Capitol Flight: Does Moving a Nation’s Capital Make Sense? By Kevin Rejent

As every fan of Hamilton can tell you, a few people met in “the room where it happens” and voila, a useless patch of swamp between Virginia and Maryland became the capital of the United States. Now Washington D.C. is the sixth largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with the highest per capita income of any city in the country. Clearly, holding the seat of power has served D.C. well, as it has capitals of other nations. But what if that seat weren’t permanent? What if a nation’s capital moved to better accommodate the business of government and spur economic development? Crazy, right? Well, it has been done before and a plan to move the capital is currently underway in .

Moving a seems radical, but several nations have done just that with varying levels of success. Some of these projects were driven by necessity, others by vanity, but all were obviously massive undertakings that changed the face of the nations. The most recent capitol relocation occurred in in 2005. The government (OK, military…same difference) built a fresh city, Naypyidaw, away from the former capital of to give the government (military) distance from the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Yangon and be closer to “rebels” in the northern portion of the country. The cost to build Naypyidaw is rumored to be between $4-$5 billion, which sounds like a steal; but when you consider that amount is approximately the current total annual tax revenue for the nation, the cost is staggering.

A few years earlier, in 1998, Nursultan Nazarbayev moved the capital of his newly independent from Almaty, in the far southern portion of the country, to a more central location and named it “Astana,” which simply means “Capital” in Kazakh. Only he didn’t spend $4B on this grand endeavor. No, he spent an estimated $40B. However, since Kazakhstan has considerable oil and gas revenue to tax, the hit was not as pronounced as in Myanmar. President Nazarbayev has retired, and to honor his contributions to the nation upon his retirement, Astana was renamed Nur-Sultan.

Two other large nations that have purpose-built capitals are Nigeria and Brazil. Moves to Abuja and Brasilia were necessitated by overcrowding in the previous capitals (Lagos and Rio de Janeiro), a desire to place a capital in a neutral area, and security from attacks by sea. While both have been described as somewhat stale and isolated, they now boast populations of over 3 million and generate healthy portions of their nations’ GDPs.

Which brings us to Indonesia and its plans to move the capital from the incredibly overpopulated to a purpose-build city on the island of Borneo beginning in 2024. The costs have been announced at $33B, of which the state will directly fund approximately 20% with the rest coming from public-private partnerships and private development. The new city’s central location, along with increasing concern surrounding Jakarta’s pollution, overpopulation, lack of adequate water, and sinking of 25 cm per year make the move appear reasonable.

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All of this movement raises the fun questions: what if the US moved its capital? Why would it do that? Would that eventually result in the same conditions that led to the movement out of Washington, D.C.? Where would it go?

“Drain the swamp!” supporters of President Donald Trump say, referring to the entrenched government class they not so affectionately refer to as the “Deep State.” “Get money out of government!” say liberal activists disgusted by the appearance that wealth drives government decisions. Moving the seat of government away from the location where power and money has concentrated for the purpose of influencing and profiting from that government would be a grand experiment in good governance, just as the US was once a grand experiment in democracy.

But if the capital were to relocate, wouldn’t the new capital attract the same wealth and power that has taken root in D.C.? Perhaps, but this is where a potential moderating force comes into play: what if the move was not permanent? What if the capital was purpose build and moved every 100 years? The new city could be designed for modern transportation and societal needs (hyperlink hub and fully wired?) instead of shoehorning modernism into older cities. The price tag on this experiment would undoubtedly be large; but building this city from scratch is probably worth the expenses if we know that it will serve such an important function for a century and would spur economic development. An entrenched class of government elites would inevitably develop. However, it could not firmly establish itself because as soon as it fully evolved, the capital would move again and start over elsewhere.

As for where this new capital could be built, that is a political decision that would rely upon good old-fashioned politics and compromise. Ideally, the nation would divide into five regions, Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Mountain, and West Coast, and rotate the capital between the regions. Since the city would need to be a new build, it should be located between other cities to create a strong regional grouping that could both help in the building of the new city and foster economic integration. For example, it could be built in northeastern Iowa, close to Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Des Moines. Or it could be placed in southern Oregon, making a continuous link of cities between Seattle and San Diego. These are mere suggestions; but the idea is to create something new that could remain viable after the capital moves.

Ah, there’s the problem! What happens to D.C. after the move, and what happens to the other capital cities? In short, D.C. would take a large hit. However, vibrant non-governmental industries have developed that could continue to thrive after the move due to the concentration of talent and advantageous location. The new cities would also face challenges after the government left; but since it would be known that the government was leaving and the cities would be in strategic locations, they would be better prepared to deal with the changes.

Of course, this is a crazy idea that would need to be developed more fully, and the political wrangling would be epic. But if America wants to keep its edge as an innovator of democracy and good governance, the most effective location of the capital should be discussed to refresh our democracy, just as it was when the three men met in “the room where it happens” two hundred years ago and saved our fledgling democracy. www.MaggioreRisk.com @MaggioreRisk +1 (314) 412-4161