Many people support the Rancher who refused to pay funding for tanks and crew served machineguns pointed at him, a lowly cattle rancher. A lot of people think the Federal govt is out of control. He should have paid the fees, and the BLM will end up having to pay for the water tanks they destroyed that he put in place, used by cattle and the tortoises to drink. There will eventually be arrests.
Here in California, those feelings that govt is out of control are helping the Jefferson State movement gain new members. We can't fix the Federal govt, and we can't fix California as-is, but we can divide from the state and fix local problems once the state isn't able to interfere. Or more importantly, steal our taxes and give them to LA.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting what to have for lunch.
California is spending billions on trains to nowhere and tunnels under the delta when it should be cutting spending on social services that only people with the correct political associations can benefit from. And often, correct language or skin color. Ahem. Many people in the other parts of the state pay taxes that never come back. Their roads are falling apart. Their parks are closing. Their schools are shutting down, and turn out students who can't read, write, or do arithmetic. The system isn't working. Something has to change. And boards of supervisors are voting to join Jefferson state. California can't be saved. Time to bail out.
Yuba County, to my West, just voted to join Jefferson state. Placer County, to my South, has too. I suspect that this county won't, mostly because folks here are rich enough not to want the added tax burden of legally assuming a large share of California's tax debt and trying to pay it off in the poorest counties, as if sharing the equal burden is even remotely fair. And really, Jefferson State is a plea for help rather than a viable plan. The divide into 6 plan makes more sense, and I think it is divided wrong anyway. The central valley shouldn't be sliced East West like that. The map was created by someone who doesn't understand geography. Still, dividing California has its good points and eventually they will outweigh the costs. Dividing California also makes it easier for Fracking, so Oil Money will get involved, and DC too. The Lobbyists would be hugely in favor of shedding debt-taxes while keeping the essential lands with all the oil under them in the smallest area, with the lowest population, and the least ability to object. That is how corruption works. Divide and conquer.
Most California counties are physically larger, and have bigger populations, than Rhode Island. And Rhode Island gets two senators. I'd love to be represented by someone other than Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein and Nancy Pelosi, all three of which have issued statements which if they were Republicans would have gotten them burned in effigy, but since they are Democrats are ignored by Liberal-Fascist media.
Dividing California will have some real costs, but the upsides will be opportunities to correct some historical wrongs, like water rights, taxation, and poor representation at the national level, as well as state. If Los Angeles has to really PAY for its water, the North will be able to afford better roads and have more people working for a living. Of course, the North wants to grow pot for a living because there's no legitimate industry there since the mines are empty, and the trees are still growing back after being clearcut.
Other than firefighting, California is doing pretty badly at managing its resources. Our reservoirs are full of silt instead of water. Our flood control levees are about to fail, destroying farmland and towns. Only people in LA are actually happy. We're in drought. There aren't nearly enough jobs to go around, so the racial finger pointing is rampant. Crime is down, but spree killings are up as people snap. We are likely to have another bad year for fires. And the price of food was announced as double or triple for most things we eat. Meat, grains, vegetables, citrus. It will all cost more. Dad and I are planning to put in Tomato plants just so we can have some. Using drippers in the brightest patch of soil the water cost will be low, and it is fenced so deer can't get in.
So things are less than perfect. But dividing the state will help the locals focus on their own local problems and ignore the foreign mess in LA and SF which really has nothing to do with Northern Agriculture issues. Having driven across that last weekend, and seeing land in use, and more land barren due to the drought, and the inability of the state to actually solve the mess in Lake Davis, well, clearly there's connections between where the funding is going and the available solutions. A proper examination of the deal would be important, and who is funding which side, too. If oil companies are in favor of division, you can be sure they'll be pouring poison in the ears of current lawmakers to insure that the debt in SF becomes the responsibility of Modoc.
I'm reasonably sure that the Jefferson state will declare bankruptcy right away regarding the California debt, just refuse to pay it outright since it was all caused down South and Spent down South anyway, and never was their responsibility in the first place. So to hell with them. I wonder what the trade consequences would be if they did that? Would the Feds refuse to fund Interstate 5? And if they insist that the locals pay for its upkeep, will the locals at Jefferson State laugh and let it fall apart? I would. The other option is tax all traffic going through, or turn it into a toll road and viciously enforce speed limits, since that would be most of the state's revenue. You have to understand, things are really tough there. Jefferson state could get wild in 3-5 years. That is very short, but that's how fast manzanita bushes grow. And if we get the usual flooding after this drought ends, and that IS normal according to centuries of records, I-5 will wash out, the Shasta Reservoir will overtop the dam and flood downstream, and the levees will fail because there is no money in Jefferson state to pay for repairs on any of those things. The powerhouse will probably die too. While Jefferson state physically contains most of the state's hydropower dams, and most of the watershed, they are poor. The only money is agriculture.
The Europeans won't like it much, since most of their almond paste comes from there. Almond Paste is a favorite ingredient in European cookies and pastries. I don't much see the point, but they like it so we grow it here and sell for big profits. But that only works if there's water for the orchards.
If California had any desire to stay together, it would have been dredging the reservoirs all last fall, winter and spring. Instead, it wasted money on garbage like trains to nowhere, and more LA freeways while the roads up here were left to fall apart. Except for Stockton, which hasn't finished a road project in 25 years. The state road agency, Cal Trans, is doing work on Hwy 50 in Sacramento, and is making a huge mess of the freeways for repairs. People have died. The state is still mismanaged. New High School graduates cannot spell or do basic arithmetic. College graduates today are barely at the level of high school graduates from my day. I keep running into those, proud of their personal debt and the worthless certificate when they cannot find the right place for the apostrophe. Businesses which insist that the talent and brains are in California are businesses to sell stocks from, not invest in. California is stupid. It is turtles, all the way down. It has nice weather, but no jobs.
I don't know if Jefferson state will be any better. Its population are also from the same crappy California schools, and they have little income to finance things. They are likely to turn into a disaster zone rather quickly, and make New Mexico or Oregon look well run and financed, but if they stay in California, they'll end up the same way. Possibly slower, but still, the same. California only cares about LA and San Francisco, the sucking ticks that drain blood and brains from the rest of the state. The rest of the state is merely blood supply for the parasites.
So when it comes time to vote, I will support the division. Even if it turns out to be worse, at least it will be different. They'll have a CHANCE to avoid the inevitable destroying the rest of the state in its foul septic corruption.
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