Speaking of problems of state oversight

In the AP story "Regula still wants to join D.C. to Maryland," printed in the Canton Repository, Ohio Republican member of the House of Representatives Ralph Regula says he:

is not ruling out a "yes" vote on a plan to grant the District of Columbia congressional representation. But the Bethlehem Township Republican said Tuesday he still prefers his longstanding proposal to rejoin most of the federal district to Maryland.

This, he said, would provide residents of the district with the benefits of Maryland's public schools and universities, economic and transportation planning, and a representative in Congress.
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But Maryland's transportation planning sucks. And who says we need their oversight for our economic planning. Although being able to pay state resident prices for tuition at Maryland colleges and universities would be a plus.

I don't know what I'd suggest. Either have a way to provide voting representation or like how citizens of protectorates (Guam, Puerto Rico, etc.) don't have to pay federal income taxes, neither should DC residents. In fact, I can't think of a better resident attraction incentive.

The rational planner part of me has a hard time justifying statehood for a place that's 61 square miles of land and 6-7 square miles of water. (After all, looking at maps, I figure Delaware should merge into Maryland, and maybe North and South Dakota should combine too...).

Except for occasional and significant interference, for the most part DC doesn't have to worry about enabling authority on the part of Congress, the kind of thing that bothers local jurisdictions in Virginia.

(And note to Reid, Prince George's County, more than Montgomery County, has the kind of local governance of towns that you mention exists in New England. Granted, the County still has most of the authority and tax revenue stream, but towns such as Mt. Rainier, Brentwood, North Brentwood, Riverdale Park, Riverdale, University Park, Colmar Manor, Bladensburg, and Cottage City, and cities such as College Park, Bowie, and Hyattsville have active City Councils, Mayors, and elections. Mostly what they do is policing. But the cities have active building code enforcement functions and involvement in land use and economic development.)

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