Thread 212156168

Why isn't New York the capital of the United States?

>>212156168 (OP)
i don’t know, why isn’t Paris the capital of France? maybe cause big cities got big after they were founded

It was at one point. Washington lived in NYC when he was president. But DC is more centrally located.

>>212156183
>why isn’t Paris the capital of France
Because the Congolese already have it

>>212156202
/thread

>>212156202
I think New York is more iconic though.

>>212156683
Our culture values pragmatism. That's why we went from a backwards 3rd world agricultural shithole in the ass-end of nowhere to the rulers of the world.

>>212156168 (OP)
Serious answer: it was a compromise deal between the North and South. Alexander Hamilton wanted NYC (his turf) to be the center of the US but the Southerner plantation elite didn't like the sound of that so they agreed that Hamilton's debt plan for the Federal Government would be approved in exchange for the capital of the US being moved to a "Southern" state (Virginia and Maryland both being below the Mason Dixon line)

>>212156683
It was a somewhat common philosophy at one point in america to separate the government seat from major cities. NYC isn't even the capital of New York State

>>212156168 (OP)
We did this in Australia too. Canberra is just a boring artificial city made to serve as capital because Melbourne and Sydney couldn't agree on who was more important

>>212156907
What happens in Canberra?

>>212156917
Fuck all

>>212156737
>ass-end of nowhere
>perfectly situated in between both oceans and the two richest consumers in the world after us

In addition to the other reasons here, the founders didnt want one city to cuck the rest of the country like how it was, and still is, in Britain

>>212156168 (OP)
The District of Columbia was carved out to be neutral ground so that no state appeared to rule over the others. Political balance between the states was important because the less populated states didn't want to be dominated by the voting power of more populous states. That's why we have two legislative houses that use two different methods to determine number of representatives, and partly why the presidential election uses an electoral college of state electors instead of direct democracy.
American politics is a long series of pragmatic compromises (and one civil war).

>>212157003
It must be easy to Coup D'etat Australia then.

>>212157076
>tftp

>>212157076
Australians are some of the least politically active people ever, we'd probably just say "nah she'll be right" if tanks rolled into parliament yeah

>>212157073
>the presidential election uses an electoral college of state electors instead of direct democracy.
To explain this more, each state has a number of electoral votes based on population. Some states assign all electoral votes to whichever candidate won the popular vote. Some states divide their electoral votes based on how voting precincts in the state voted.
The voting uses "first past the post" voting, meaning that once more than half the electoral votes can be called for a candidate, that candidate is the winner, even if some states are still counting ballets.

>>212156168 (OP)
new york is not even the capital city of new york state

I just moved to New York today

>>212156168 (OP)
>>212156907
same with Canada. Ottawa became capital because it's directly on the border between Ontario and Quebec, so neither of them could seethe about getting cheated out of having the capital

>>212157364
where are you living?

>>212157364
How was your first day fren? Will visit someday

>>212157383
Upper East Side
>>212157391
It was alri, a lot of overly-loud people but I'll get used to it, I suppose

>>212157301
>Some states assign all electoral votes to whichever candidate won the popular vote.
I live in a so-called "red state", meaning because of the country-wide popular vote being essentially meaningless, my vote will never actually matter. My states WILL go to the GOP candidate, no matter what I vote. If I vote GOP I'm just a rain drop hitting the sea. If I vote DNC I'm just throwing a rock into the sea. That is how it's like in a state dominated by one party.

>>212156168 (OP)
used to be
now its an arab warzone

>>212156683
New York is iconic because it's very very different from the rest of the country. It's different to the point that it doesn't feel like America. So it would be odd if it were the capital.

>>212157412
My new job is in manhattan too but I am gonna stay in NJ. All the chicken coops near the office are 5000 a month

>>212157470
What's your commute looking like? WFH? Living in a less crowded area seems like the smart move but I would not want to be fighting traffic/the subway on a daily basis either

>>212157501
5 days a week. I am gonna take the subway everyday and consoooom the hustle and bustle of the big city. You must be making bank to be renting in UES

>>212157550
Housing subsidized by my employer, $1800/month. Godspeed Jeetbro.

>>212157576
That's an excellent deal. I got a one time relocation stipend of 6k. Good luck out there

>>212157437
What do you mean? How is NY different?

>>212157936
it's one of the oldest cities in the US, has lots of stone and brick architecture, is very walkable, has some european vibes, etc. Just everything about it (accent, culture, buildings, layout, etc) is different from anywhere else in America. To me it looks and feels closer to London than to LA or Houston.

This was even more true a couple decades ago (there's been massive cultural homogenization since then).

>>212156168 (OP)
It would give that city and state too much power.

>>212156907
This. As I recall it was originally Melbourne before Canberra had been decided.

>>212156917
Politics and not much else. It's where all the major departments and embassies are, and it's a planned city with a similar design to Washington.

People tend to hate Canberra for being boring but it's a pretty nice place overall if you just wanted to live a whatever kind of life. Good food, really nice foliage and pretty cold, but truly not much to do.

>>212156183
Paris is the capital of France retard

>>212156183
Paris is the capital of France?

>>212159206
>>212159199
no everyone knows strasbourg is the capital of france

>>212156683
Bro NYC got fucking sacked twice by the British. That shit wouldn't work. It's also why the state capitol is in bumfuck Albany.

>>212157364
Are you a struggling comedian?

Ideally, don't you want your administrative capital to be as far away from the influence of wealth to lower the risks of corruption?

>>212156168 (OP)
>>212156202
They sided with the british during the revolutionary war. not even joking