I have is because "Washington, Douglass Commonwealth" is a stupid retronym. "Colombia" would be better. Hell, "Douglass" by itself would be better. Even "North Virginia" would be better.

And it shouldn't stop with DC. There are still three and a half million people in our various territories that still lack representation too.

Erik Bates | April 28, 2021
[hidden by request]

Mike Eberhart | April 29, 2021
Been awhile since I've contributed to any conversations here. Figured now is as good as any. I don't believe DC should be state at all. It's meant to be a neutral territory for our central government. I'm totally onboard with DC giving back it's land to the neighboring states, then the citizens there would have their votes. Keep that small central part of DC with all the government buildings neutral and separate.

As for the 50 states thing, I don't have any issue with adding more states if there's a good reason for it. Puerto Rico should be a state in my opinion. It has the population, it uses the USD$, among many reasons. It's long overdue for that territory. I'd rather see a discussion about Puerto Rico becoming a state instead of DC.

Erik Bates | April 29, 2021
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | April 29, 2021
Good point! I'm definitely fine with keeping the federal buildings separate. It's the residents of the city that concern me. I think I saw that the bill just passed by the House would isolate the federal buildings and keep them out of the new state.

And welcome back, Mike! :-)