Posted on 01/30/2017 6:50:10 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Like the talk of secession in conservative southern states after Barack Obama became president, the idea of a separate California Republic builds on long-standing separatist feelings amplified by a momentous national election. Since Donald Trump became president while securing less than a third of the vote in California, the Yes California campaign — a.k.a. Calexit — has gotten a lot of attention and perhaps even some momentum in getting an initial measure placed on 2018 general election ballot. An estimated 7,000 volunteers have begun amassing the 585,407 signatures necessary to place a constitutional amendment on the 2018 ballot deleting the state’s adherence to the United States and authorizing a 2019 referendum on independence.
The arguments for Calexit are pretty simple: The state is drifting ever-further away from the rest of the country in cultural attitudes and public policies, especially with respect to immigration and the environment. California’s size and wealth (its GDP is similar to that of France) make it the one state that might make a go of it alone.
It is also a “donor state” when it comes to the relationship of federal taxes collected from Californians to the federal spending conducted there; one recent analysis showed California ranking 46th among the states in relative dependence on Washington.
But it’s clear the main reason for sudden interest in Calexit is Donald J. Trump, and the possibility a federal Republican regime under his direction would preempt California preferences on a wide range of issues. Even though Governor Jerry Brown and other statewide Democratic elected officials have kept their distance from Calexit, the saber-rattling they have conducted about the state’s willingness to fight Trump and the GOP in court has undoubtedly fed the Calexit sentiment. The latest Trump provocation, threatening sanctuary cities with the cancellation of all federal funds,
(Excerpt) Read more at nymag.com ...
The biggest problem facing California's agriculture is water. Although this year rain fall and the Sierra snow pack are abundant, the fact remains that California is mostly a desert, dependent on a huge water supply infra structure built mostly in the 20th century, that has not seen an upgrade for at least a quarter of a century. The drought-flood cycle has been going on here for thousands of years. (For a good discussion of California water history, see Cadillac Desert)
Two problems exacerbate the water issue: the state's population has doubled over the last 50 years (20 million to forty million), and the increasingly left wing government has passed enviro laws that limit the distribution of water to agriculture. On top of that the lunatics in the South Bay are tearing down light industrial space and building high density housing at a phenomenal pace. Tens of thousands of new housing units will only add to the problem.
They already are, and I see no evidence that is occurring. Donald won only because people think he might create jobs, whereas Hillary destroys them. This country has a lot of fools who think that love wins out. That the terrorists will lay down the arms and abandon their goals.
Oh, please California, throw us into that briar patch. Where will you get your water, eh?
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