# What will be the next US state? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063 "2014-04-14T01:57:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/41 "2014-04-14T20:45:20Z")
You can have Alberta. And Stephen Harper would make a perfect Tea Party candidate for president. Can you imagine a flag with three rows of 17? But I see no prospect for another state. Alaska and Hawaii were discussed for years before statehood came. There is nothing like that today. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/42 "2014-04-14T22:22:53Z")
Now, let me warn all of you, if you make Puerto Rico a steak, the next thing they’ll want is a baked potato! With sour cream! And chives! And little tiny bacon bits and pieces of toast! And then they’ll probably want a salad bar. Why, they’ll be lined up for miles! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/43 "2014-04-14T22:33:01Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > Now, let me warn all of you, if you make Puerto Rico a steak, the next thing they’ll want is a baked potato! > > With sour cream! > > And chives! And little tiny bacon bits and pieces of toast! > > And then they’ll probably want a salad bar. Why, they’ll be lined up for miles! This was going through my head the whole time I was reading this thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/44 "2014-04-15T00:52:01Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > You know, back in the old AOL SD days, there was a widely believed theory going around that North Dakota was a hoax. Mostly because 1) none of the Dopers then had ever lived there, B) knew someone who had lived there, or III) ever been there. Once someone posted a photo of a sign saying “Welcome to North Dakota” as proof there was such a place, but that was correctly judged to be only proof of a photograph of a sign and no as proof of the location of a sign. Hell, anyone can have a sign made and take a photo of it. I have been in North Dakota. My parents used to go south there for a winter holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/45 "2014-04-15T00:59:38Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > The only state I could be seeing added is if Canada fell apart; Alberta and BC would be welcomed in with open arms. Oh, great. Then how the hell could I drive around Alberta on my next trip to B.C.? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/46 "2014-04-15T01:49:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I voted none for the foreseeable future, but only because 100 years is way to long for the foreseeable future. 20 years is more like it . . . . Just what I was going to write after voting the same. It can’t happen in the current hyper-partisan atmosphere, where the tiniest hint of advantage to one party will cause the other to oppose it gangbusters. But in 20 or 30 years, who knows? Maybe by then we’ll be back to where the big complaint is that there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the parties. Then the addition of two new senators becomes possible. That future is not foreseeable, but it’s possible. First the Affordable Care Act has to get cemented in place, like Social Security. Plus the GOP has to lose big and consistently for at least four years, forcing that party to move left. Demographic trends make it plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/47 "2014-04-15T02:19:10Z")
There was a movement, a small one, to make the Philippines a state. Actually though what I see happening is a metro area that spans more than one state, say New York City, getting its own statehood status. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/48 "2014-04-15T03:16:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Which is why squishing the Dakotas into one state while simultaneously adding DC would work nicely. Is it my fevered imagination, or was there a proposed bill in the North Dakota legislature to rename North Dakota to Dakota? The reason given was that North Dakota sounded just too cold. But, seriously, combining those states (and other multiple combinations) makes much more sense than creating new ones. However, given the current political climate, it is highly unlikely that any state would be allowed to change its status unless some calculated balance was established concurrently. The example given in the thread above was the Dakotas combining, and DC being granted statehood. That makes a lot of sense, but since sense is something scarce in our Congress, I doubt it will happen. Interesting question: How many congresscritters live in Washington, DC? Answer: None. Their homes are all in the states and districts that they are supposed to represent. Therefore, it would take an intermediary step of granting DC 2 Representatives and 2 Senators who have to live in the the capital city to actually realize why DC needs to become a state. Anyone here who has lived there should understand precisely what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/49 "2014-04-15T03:18:51Z")
Hey I lived in DC. They can’t be trusted with a state. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/50 "2014-04-15T12:56:02Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Hey I lived in DC. They can’t be trusted with a state. Not to put too fine a point on it, but we’re talking about the people who elected Marion Barry as their mayor. _After_ he got busted in a cocaine sting. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/51 "2014-04-15T12:59:29Z")
Hmmm… y’all do have a point. A question: is there any part of the District of Columbia that is not part of the city of Washington? Are there two administrations, one for DC and one for Washington? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/52 "2014-04-15T13:28:53Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Heck, as recently as 2012 the Parti Quebecois was elected to a minority government in the province! [QUOTE=Dr Drake] Parti Quebecois was just soundly trounced in the Quebec elections last week. I think the breakup of Canada is an order of magnitude less likely now than it was a couple of decades ago. [/QUOTE] And the specific reason they got trounced is because one of their more prominent candidates made a big deal about separation, while the party leadership tried (badly) to soft-pedal the issue. The PQ went from an almost certain majority win to a trouncing, giving the Liberals a majority government. I’d say this puts separation on the back burner for at least 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/53 "2014-04-15T13:43:34Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > That sort of thing has only happened once before and there was a secession involved too. How might that be managed without a secession? It’s happened twice. Maine was part of the state of Massachusetts until 1820. Massachusetts approved it, a referendum in Maine approved it, and Congress approved it. There were no border issues as Maine was already non-contiguous with the rest of the state. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/54 "2014-04-15T13:50:26Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > A question: is there any part of the District of Columbia that is not part of the city of Washington? > Are there two administrations, one for DC and one for Washington? All of D.C. is Washington, and vice versa. Originally there were separate municipal governments for Georgetown and Washington (and Alexandria, before it was returned to Virginia), and there were some areas of D.C. that were not part of any city, but in 1871 Congress unified the District into a single city of Washington. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/55 "2014-04-15T15:51:31Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Can you imagine a flag with three rows of 17? The U.S. Army Department of Heraldry has had designs on the books since the 1950s > **[How will stars be arranged on the flag if the U.S. ever has 51 states?](https://www.straightdope.com/21341956/how-will-stars-be-arranged-on-the-flag-if-the-u-s-ever-has-51-states)** > [@](#): > > by **Cecil Adams** > A 51-star flag? No prob. When President Quayle calls in 1997, I’ll tell him to make it six rows with alternating rows of nine and eight. For 52 stars try eight rows, alternating six and seven, and for 53 seven rows, alternating eight and seven. That takes care of D.C. and Puerto Rico and leaves us a spare for emergencies. Semper paratus, that’s me. ---
**Author:** ![Neutral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/977dab/32.png) [@Neutral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neutral)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/56 "2014-04-15T16:37:34Z")
Long Island, NY tried for statehood and I think it makes reasonable sense (on a fiscal perspective) for it to become it’s own state. But the rest of NYS will get hit HARD financially as a result of the exodus of these 2 counties of Long Island. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/57 "2014-04-15T20:34:26Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > I think half the people reading this thread just barfed. How dissapointing. I was shooting for a clear majority. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/58 "2014-04-16T15:14:10Z")
> [@Neutral](#): > > Long Island, NY tried for statehood and I think it makes reasonable sense (on a fiscal perspective) for it to become it’s own state. But the rest of NYS will get hit HARD financially as a result of the exodus of these 2 counties of Long Island. Long Island strikes me as being more like Connecticut than anywhere in New York. Michigan’s Upper Penninsula occasionally makes noises about becoming it’s own state (usually named Superior), but it’s got a small population (I think ~100,000) and a pretty small economic base, so it really doesn’t make much sense objectively. ETA: If they ever did spin off NYC as its own city-state, then it might make sense for Long Island to be annexed into Connecticut. Socially, they’d be a perfect match. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/59 "2014-04-16T15:25:28Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Long Island strikes me as being more like Connecticut than anywhere in New York. > > ETA: If they ever did spin off NYC as its own city-state, then it might make sense for Long Island to be annexed into Connecticut. Socially, they’d be a perfect match. It would also settle once and for all that age-old debate over whether Connecticut has a coastline. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063/60 "2014-04-16T16:23:16Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Michigan’s Upper Penninsula occasionally makes noises about becoming it’s own state (usually named Superior), but it’s got a small population (I think ~100,000) and a pretty small economic base, so it really doesn’t make much sense objectively. Over 300,000, actually. Which would still make it the smallest of the states as it wouldn’t even beat out Wyoming. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-be-the-next-us-state/686063.md?page=4)