The government shut proved that some politicians care more about illegal immigrants than the base needs of American citizens. In turn, many groups have begun voicing their growing dissent with the status quo in Congress and in political positions at the state level.
One of the most notable protests of the past few weeks was the declaration of independence of a new California. It sounds a bit crazy, but when you look into the details, you can see that this is actually a sound idea borne of careful planning that is likely to be buried by Democrats in power.
The Secession
If you haven’t seen it in the news already, a group of California counties have officially declared their independence from the rest of the state. While this sounds dramatic, it’s little more than a formal protest at this point — similar to when Californians discussed secession after Trump won the election. Unlike that pointless bit of whining, the New California secession actually has long-term thought and potential benefits.
Over the past few years, the organizing body behind the secession has revised their plan, and as it currently stands, it would largely separate the rural agriculture counties from the super metros of L.A. and San Francisco. A total of 21 counties (out of 58 total) have signed the declaration and fully support creating a 51st state. If it were ratified, “old” California would only subsist of a strip of land along the cost that runs from L.A. county up to San Francisco and Sacramento. San Diego would be included with the rest of the state in the New California territory.
What it Would Mean
There is a lot in the way of this secession being ratified, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume it was passed as is. The two resulting states would be wildly different. New California would be largely rural and conservative. Still, it would have more than 10 million residents, which would strip current California of significant political pull. It also would represent the departure of tens of billions of dollars in annual economic gains. Perhaps most telling, the New California borders would encompass about 80 percent of the land that is currently considered California.
What it Would Take
The constitution is perfectly clear in regards to the process of creating new states. An additional state cannot be made by splitting or joining existing states unless it is approved by existing state legislatures and Congress. While a Republican Congress would love to grant governing freedom to the bullied counties of California, there is no way the state would be willing to relinquish the revenue and political weight they would lose.
In the end, this is just another protest, but it highlights an important point. Most of the country suffers from the political insanity that spews out of coastal California. Those who try to make an honest living within the state’s borders have it much worse. Landowners and producers are overtaxed and over regulated, all to supplement the ineffective policies of coastal cities.
What Now?
Since secession isn’t a realistic way to diminish the tyranny of California government, we have to look for ways to be productive. Thankfully, the Trump Administration is ahead of the game. Despite the ridiculousness of the current government shutdown, steps have been taken to reduce coastal power swells in our country.
The biggest among those is tax reform. If you recall, the deductions for state taxes have been heavily reduced. This comes at a time when California is entering its worst ever debt crises. The combination of factors means that state taxes are going up, especially for the wealthiest residents, and the ability to recover that money through deductions is now gone. That is likely to push a lot of businesses and wealthy residents out of the state, which will ultimately lead California to face two dramatic options. They can reform their government, or they can embrace a mass exodus. Either choice is good for America as a whole.
Of course, all of this speculation is dependent on the federal government managing to function on a basic level through the midterm elections. It will take a lot to reverse the strength of the Trump economy, but you can trust that Democrats in office will do everything in their power to make that happen.
Theoretically, the Republican majorities on both sides of Congress should mitigate those efforts, and the winning economy, repeal of the individual mandate in Obamacare, and other benefits of the Trump Administration are sure to purchase many votes this coming November. If we can keep the worst insanity of the left at bay for just a while longer, we can look forward to the long-term prosperity they have tried so hard to prevent.
~ American Liberty Report
