November 7, 2024
I spent the day today meeting with lawmakers and their assistants on Capitol Hill.
Here are my top takeaways that I’ll be talking about below.
- Taxation without representation
- Lawmakers work for us
- The awesome steak culture
- Democracy in action
Taxation Without Representation
Folks who live in D.C. proper have a mayor and a city council and 3 votes in the electoral college, however they have no member of Congress to listen to their needs as constituents on a federal level.
There are 700,000 people in D.C. This feels like a mix between irony and somebody’s cruel sense of humor.
Lawmakers Work For Us
I think it’s really easy to forget that our lawmakers work for us. We pay them with our taxes. They work FOR us.
I seriously feel like I have to keep reminding myself of this. You work FOR me, and I would love for you to care about childcare.
Bolster the current bill on the table (45F) and pass it, please and thank you.
The Steak Culture
Came up with a new [bad] business idea (feel free to steal)! Because everyone on the Hill is constantly eating steak at lunches and dinners, someone could launch a startup focused on offsetting negative health effects of eating too much red meat.
Democracy in Action
Best moment of the day, other than ogling Senator Warren as she busily walked by me at one point, was hands down walking by AOC’s office.
I spent my morning listening to Hamilton (to prepare, obviously) and seeing all these post-its with notes from constituents (and yes, even some notes from New Jersey) – it felt vaguely reminiscent of the purpose of the great American experiment. It was inspiring.
Conclusion
What a day!
From seeing D.C.’s weird representation situation firsthand to reminding myself these lawmakers actually work FOR us, Capitol Hill was quite the experience.
The steak lunches gave me a business idea (still probably bad), and those post-its in AOC’s office? Pure Hamilton vibes.
Democracy is messy, frustrating, and sometimes inspiring – just like my day on the Hill.
Let’s keep showing up and speaking up. That’s the whole point of this American experiment anyway, right?