sff_corgi_lj | 'Taxation without Representation'

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I saw something in the grocery store's parking lot when I stopped there before work --

Now, for those who might not quite 'get' the eyebrow-raising aspect of this (I can see

soupytwist nodding sagely), let me 'splain.

Washington, D.C. hasn't been the tidy square mile originally laid out for some time. It has a fairly good-sized population, many of whom have nothing to do with government buildings... but do live in a weird legislative limbo between Maryland and Virginia. For quite some time, D.C. has been badgering Congress for a representative of their own, because they pay federal taxes, provide electoral votes and other state-like functions, but have no Senator and no redress to many federal funds that are reserved for state support.

Here's an appropriate quote from the Wikipedia (which I'm finding increasingly useful):

Residents of the District vote for the President but do not have voting representation in Congress. Citizens of Washington are represented in the House of Representatives by a non-voting Delegate, who sits on committees and participates in debate, but cannot vote. DC does not have representation in the Senate. Citizens of Washington, DC are thus unique in the world, as citizens of the capital city of every other country have the same representation rights as their fellow citizens.

There have been efforts to attain voting representation for many years. These efforts are endorsed by the current Mayor, Anthony Williams and by the current Delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton. As part of the effort, the words "Taxation Without Representation" were added to DC license plates in the 1990s, and the words "No Taxation Without Representation" were added to the DC flag in 2003. Advocates of statehood who supported these changes have said that they are intended as a protest and to raise awareness in the rest of the country. These measures in particular were chosen because the DC flag is one of the few things under direct local control without requiring approval from Congress.

Wow... lobby by tourism! Protest by reverse-tailgating!

'Taxation without Representation'

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