If Your State Secedes
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With the Texas governor’s secessionist statements, and separatist sentiment on the rise in several states, it’s worth thinking about the consequences of leaving the American fold.
There has always been talk of secession in Texas. Joining the Union wasn’t universally popular when it happened, and once Lincoln gained the White House, the secessionists were successful in their quest to reverse that decision. When what many still know as “The War of Northern Aggression” was over, it wasn’t with glee that many saw the stars and stripes raised again. And while patriotism eventually swelled here in Texas for most, it has still never been universal. And now the separatists are gaining a wider audience. The “Secede” bumper stickers are more common, and Governor Perry has raised the issue at the highest level of state government.
While the odds of secession are still low, it is worth thinking through what would happen if it came to pass – especially since other states in Dixie are seeing similar rises in separatist sentiment. In short, the consequences for such states will be drastic in matters related to the economy, security, and civil society.
To begin with, as an independent nation, Texas would need to field an army bigger than its current National Guard and would also need to create both an intelligence service and a foreign affairs department. A patrolled border with Mexico and the United States would be necessary, and yet all the federal money and agents would disappear. Since we are currently relying on stimulus money for the solvency of the state government as well as for many local governments-and since that money would dry up with secession-a hefty tax or a huge debt would be required to keep state and local governments functioning and to establish these security and foreign policy measures.
And speaking of federal money, Texas receives a whopping amount of it. Among all 50 states, Texas is frequently near the top of the list of states most dependent on federal funds; in 2006, 35% of Texas’s total spending came from federal revenue, and in 2005, federal spending in Texas was around $149 billion, while state and local spending, combined, totaled $122 billion. In addition, since the beginning of FEMA’s record-keeping, Texas has received more federal disaster assistance than any other state. Also, Texas receives billions of dollars in federal defense dollars annually, ranking third, in 2005, behind California and Virginia. Also, as of 2007, nearly 125,000 Texans were employed by the federal government. And so, a byproduct of secession would be that these mammoth investments in the Texas defense industry would disappear, along with countless jobs, including the quarter-of-a-million Texans who would lose their employment with the federal government. Further, all federal money for highways, airports, and other forms of infrastructure would be withdrawn, and we would either have to do without these things or pay for them with increased taxes. Finally, Texas owns a share in the national debt. The thought that the state could simply wash its hands of that debt, especially when the lion’s share of it came from Presidents and Congresses for whom Texas voted, is naïve at best.
And how would the United States view the secession of Texas? In security terms, the United States would of necessity need to consider Texas a potential threat. Defense factories would remain in Texas, and it is no secret that Texas is awash in guns and ammunition. Not only could they field a formidable military, but the Governor could easily marshall an enormous militia. As a rational country, and one with a history of war with secessionist states, America would accordingly militarize the border, and in response, so would Texas. After a likely grace period for people to move in or out and declare their citizenship, the free movement of Texans in and out of the state would be limited the same way it is for citizens of any other foreign country.
And finally, and perhaps most potently, there would be cold, hard anger in and out of Texas. I, along with tens of millions of Americans, have had family and friends bleed and die for this country. Our aunts and uncles, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons, grandmothers and grandfathers, and wives and husbands have been handed a folded flag in rememberance of their sacrifices. Not the Michigan flag, the Indiana flag, or the Texas flag. The American flag. For any state to turn traitor is a slap in the face to all who have sacrificed. There may be violence. There may be an effort to root out native Texans from jobs within the government. There would certainly be a boycott of Texas goods, and America is a market of some 300,000,000 consumers.
And so, I would say to those who want secession – prepare for social upheaval; prepare for economic chaos; prepare for war.
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18 Comments
So the totalitarian Soviet Union could peacefully secede into more human-scaled units, but we cannot? Why?
And what about the social upheaval, economic chaos, and perpetual war DC’s already fomented?
“For any state to turn traitor is a slap in the face to all who have sacrificed. There may be violence. There may be an effort to root out native Texans from jobs within the government.”
Typical leftist drivel. When an argument is lost just threaten the sheep with violence. “Progressives” and neo-conservatives have been pulling that trick for decades. Most Americans are too self-absorbed to protest government or vote in local elections, I highly doubt they would raise arms to defend the Feds. Why doesn’t the anonymous author move to China or Cuba? I think he’d fit well in either.
If you haven’t noticed the United States is coming to an end whether states secede or not. We are headed for chaos now. Our current course is unsustainable and the political system is so firmly in the control of an establishment that reform is impossible. Secession and devolution are the only ways to bring order to this top heavy monstrosity. There is nothing that can hold 300,000,000 million people together except the raw and brutal exercise of power. The sooner states become free again the better.
A boycott from the other States? Get real. Most people I know (and I know a lot of them) would either move to Texas or at the very least actively support her independence by visiting and buying goods from her citizens. She will be self-sufficient in energy and food.
If Texas goes out first, there likely will be a larger exodus of Southern (and other States). There is a movement afoot that all the wishing and hoping of centralists everywhere cannot stamp out. Get used to it. Devolution, secession, and independence are the cutting-edge trends of the 21st century. Statism is a dinosaur verging on extinction. Good riddance!
You speak of all this “federal money”, Texas and other states receive, as though it comes from some rich benevolent Uncle who is sitting on a pile of money and generously gives it to the state ,out of kindness. Where do you think this money comes from? It is taken from the Citizens of the United States, transfered to Washington, and then redistributed as the Federal Government sees fit.
I can see your having difficulty in this subject, may I suggest you take an economics course at your local community college, I really feel it would help you out in the future.
Eliot doesn’t seem to understand the concept of liberty and the idea that the government governs at the consent of the governed. As the U.S. federal government continues to lose its credibility (and thus it’s mandate to govern (a.k.a. rule), the collapse of the American union is inevitable. Will the 300 million within the union starve, riot, become wild animals? I think not. Like most people, they will reorganize and fiind their needs met with smaller, more responsive governments. Money will be spent more where it is needed and the pork will fade away. At least for a generation or two. Back to the basics folks, and may it come soon.
Oops, that should simply be 300 million, not 300,000,000 million.
All these America-hating commenters are ingrates. Members of my family fought and died for these traitors and America-haters. The fact that they have the right to spew this hateful drivel is a direct result of the United States protecting and enforcing that right. And they do it on a technology (internet) developed in the US Defense Department.
My guess is that they cheered on 9/11. A nation that has protected them, given them a voice in government, and subsidized their backward states (yes, red states get more in benefits than they pay into the system) is their boogeyman. Selfish, whiny little cowards.
I disagree with the author on this – let these racist, cousin-loving burdens leave the union and devour themselves. Have fun with your little piss-ant countries run by uneducated rednecks.
They have been a burden since the beginning – let them go. But before we do let them go:
1) either completely destroy or build a permanent American base around any defense related stuff owned by the US – including contractors like Raytheon or Lockheed Martin.
2) detain anyone who has worked in the defense field who might be loyal to their “new country” – those who have sensitive information can stay in military prisons, the rest can be deported.
3) make sure George W. Bush never steps foot on American soil again.,
If you’re from Texas, you forgot that this is a majority-minority state, and in ten years they project Hispanics will be the largest group -then white, then black. The crackers who want to secede will be a small minority soon, and we have long memories of how they treated us. We’ll control the government of this new country, and payback is a bitch.
Some good points here, and it’s better to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. The one guy above talks about the disintegration of the Soviet Union like it was a cakewalk – apparently he likes fairy tales.
I don’t think the one commenter is right that they would have cheered 9/11 because they tend to be racist, but they probably cheered the Oklahoma city bombing.
Look at other countries with separatist movements. And remember that the second worst terrorist attack in American history was by a separatist named Timothy McVeigh, a guy who murdered lots of people in Oklahoma City. He was with a Michigan separatist group. He’s a hero to a lot of these people.
Terrorism is probably not likely with Palin’s Alaska secessionists since they’re so political, but in the South they are closely linked with domestic terrorist organizations like the KKK, Aryan Brotherhood, etc. Long history of lynchings, church bombings, and violence and intimidation.
Everyone wants to group and label, meanwhile throwing out words like rascist and terrorist, all this work degrading each other could have been spent on a letter to a Senator to audit the Reserve, something that would be a great start for ANY country..
http://lnk.ms/1LqJj
With all this talk about terrorists, what should be done about the economical terrorists that are taking this great country down by building the largest national deficit it the history of this nation?
If they remain spending our future tax dollars unchecked, there may be no America left to secede from. Hence all this will become a moot point.
I agree, Jamie – Dubya and his Republican Congress added more debt than all previous presidents combined. The only president to come close in debt creation was Reagan. Creating that much debt just to launch an unprovoked war and give tax cuts to Wall Street bankers and Paris Hilton was horrible. Economic terrorism – well said.
Hopefully the fact that President Obama is investing in things proven to help an economy (infrastructure, education, energy, etc.) will make up for his over-spending.
I have always felt that this country should be split up, not just certain states dropping out but forming little mini nations. Split the U.S. into four, it makes perfect sense. We have four different regions with four different cultures and accents. Just imagine if the whole hillbilly south was just one nation, and the whole east coast from Pittsburgh to Maine. And whole upper middle from Michigan to Colorado, and then the west. It would be perfect.
Seriously funny – “Texas would need to field an army bigger than its current National Guard ” but “In security terms, the United States would of necessity need to consider Texas a potential threat. Defense factories would remain in Texas, and it is no secret that Texas is awash in guns and ammunition. Not only could they field a formidable military, but the Governor could easily marshall an enormous militia.”
Yeah, logic – never a Liberal strong point.
All those Federal dollars that go away ?
They come from somewhere- they come from the TAXPAYERS , of which Texas has quite a few.
And they go to programs the Federal Govt requires – so dumping the X$ they give you to fund the 2X$ programs is always a losing game- one a seceding State would be within rights to end.
And the U.S. has walked away from military bases in the past – and handed them over to the rightful owners- the local Govt – after pulling intel and airplanes, that is- but the citizens of Texas had just as large a share in PAYING for those bases and the equipment within, so the U.S. might well be forced by UN negotiation to hand over the whole shebang.
Most of this rant is in the same rabbit-terror vein.
Stop shaking in your skin and waving the panic flag, kiddo.
If Texas wants to leave, Texas will leave.
And the U.S. will think twice about another Civil War- Lincoln didn’t have CNN second guessing his every move – and live coverage of every step.
No politician today would have the cojones to declare war on a seceding State – it’d be political suicide for Liberals (you’re all anti-war, remember, lol ?) and the Conservatives won’t mind a BIT.
Get used to being threatened by government controlled apparatchiks posing as columists. When you realise that we are all living in state controlled goldfish bowls you begin to realise the scale of what you are up against. The USA is part of the European project to create a one world totalitarian government. Where nations don’t exist & people don’t have any rights or justice. It’s already here actually you guys just haven’t pulled your heads outta the sand yet & faced the facts. The enemy within is all around you. Empire = Hotel California you can never leave.
Right Christy – and that European project is controlled by Klingon spies who want gay people to marry abortion doctors and tax churches! And Obama will set up panels to kill old folks! And masons control the government from an underground bunker built by the Mayans! And seceding will just be a simple process of asserting a state’s rights and walking away from America! And Glenn Beck is rational and uses facts! And the world is flat, was created in seven days and the sun goes around the earth!
Empire = Queensryche song from the 90s.