The last time we checked on #CalExit, the California secession movement, supporters of the #CalExit ballot measure officially ended their efforts.
However, a second #CalExit proposal is moving forward as the state attorney general’s office released an official title and summary for the initiative (“California Autonomy From Federal Government” initiative) and is permitting backers to gather signatures.
The proposal, scaled back from an initially more aggressive version, would direct California’s governor to negotiate more autonomy from the federal government, including potentially putting forward a ballot measure to declare independence.The initiative wouldn’t necessarily result in California exiting the country, but could allow the state to be a “fully functioning sovereign and autonomous nation” within the U.S.Backers of the plan, known informally as “Calexit” have 180 days to collect nearly 600,000 valid signatures for the initiative to go on the 2018 ballot.
Even if the backers gather the required number of signatures, the chance of success is microscopically small.
…Following Trump’s election victory, it appeared that support for Calexit was increasing, with a January poll from Reuters showing 32 percent of Californians would back a break from the U.S.However, secession is ultimately unlikely, given that the majority of Americans do not support the proposal and that a Calexit would also face major legal hurdles regardless of public opinion.
Backers have until Jan. 22, 2018, to gather signatures.
“We feel like this current initiative is more feasible and will hold up more to scrutiny and legal challenges,” said Steve Gonzales, a member of the group California Freedom Coalition.
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And while supporters point out that California has the “fifth largest economy” in the world as justification for the move, there are several factors that have not been fully addressed. A few of the items showing the #CalExit math doesn’t add up:
1) The cost of defense of the newly independent entity is ignored by backers.
2) The proponents have not addressed the fact that the federal government owns over 45% of the state, and the national government will want compensation for these lands
3) Funding for Social Security, Medicare, and other benefits that are now handled by the federal government would either have to picked-up by the state or dropped entirely, and there is no indication of which approach would be taken.
4) Why should the federal government allow the new “sovereign state” to use the dollar as currency? How would the autonomous California actually do business?
5) With 55 electoral votes, the Democratic Party politicians and leaders are unlikely to allow California to leave.
Still, in the highly unlikely event #CalExit occurs, the United States could still keep the 50 stars on the flag by welcoming the State of Jefferson.
A group of California residents are fed up with unfair representation within the state’s government, which they say has led to excessive regulations and over taxation throughout northern counties. The group, a grassroots effort known as the State of Jefferson, hope to create a new state from Northern California to combat these issues, and local advocates hope that Stanislaus County will join the cause.“The ability for the voices of Northern California to be heard is virtually impossible, and part of the problem is that you have one Assembly member covering multiple different counties,” said Allan Romander, media coordinator for the State of Jefferson movement in Stanislaus County. “Because you have different attitudes and different political interests in those counties, with some countermanding each other, it’s very difficult for an Assembly member to appropriately address or represent those folks when he or she is in Sacramento.”
I suspect the Jeffersonians would be quite happy with this arrangement.
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