Six Californias

ilikecheese · August 1, 2014

So apparently this could actually become a real thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Californias

I live in California...or rather the State of Silicon Valley. Not sure how I feel about this if it really does happen. Apparently the States of Silicon Valley and Central California would be the wealthiest and poorest states respectively in the country.

Potentially massive political implications as well. California is traditionally a 'blue state', and in the Electoral system all 53 Electoral votes go in a winner takes all type thing. Dividing it up would mean likely mean that some of these new states would vote 'red'.

Anyway, not sure if anyone cares, just thought it is interesting...and might actually happen.

CahillsCornerFlag · August 1, 2014

I care because it makes my party trick of naming all the states quickly a bit harder.

Also isn't south California just Mexico?

Bungle · August 1, 2014

I see the words Venture Capitalist a lot in the report and immediately distrust the main guy involved in putting this forward. I don't actually see any decent reason to split it other than to probably make some rich people even richer.

Plus you'll still all shoot each other no matter what state you're in.

davek · August 1, 2014

Bungle said:
I see the words Venture Capitalist a lot in the report and immediately distrust the main guy involved in putting this forward. I don't actually see any decent reason to split it other than to probably make some rich people even richer.

Plus you'll still all shoot each other no matter what state you're in.

Ha Ha Ha.

Dylan · August 1, 2014

Proposals like this have been put forward several times. I don't think it has a hope in hell of happening.

obc · August 1, 2014

It makes a degree of sense. CA is too large and financially a looming disaster that will make Greece look like a personal bankruptcy.

All those people in the red areas feel absolutely marginalized as their votes don't matter. Policies in SF/LA overwhelm the rest of the state. If left to their own devices, perhaps some of these "poorer" new states might suddenly be a little better off when more of their money stays at home and isn't tied in to some of the absurdities going on. See public servants busted for felonies getting six figure payrolls, or how the Delta Smelt turned San Joaquin valley from an agricultural breadbasket to a dried up pit that needed food imported from China to feed it's now unemployed (largely immigrant) farmers. Fish > people, I guess.

Also good for the US at large. Too many Electoral Votes are tied up in big states, which renders a whole bunch of us just "Flyover Country" and not worth a bother. (And LA & SF would still carry by far the most electoral weight anywho).

Not that Blue or Red really matter anywho. Both are full of rich people getting richer at the expense of the ever-shrinking middle class.

And whatever keeps Californians in California and not escaping to Arizona. Californicators, from a place with higher wages/higher cost of living helped wreck our housing market (also thanks to the gov't forcing banks to give six figure loans to people who couldn't afford car payments) and we still haven't recovered. 10 years in to a 30 year mortgage, in a nice neighborhood, in demand, with a well kept house and new "Must have" items (A/C, which cost about $5k) ... still ate money when we sold a couple weeks ago. (Enough to fund a Liverpool trip for the Mrs and I... )

hell, wtf a I doing talking politics on a footie board? I come here to escape this crap.

off to scrub my brain with beer.

Sapie88 · August 1, 2014

I came in here expecting roller coasters. Massively disappointed.

peteblue · August 1, 2014

It's just a way for the rich folk to abandon the poor folk....the opposite of Scottish Independence..........

ilikecheese · August 2, 2014

Bungle said:
I see the words Venture Capitalist a lot in the report and immediately distrust the main guy involved in putting this forward. I don't actually see any decent reason to split it other than to probably make some rich people even richer.

Plus you'll still all shoot each other no matter what state you're in.

That is my general feeling as well...especially the guns.

Seriously though, I feel the current proposal is a rich get richer division of the state...if it were to come to fruition.

I see the logic in dividing up the massive economy that is California into more manageable segments. Individually, it's the 8th largest economy in the world. Mega-shitstorm if CA melted down. However, in this proposal it's far too drastic to divide it as such to where one of the states is the richest in the country and one of the states is the poorest.