http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/07/03/county-supervisor-proposes-51st-state-cut-out-southern-california/

It seems that tensions may be brewing in California. Some of the more conservative areas of the state are starting to get fed up with the state's reckless spending and taxation laws. One county supervisor has suggested that 12 counties secede from California, creating a new state.

The state would essentially separate the Republican and Democratic areas of California into two states. Northern California being the hyper-liberal area which extends from LA to the current northern border (which would include SF and Sillicon Valley), while the new state would get the rugged and agricultural centers of western and southern California, including San Diego as a potential capital.

According to the supervisor, the goal would be to secede and create a state without the reckless spending. A part-time legislature which doesn't get paid exhuberantly, and fixed property taxes.

IMO, its a very interesting idea, and pretty cool. California is incredibly large with a very polar population. Although the state is 60-65% democrat, it is due to two areas - SF and LA. The rest of the state is a bit more Republican and mixed like the rest of the west. The new state would have about 1/3rd the population and economy, and would be about 50/50 republican and democrat. Additionally, it'd force both sides to deal with the taxation and budgetary issues. The heavily Democratic state would have a supermajority and could likely reach whatever budgetary decision they wanted to without interference, while the new state can strike out on its own and fix some of the woeful laws that the current state has (which require a public vote on tax increases - and of course, they never pass).

I was hoping this was about California seceding.

Damn that would be crazy.

In general, I think many of the more populated states in the United States would be better off if they were split into smaller states ...

From my experience the smaller and more decentralized the government is the better off the citizens of that country/region are. When you have a state with a population as large as most countries the state government becomes a very large centralized government, and therefore becomes inefficient and abusive.

Its a good idea. I would hate to be living in the conservative area of Cali and have to deal with all their spending and taxes.

seems like a reasonable idea.

it's not that it takes a public vote for tax increases that is crazy. It's that it takes a 2/3ds majority to pass them. So they can be done by the legislature as well, just not when all republicans vow to never increase taxes ever under any circumstances. Democrats are justa little shy of 2/3 majority in both houses. 2 Votes short.

A big question that would be raised by this split though would be water rights. Since the northern half of CA gets 75% of the rainfall and what would happen exactly with the huge California water project.

I see. That is just as bad IMO...It'd sound like splitting the state would ensure that CA lawmakers could then raise taxes as needed.

I currently live in what would be part of the 'conservative' California. If such a split was to happen I would most likely need to move a few miles to get out.

I find it incredibly ironic that the people suggesting this doesn't realize (or do they realize, they just hate having money?) that their part of California to a large part is feeding off the real money generating areas of the state, which would pretty much all be part of the 'liberal' California.