51st state: Eastern Washington secession doesn’t add up
“Washington officials propose new 51st state called ‘Liberty,’” (TNT, 1/21).
After reading this article, I looked at a map.
Large parts of Eastern Washington, once again being promoted as an area that should divest itself from Washington and form a new state, are composed of reservations, native lands, military installations, US Department of Energy grounds, state and national forests, parks, wilderness areas, wildlife reservations, universities and other large swaths of non-taxable space.
Most hydroelectric dams and irrigation resources are also under federal control.
There are 7.6 million people in Washington State. Only 1.6 million live in Eastern Washington.
Do the math. Whose dollars subsidize whom?
In the state of “Liberty,” taxes would have to expand exponentially or else services to the public would fail disastrously.
Terry Carson, Eatonville
This story was originally published January 30, 2021 at 11:55 AM with the headline "51st state: Eastern Washington secession doesn’t add up."