Posted on 02/07/2009 5:48:27 AM PST by BobL
At this point it’s clear that any pretense of fiscal responsibility by our government is over. Not only is spending and debt going through the roof, the long-term goals of this administration (i.e., global warming, locking up land from development, arms reduction/elimination, etc.) almost assure us that we will be Third-World within a decade, and the rest of the world will simply bypass us as our major goals will seeking food and clean water, and hoping that China, Russia, Mexico, and other countries don’t choose to exact revenge on us.
So, that brings us to the S-word, especially here in Texas. I won’t spell out the S-word, since that would probably bring in the soon-to-be formed Internet Goon Squad, so we’ll work around it. But I do think that a serious discussion of the S-word will begin to leave these web pages and move more mainstream, probably within a year , as the effects of the debt start to really to strangle people. After all, the main reason to hold together is that a larger country is generally able to project more power on the world stage and look after common interests. Since we seem to be walking away from having any military power, don’t seem to have any common interests anymore (i.e., red state, blue state divide), and are putting in place measures to assure that we never recover (i.e., Global Warming, National Health Care), the main drawbacks of breaking apart start to go away, and the benefits of breaking apart start to make more and more sense.
So, how would we here in Texas structure things without the “help” of Washington, DC? Note, I’ve already been promised by two people that Oklahoma will join us. I also think that we have a good shot at Arkansas and Louisiana, and if we get them, then Mississippi and Alabama, and, maybe, finally, North Florida would fall into place. In other words, we’d be pretty a big country, able to take care of ourselves.
My first thoughts are cultural…but then much more:
1) We could seal off our southern border, once and for all.
2) We can real employee verification for legal status.
3) English as the Official Language
4) Real welfare reform (or elimination…go to a church if you need help)
5) We could by trucks, light bulbs, toilets that flush, washing machines that clean, and SUVs again (yes, they will still be built for China).
6) We could buy those vehicles without air bags and with a much less costly (but still very effective) emission control system.
7) We could build and expand refineries, and burn coal…as much as necessary
8) We could finally reform public schools, by getting rid of tenure, teachers unions, calculators, and most computers. In other words do what has worked in the past (and hopefully have Dr. Sowell as the Education Secretary…if we have one)
9) Children could have a moment of silence without some ACLU guy screaming
10) We could handle abortion as we wish (rather than having 9 dead [or almost dead] judges dictate to us). 11) We could drill off-shore.
12) We could build as many nukes as we need or want, simply by going to France and either having them manage the task or license their (flawless) technology to us. We could then export our excess power (particularly wind power) either north or south.
13) We could eliminate labor unions and become competitive with the rest of the world. Sounds drastic, but their time has passed, and labor will have plenty of means of redress.
14) We could straighten our legal system, both criminal and civil. No more last minute appeals to federal court to stop executions, no more predatory lawsuits.
15) Needless to say, endangered species would be on their own…we are not going to sink our economy or destroy people’s lives to save something that doesn’t deserve to survive in the first place.
16) No more drawn out processes to block economic growth. There will be some processes, like streamlined environmental reviews, but those the permitting process will have to be done in something like a year (at most) – with no room for judicial interference.
17) No more threats from Washington to force seat belts or rebrand social drinkers as drunk drivers, due to a bunch of guilt-ridden loud-mouthed women (and no, I’ve ALWAYS worn my seat belt, long before it was required, and yes, we do need drunk driving laws…but not at 2 beers – and no, I never had a DUI).
18) End (to the extent possible) the intrusion of Big Brother into our society. One way is to pay for roads with the gas tax. If the tax is not high enough, then raise it. But don’t stick someone in a database every time they drive out to get milk. Same for “Smart (electric) Meters”…you’ll be hearing about just what they are capable of soon enough.
19) No more anchor babies.
20) Free market for health care (or at least much less restricted – such as the ability to buy insurance that doesn’t cover substance abuse…for those of us who don’t plan to abuse substances)
These are a few. Essentially, we could go back to where we were just several decades ago. We will still have environmental laws…cars will have to be clean, but not spotless, and definitely not electric. We will be able to raise kids as we wish and say Merry Christmas again. We will be able to tell a women they look good at work and not be sued. Jesse Jackson’s (and soon Eric Holder’s) extortion tactics will not work here. Same to ACORN and the Hispanic revolutionary bunch.
The drawbacks…just about everyone can be countered. I’ll list a few:
1. The benefit of common defense doesn’t help when we don’t have a defense in the first place and have withdrawn as a superpower – due to being broke, if no other reason.
2. The benefit of a large, open, market doesn’t help when the rest of the market is a total basket case, more interested in looking like Zimbabwe and saving the world from Global Warming.
3. The idea of trying to fix the system from within, which would be ideal, is not possible when you have a Supreme Court making law…cannot be done. The Constitution is non-functional.
4. The possibility that Washington will resist…only legitimate drawback.
Finally, how would the rest of the country react? Hard to tell. At first they will not believe we are serious, since it’s been a long time before there was this type of move. Next, there will be a large faction that will be thrilled to have us bible-thumpers (and the Bush’s) out of their country, so that they can finish their work in making their territory some type of “workers’ paradise”. Finally, there will be a segment that will figure out that we will have quite a stranglehold of the remaining territory, given our chemical, oil, and refining capability, and then especially if we hold the mouth of the Mississippi River, and may actually want to fight. Which faction wins…hard to tell, only one way to find out.
As to our share of the debt (which will be about $1.5T by then), easy – we forego our share of the Social Security Trust Fund and take care of our seniors without Washington’s help. It should be about a wash. If they don’t like that idea, then maybe we take the debt, and simply default on it – not a great way to start, but certainly better than trying to pay it down.
So, what do you guys think? I’m not really interested in the feasibility of the idea, but more the mechanics of it and what outcome could be. Since, if the outcome can be made to work, the feasibility will improve as Washington realizes we mean business. And keep in mind, I’m just trying to get ahead of the curve here…this discussion will begin soon, because of our debt, if nothing else.
“What about Arizona?”
Obviously the more the merrier, but it’s critical to keep the new country contiguous, which means that New Mexico would also be required, and they are quite flaky. But, if possible, then join in...or just move here.
It would be ideal to cover most of the Southern border (realizing of course, that Kalifornia is a lost cause)
“I think it would be a good idea to start having conventions/meetings with people from all of those states, and others (like me) who would move to one of those states if necessary. We have seen the enemy and there’s no point in waiting to see how much further they can destroy America before we take action.”
Yea - but we need to be very careful about getting marginalized at this point...as that would set us way back. I’d prefer to work under the radar and try to get the initial plans in place - have something workable and then pick up a well-respected politician to lead the charge (sounds like an oxymoron, but they do exist).
So, we need to be careful about jumping the gun. Right now, the general public believes that we’re just going through another routine recession (maybe a bit rougher than usual, but certainly not a meltdown). If we move out now, we simply look like sore losers from the election. So, not yet.
“It would be ideal to cover most of the Southern border (realizing of course, that Kalifornia is a lost cause)”
It really doesn’t matter if you think about it. In any case, we’ll have to defend all of our borders, and California will leak like a sieve, so the old US will simply fill up from there.
That’s exactly right. When Soviet Army officers and troops were not paid, they went through a period of utter beggery. Under those circumstances, the troops were both unwilling and unable to force the discontented national republics to stay in the USSR. They were literally living off of the charity of the “rebels” in some cases. Soldiers were digging potatos and officers were cleaning offices to make ends meet.
We may meet the same fate, if the economy collapses.
I’m not a sports fan, have not interest.
The game we are talking about is for Keeps.
I am a Native Texan, but I am also a patriotic American.
Have no desire to see the U.S. broken up.
Defend her WE will, in spite of the wishes of the Kenyan.
If he blinks, OK. If not, so be it.
ps. Just don't let GW Bush or any of the New World Order globalists anywhere near the government!!!
COME JOIN US!!!!
Just have a passport ready to visit the old country. when you go there, you’ll have a blast, as their currency will be worthless.
I agree, Bush - NO WAY!!! We need credible conservatives (sorry, but Ron Paul, please don’t apply - although he could make an excellent Finance Minister). Good people do exist in Texas...but it’s hard to think of one that has gone to DC and come back uncorrupted. We will have to pull them out of the state level.
They sure will miss you taxpayers up there.
And also, don’t wait too long, or you may lose automatic citizenship, based on residency. As this movement pics up steam, we’ll have to set a cut-off date, after which people are considered immigrants, even if they live here (to avoid getting flooded at the end by liberal economic refugees...and there will be millions). Not the end of the world for people like you, but it will (unfortunately) be a hassle.
Fascism by definition is National Socialism. Checkout what the initials NAZI stand for.
SS recipients could simply receive their checks from the newly formed government. Collection would continue until it was phased out for a privatized system. Since management of the “fund” would be greatly localized you wouldn’t be paying for all the seniors in Florida, etc.
You wouldn’t want to create beggars out of people who legitimately need the help (ie payed their share and now depend on the payments).
If the new government is going to have FICA withheld from my paycheck, what’s the point of the new government?
I’m all for “S” and wish it would have happened 65 years ago, but what are we going to do about all the federally-owned land in those states?
Someone will still have to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves due to disability or advanced age. If the private sector can’t get it done then it falls to the government to provide that support.
FICA sucks, but we’ve made people dependent on it. Eliminate the dependency and toss it in the bin as fast as possible.
It could start this way:
California Counties May Delay Payments to State
2/06/09
Due to the ongoing budget crisis in California, the state can’t send money to the counties, so some counties are returning the favor.
Family and church.
move to Calgary, if ya wanna do the S-word.
we aren’t letting the liberals secede.
But that was my entire point: create a system where the private sector CAN get it done!
If people could voluntarily donate a percentage of their paycheck, having it automatically withheld, to an approved and regulated charity who would expressly take care of such people, you could stop forcing FICA withholding.
This would allow all of the citizens who rely on SS to receive benefits and not take money from other citizens at gunpoint to pay for it.
If FICA was suddenly stopped, giving you back a sizable portion of your own money, would you actually not want to donate something out of your check to such a charity? I think more than enough people would sign up for such a donation.
Refusal to believe that the generosity of citizens can be relied upon and turning to the government instead is one of the problems that got us into the mess we’re in now. That kind of thinking needs to be stopped.
The caveat would be that only people who need the money for income will receive the benefits. Others, who simply want it and feel they are owed from a promise that the US government made them, could take it up with the US government. You want to continue taking part in their socialism, over the border is the place for you.
This, by the way, is to take care of current elderly folks, not a long-lasting sustained safety net. That would be another matter, but I submit that the FICA ponzi scheme isn’t the way to do that either.
“It could start this way:
California Counties May Delay Payments to State
2/06/09”
Yea - I saw that also. I don’t think it will work like that, since feds were smart enough to prevent the states from getting their hands on any money first. More like the hyper-inflation scenario gets people thinking.
Last week I was trying to imagine what life could be like in a red state without having to ask federal permission to use the toilet. It got real hard...because so much of their crap is so ingrained in us, and there are no “red countries” to model ourselves after (maybe Hong Kong having been one).
But as people start to see their life savings wiped out (even more because of inflation), and then their wages stagnant and pulling down their standard of living...and then finally see that this president has no intention of EVER allowing the United States to become a strong economic power, much less a strong military power again - people here, I believe, will start to think of alternatives.
This is scary stuff...but it’s difficult to see Texans standing by and accepting Third World status, when they don’t have to.
...and it’s all triggered by the debt...which is something that the Dems (and the loser Republicans) treated like Japan in the 30s (i.e., if you ignore it, it will go away and not bother you).
“move to Calgary, if ya wanna do the S-word.
we aren’t letting the liberals secede.”
It wasn’t that long ago that I was hoping you guys could join us (with Alberta, of course...and maybe BC). But soon you will be a far-off country, separated by hostile-liberal soil, for us in Texas.
But thanks anyway, unless you follow our path, there will still be one country left in North America that isn’t Third World.
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