Interesting. I wonder if the petitioners truly understand what they're asking for?
If they were successful...
How would all the older folks living on Social Security exist? After all, Social Security is a federal program that would not be available to citizens of a "foreign" country. The same can be said for all those other despised government programs... Medicare, Disability, federally funded infrastructure, the Post Office, military bases/hardware, federal prisons, and federal law enforcement. Secession isn't the same as going to live in a foreign country while remaining a US citizen. When you secede, you give up your citizenship-- and your rights.
Of course, any employee of the federal government who lived in the seceded state would immediately lose his/her job. They might hold on to it if they moved into one of the "united" states. But maybe not. There are enough folks in those states who need jobs already. Naturally, that job loss would apply to the congressmen from those states and that might not be a bad thing.
It's true a seceded state would no longer be constrained by federal regulations and laws. That might pose difficulties for some of the citizens. As we saw in the past election, there is much hatred and bigotry roiling beneath the surface. If the majority of a state was in that category, some of the citizens could be in danger without the federal laws. I can easily envision a state with multiple classes where "minorities" (even if they were actually a majority) would become citizens with no rights. And yes, that would likely include women.
I wonder what the new country would use for a monetary system? It can't be dollars as that's the USA currency. And what about all those folks with dollars in the banks? What will they be worth after secession?
If the federal government totally withdrew from any given state, I suspect the state's economy would crash. Some of the states on the petition list are already bordering on bankruptcy. How would they manage when they had to deal with excise taxes on their exports and pay higher prices for their imports?
There would be new costs to police their borders. I suspect the USA would go to a passport requirement for entry at their borders. Yep, I can see long lines in some places--especially those towns that straddle state lines.
And the new state would have to deal with foreign countries on their own. Those states the currently sit on our borders might be vulnerable to invasion from neighboring countries. Border wars would probably be common.
I expect a lot of corporate America would withdraw to safer locations where their assets wouldn't be threatened. And that would put some more folks out of work.
There don't seem to be many advantages, off hand. The only ones I can think of are kind of puny.
A) Everyone that wanted a gun could have one. That seems to be one of the biggies among the petitioners. Of course, that's true in most places in the USA, except for felons, but I guess there wouldn't be any registration, maybe.
B) The state could/would have a state "Christian" religion. As far as I can tell, there's no exact definition of what that would be so that might require some sorting out. And since most folks professing Christianity seem to be pretty bullheaded about being the only right way, well, I can see how some of the sorting might be done with a gun.
C) Ditto for folks that are out there on the edge of what's acceptable. See B). Once a bunch of people start deciding what's acceptable for their neighbors and family, all sorts of problems crop up.
D) A lot of the city folks would learn how to garden. And sew. And all those other old-timey crafts that have been abandoned in the pursuit of the Wal-Marts. Or maybe Wal-Marts would become the new religion. That's a thought.
Yep, it would be a whole new world for that country after secession. I want to wish y'all the best of luck. You'll need it.
anny
