Much has been said lately about making Washington, D.C., square again. The focus has been on power imbalances that Virginia enjoys.
Indeed, Virginia claims land — and the voters who live there — that were never intended to belong to the Commonwealth. Virginia does enjoy a disproportionate amount of representation in Washington, benefitting from elevated congressional seats and influence on federal policy.
But there is another angle that is perhaps even more important: it would make D.C. solvent. Permanently.
Today, hundreds of thousands of people who work in and shape the federal government live just outside the borders of Washington, D.C. They write policy, implement it and influence national decisions every day.
Yet their formal political representation runs through Virginia, whose government has its own priorities and incentives. They pay Virginia taxes. Their presence boosts Virginia’s infrastructure. Yet their residence there is primarily due to the proximity of Washington, D.C.
The District has had a long history of solvency problems. The nation’s capital — where these residents actually perform their work — remains geographically constrained, governing only some of the citizens it serves. The residents of Northern Virginia enjoy the city’s roads, amenities, etc., but bear no responsibility for them.
President Donald Trump has noted some of the consequences of this drain. In his executive order titled “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful,” he noted problems in crime, graffiti, cleanliness, etc. He stated that the capital is horribly run.
Over the years, the District has gone in and out of financial woes. For a time, Congress even had to step in to create oversight for the District by establishing a D.C. Control Board to manage the District’s financial affairs to ensure it could remain solvent. Even after that Board became dormant, the District still requires federal funding to stay afloat.
Now, we’re not out to excuse the likely mismanagement that has occurred within the District’s government. But that government is also functioning with one hand tied behind its back.
It functions without its originally intended land and the tax base that should come with that. It’s supporting one of the larger populations of another state.
This problem did not emerge due to simple population growth. It is the product of a decision made in 1846 — motivated at least in part by the desire to preserve slavery in Virginia —when Congress reduced the size of the District and returned land across the Potomac to Virginia.
Nearly two centuries later, the result is a capital that is smaller and is forced to serve the states that surround it — particularly Virginia — creating an ongoing financial and structural strain on our capital.
It is true that some of these factors also apply to Maryland. But what is unique about Virginia is that much of the land in question was not within Virginia’s boundaries when the founders created the District. Maryland’s land that it gave to the District still remains in the District.
Returning the original land that once belonged to the District would solve a lot of problems. A recent fiscal analysis helps quantify the potential benefits.
Restoring the District to something close to its original boundaries — bringing Arlington and part of Alexandria back into the federal district — would increase the population by roughly 46 percent, pushing it past one million residents. Economic output would rise by more than 30%, and total personal income would increase by over $40 billion. Employment would grow by nearly 200,000 jobs.
Perhaps most notably, combined tax revenue would increase by roughly 45%. These are not marginal gains. The move would significantly boost the economy of the District and return its tax base to a level sufficient to sustain the infrastructure it needs.
When one thinks about it, why wouldn’t we restore D.C. to its intended shape?
Doing so would correct the disproportionate power that Northern Virginians have. It would help our nation’s capital become solvent long-term, without needing (or at least less) funds from the federal government to keep it afloat. And, it would restore Virginia back to something more akin to a normal state — one that does not take advantage of D.C. bureaucrats in political power struggles.
Indeed, as has always been the case, it appears that the Founders knew best. If we had kept the District as it was originally intended, the problems described herein would not be present.
The political imbalances would be accounted for. The District would be more self-sufficient. On this 250th anniversary of this country, the president should take the steps necessary to restore the District. Make D.C. square again.
Curtis Schube is the executive director of Council to Modernize Governance.
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