Thats because they sell their products WORLDWIDE.. movies, tv, software, tourism.. a painter, construction guy, police officers, starve because of the monopoly they have worldwide.. Top Gun movie made over a billion outside the country.. California gets the first cut of the taxes.. Trump passed a law limiting State Income and Realestate taxes write downs.. Biden nuked it… think about that..
@Gamer bo they don’t. California receives 0,90 dollars in tax from every dollar they pay to the US government, while States like missisippi reiselivet 2,89 dollars for every dollar they pay in taxes. California is a very self-sufficient state and the US would be fucked without it
What a great video. I'm a lifelong Californian and there are so many amazing things that you'd need 4 hours to discuss them. One of my favorites is just how beautiful this state is. Can't go hiking in a forest in Texas, skiing, admiring coastal cliffs, redwoods, Sequoias, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, Joshua Trees, amazing weather, highest mountain, lowest point, etc... All here and nowhere else. Don't worry. We'll fix our issues. The Beach Boys and Katy Perry didn't sing about Texas girls.
California is beautiful geographically, but a sesspool in terms of how its being run. Homeless people everywhere in big cities, and Earthquake risk that can not be ignored. But let's talk about Gavin Newsom.. a man who locked down the state.. .forced them to wear masks.. but as soon as he needed to go out for dinner or better yet... HOLD THE SUPER BOWL... all of those mandates and restrictions were thrown out the window. Its like Michigan, where Whitmer plays the same thing. There is a reason why people are fleeing that state more than ANY OTHER state in union, and it certainly has nothing to do with its geographical beauty.
@@kingjsolomon Yep, Idaho: doesn't have CA's high taxes that don't go towards fixing the state, a governor who cleaned up San Francisco for a foreign dignitary (think Tucker Carlson's trip to Moscow), brutally strict zoning laws, a progressive Democrat orthodoxy that's so consuming by its own dogma, the list goes on.
Are you really so ignorant of how screwed up your own state is? 30 years is the minimum amount of time it will take for you people to fix your issues. How many children will be deprived of a childhood as great as the 90s? How many children will grow up to see their cities become tourist traps? How many children will never know what it's like to grow up in a lazy beach town because the cities they live in stopped being lazy beach towns decades ago? How many adults will grow up to become curmudgeonly seniors because they had to wait until their late 40s to early 60s to get their lives started?
I would say the political divide isn’t so much North/South as it is coastal vs inland areas of the state (with the exception of some of counties at the Oregon border). I’d sooner support a movement for an independent CA than one that would split us up.
The big divide, other than those few counties on the Oregon Border, is east and west of the Sierra Nevada. I could see the state splitting along the Sierra/Cascade divide, and then Western California uniting with western Oregon and Washington.
Something that people from the eastern and midwestern US always find surprising is that a non-neglibible portion of people here on the west coast identify with our state above our country. I don't think it's advantageous for CA to become independent as things stand, as much as we are a bastion of certain values, we're also facing political waves that are affecting the rest of the US, and I don't see that changing either way. That said, if we became less dependent on agriculture (it's the major user of water, not the cities, and them changing to lower value crops would mean that we're no longer constantly flirting with drought), got HSR built, and had housing policty promote denser living, then I'd see it being fairly plausible to turn out relatively well.
So out of curiosity, what would be your solution to become less dependent on agriculture (aka, one of California's largest sources for exports and also the very thing that feeds people) Because I would argue that cities lead to more water waste and pollution by far. On top of that, its not a sound economic plan to rely on imports for food.
@@isaacwestling1141 As far as I understand it, it's not an issue of changing the flow to needing imports for food. Back in the late 18XXs, California was wheat country, the valley flooded frequently, and malaria was a serious risk. However when competition in that market arose in the form of Indian and Australian wheat, farmers switched to higher value crops like walnuts and citrus, which use much more water. As such, I don't think we need to entirely move away from agriculture, but just be smarter about how much water we allow a given parcel to be irrigated with, pushing farmers to use less water intensive crops.
@@kevinpace866 The San Joaquin Valley. Freshest food on the planet, access to all parts and people of this beautiful state, and the hardest working people who comprise California’s heartland.
Awesome video, positive and straight forward, the video shows California’s strengths and weaknesses. I’m proud to live in this great state. Thank you for all the good information you provided. I’m going to share this video with some of my friends who live in the South and put California down.
Great video! People always overlook how on top of the tech and entertainment industries, California also is a huge agricultural exporter! Over 13% of the nations crops come from here!
13% of the nation's crops grow here when you have enough water. California is about 40 million people, us population about 330. So about 11% of the population. California does have good farmland but for its massive population it cannot sustain that longterm by itself. And dont even get me started on energy.
@@stgravatt First yes we can and second it is not 49 vs. California. California will lead the like minded states into a new union for North America. The murikkkan empire is collapsing.
California really has everything except water. Agriculture, technology, arts and entertainment, shipping ports, and plenty of national parks to draw in tourism.
@@salvation8755 - Nope. California gets lot of water from snow in the Sierras, Cascades, and coast ranges, seasonal rainfall, and groundwater. As an independent country, it'd just have to be a lot more careful with the water it has. States can no longer rely on water from the Colorado River anyway. And, most of California's wealth, other than agriculture, comes from industries that don't use much water. So, nobody will be able to water lawns, rice, almond, alfalfa and other water hogging crops will have to be switched, at least partly to other crops, a lot more water will have to be recycled, some water will have to come from desalinization, etc. It can be done. And, it may have to be done, red and blue states in the US are heading towards a divorce. This will have positive and negative impacts. Positive: 1. Educated Californians are developing the technologies and industries that are driving the US economy. After the split, California could focus on improving its education system, thus increasing the education gap with states like Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, etc., that have terrible education systems. 2. Taxes. California, New York, and the other rich blue states are being dragged down by the third world red states like Wyoming which take more from the federal treasury than they put in. 3. California has progressive politics. As an independent country, California could continue to protect women's rights and other human rights. California could take in educated people, women, and other persecuted refugees from regressive states like Texas and Florida. Negative: 1. After tIf ed. As a member of the US right now, progressive states like California, Oregon and Washington currently protect the civil and democratic rights of people in backwards states. 2. The US is the world's superpower. Yes, China is strong, but it is grossly overpopulated, has little water and farmland, is filled with deadly pollution, and even more corrupt than the US. Even if the US divided up into the progressive blue states and regressive red states, the blue or red states on their own would not be strong enough to stand up to China. 3. If the blue and red states split, they would be different enough and competitive enough that there would eventually be war between the two sides. The blue states, while having a much smaller land area than the red states, would have a much larger population. So, the war would be one sided. But, millions of people would lose everything and die if the two sides split.
@@freeheeler09 Texas is a blue state? Also, Florida schools are actually better then California schools. Public schools in California are some of the worst in the nation. California also has 1/3 of all homeless Americans, highest debt to the federal government, a declining population and is going through a super drought. Idk why people talk about California like it’s 1987. It’s 2022 and it’s time to start looking at what is ACTUALLY happening. Business are leaving California for states like Tennessee, Texas and Florida. California has also lost population for the 2nd year straight, and no signs of slowing down.
Correction; the Northridge quake occured in January of 1994, not 1996 and was not associated with the San Andreas Fault, rather it took place on a previously unknown blind thrust fault. On this note, while the San Andreas Fault is the most famous and gets the most press, the most dangerous fault is actually the Hayward Fault.
I think that CA would potentially benefit from a global economy as an entry point for commerce into North America and overall global trade. The ports of Oakland, Long Beach, and Los Angeles would be key shipping destinations for container ships. If it were an independent country, CA could also change the terms of import to be more attractive than diverting to ports in Oregon or Washington. From a larger international economic perspective, the cultural diversity and politics (despite some claims of being anti-business) would draw overseas firms looking to make further investments in North America, but without having to deal with the larger United States, Mexico, or Canada. Imagine CA as the North American Singapore or Hong Kong (before the full Chinese crackdown) with special economic trade zones and agreements. This could extend CA's ability to be independent by forming treaties and defense agreements, akin to Switzerland. All the tech data could be the new Swiss Bank account. These funds could pay for safe nuclear reactors and, therefore, desalination plants to provide for towns and cities. Ultimately, while this is a fun thought exercise, the real strength of CA comes from being under the umbrella of a larger Federal system that can tap into the funds generated by the other 49 states, a central military, and free trade/travel between other states. Until something catastrophic happens, CA will be a state. Thank you for the fun and informative video!
Hello! Love your channel as a Mexican I can give you some few new countries to talk about here the list: Republic of Rio Grande, Republic of Yucatan, and Republic of Chiapas.
Thank you! Always looking for new what if country possibilities! It's been very US focused so far (mostly because it's easy for me to hone my content with areas I know best) but that's going to change pretty soon!
A fun idea to wrap up this series is to do a reorganization of the states. For instance divide California in 2 because of population add DC as a state. Merge some of the smaller states. SD & ND added together is very close in size to Montana so not to large to govern. The best idea is merge all of Maine, Mass, Conn, Rhode Island, Vermont, & New Hampshire then call it Brand New England.
Why would you add DC as a state and not just have it be part of Maryland? There’s already too many states on the East Coast, and the South, and on the Great Plain. We just need like 20-30 states tbf
English has been the official language of California since 1986. The Greater Los Angeles Area includes Los Angeles County, Ventura County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County.
@@stayswervin554 4th largest economy on earth just passed Germany. California is robbed blind by the federal government to bail out red states and fund its war machine. We are much richer after independence.
You're forgetting Bakersfield with a metro area of almost 1 million people! Everyone always likes to pretend like the Central Valley is an empty desert. Bakersfield is in fact a large city with a huge metro area and a ton of industry. It alongside Fresno are some of the fastest growing areas in the state and the country as a whole!
@@thatcapuchin6597 Is a freeway network what defines the quality of a city? Hmmmm... How about Paris then? Bad city? How about Strasbourg? Or Siena? Or Amsterdam? How about Valencia or Barcelona? All "bad cities"?
@@TohaBgood2 Clearly you misread or misunderstood my comment. I stated that the city (Bakersfield) which lies in Kern County in Southern California has a poor freeway network meaning lack of freeways to allow for access from all parts of the city. Hope this clarifies the misunderstanding.
@@thatcapuchin6597 And what I was saying is that a "good" freeway network is not an advantage. If anything, it kills a city. You lose any street life. You lose a ton of land to parking lots and extra car lanes. The population gets fat because no one walks anywhere. I understand building freeways in the boonies where you need to transport goods. But what benefit is a freeway to a city? So that people can drive through without contributing to the local economy? Why would you want that?
I left Cali in 1998. Cost of living prohibitive at the time. Now it's rich and poor mostly no middle class. Hollywood and SV are slowly leaving the state, Sad, it's was and is beautiful place to live.
@@bobhabib750 republicans are the dictators. Newsom was democratically elected and your socialism cry is as old as the crust in your underwear. California's policies are no more socialist than Canada, Germany or Japan dope.
California could be its own Country . 1. It would have to solve its water issue internally 2. Its Power issue internally 3. How to govern each part of the State as states , Sacramento has to much of a centralized hold on the state. which stifles' innovation and economy. That's why only certain areas are wealthy while some of the counties in CA. are some of the poorest with in the nation like Tehama and Fresno counties . These 3 i believe are the major stumbling blocks for CA to become its own country . I believe also these issues also need to be addressed for CA to survive as a state in the USA.
We should get our independence. With the money we send the federal government in one year, we could have paid for the entire high-speed rail route, free university for all, and free single-payer universal healthcare.
I think Hawaii is the only state that could pull off a secession. Alaska is way too rich in oil to be secure. Russia would reclaim the territory and invade it militarily.
If California was a country, It would be self sustaining and prosperous! Agriculture, technology, health care, education.,entertainment, tourism, transportation, trade, etc. etc. California would thrive!
Never been to California, but it is a very interesting place. I would love to visit the redwood forests and all of the northern parts of the state. Too bad they are running out of fresh water for all those people that live there 🥵
They are not running put of fresh water for all the people. Private water use only uses 18% of water in the state. Its the 60% draining agriculture in the middle of a desert that throats all the water.
All of the west is in a drought right now. Southern California is going to have to change the amount of water it uses including a lot of recycling and desalination. Come for a visit. More National Parks than any state except Alaska and pretty much every climate in the U.S. from deserts to high mountain peaks.
@@melbaker9495 desalination is a horrible idea on any large scale. Agriculture needs to move out of the desert. Thats it. It accounts by farrrr for the largest water use.
Even more interesting is how the relationship to the US would change if CA were to become an independent country: It would have its own, likely strong currency; it would no longer need to contribute to the US treasury; It would economically dominate neighboring states; It might become more affordable and desirable to live in CA as a result.
If California was a separate country, then they wouldn't have had the many people after the Civil War moving there nor those in the early 1900's. The small movie studios would never have left New Jersey for California and Silicon Valley would not exist either. It would have been mostly farmers and cattle ranchers and maybe some fishermen.
@@sebastienholmes548 What deficit? California is running a surplus and is a donor state. We will no longer be propping up those dead beat red states and the us war machine.
Here's a what if country idea for you or should I say countries. This idea requires splitting the US into the following multiple countries: 1) The New England states plus New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and DC 2) Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia 3) The Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri 4) Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana 5) Virginia, The Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi 5) Florida and the Caribbean Islands 6) Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana 7) Alaska 8) Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico 9) California plus Baja and the Pacific Islands
You do know that "state" _means_ the same thing as "nation" or "country." There is a common assumption within and outside the US that sees a "state" as a glorified "county" or parish. The "United States" is a union because the colonies decided to remain allied, sharing a broad framework of law. However, that Constitution also recognizes the rights of states rather confusingly. It addresses individual rights throughout the federated "states" but is far less explicit about the "rights" of those states. The 10th Amendment essentially leaves a range of individual rights and state rights to be negotiated among the citizens of the individual states.
@@timlinator California needs more desalination plants to get water from the Pacific Ocean but anyway there's a lot of challenges that California would have to face if it did became it's own country.
I’m not trying to start a political debate but I honestly don’t see it as having a good economy. I live in the Sacramento area all my life and most people are living paycheck to paycheck while working 2 full time jobs or 1 full time job while sleeping in their car or in a shelter. I honestly think the idea of it being a large economy is a lie but that’s my opinion
Theres poor people everywhere and struggling people everywhere. That does not take away from what the state produces and how much money goes in and out.
"Country" is a vague term. Try to think of "nation" and "nation-state." You seem to be asking about California as an independent nation-state. To consider that, you first have to think if it coheres as a nation. A nation is generally thought of as a people with, notably, a common history, a common language, a common religion, a common legal and commercial framework, and a definite geographical area. These things make up what we think of as a culture. One could have a reasonably defined nation without having all these elements, provided there is adequate strength in them together. The Swiss don't have a common language, but they have a strong history, a very strong legal/commercial frame in which they live, and so on. So does California have these elements in such strength that the population coheres as a nation? If it is a nation, then it could be an independent nation-state, despite the difficulties you identify. The problem I perceive is the internal cultural divisions are monumental. As others note, there are truly radical differences between, for example, coastal areas and the Sierra Nevada. The fact that proposals for the dissolution of California into two to five separate political entities is adequate evidence that the state does not cohere sufficiently to be a "country."
Japan also has to deal with earthquakes. Why would it be any more difficult for California to do so. I understand the wildfires and drought, though. Still, Spain and Italy are smaller economies but still deal reasonably well. I think California wouldn't be in any worse shape.
While I think California could be fine if it was an independent country, I also believe that it succeeds right now because of position within the U.S., not in spite of it. Its economy is roughly in proportion to the U.S. economy as its population is to the total U.S. population. Its access to the U.S. market is what helps it and without it, I believe California would struggle. The U.S. would still have the worlds largest economy and third largest population without California and that, I am sure, would be more attractive to global corporations. California needs the U.S. as much as the U.S. needs California.
The water issue is too big to overcome at this point. I don’t know why California isn’t already building a water pipeline from other states. It would be billions of dollars of investment but better to have it than to not
@@Whitneypyant California doesn't need those states. We have multiple sources of water including rain/snow fall, desalinization, water from the north. Yes we should build a pipeline to Oregon, Washington, and Canada which is much shorter than the great lakes. Also by ship from the north
Red / blue is simply rural vs. urban. Blue states simply have more dominant city populations while red states have less dominant city populations. If you wanted a blue country you would need self-sufficient cities. It's generally a better idea to just get along with people of different viewpoints and instead of trying to get rid of them just get rid of the shameless ideologues who can't compromise.
@@gorkyd7912 one person one equal vote not electoral college and senate two per state regardless of population. That is minority rule not democracy. BTW rural areas are shrinking while urban areas growing. Republicans only have power because of a rigged system that grants power by land not people.
@@timlinator The electoral college is pretty much the core of the United States; the part that unites the states. The states each elect their leadership through a popular vote of some kind and that's where each voter is intended to have an equal vote to control their own affairs within that state. The federal government is elected by all of the states acting together in a balance to create a centralized power structure to represent each state on the international level; not the people within the states but their elected governments. The fact that people want to abolish the electoral college so their individual vote has more impact on the federal level relative to other individuals in other states is a testament to how imbalanced the federal government has become relative to state governments in people's everyday lives. If you did actually abolish the electoral college it would be the end of representative democracy, it's pointless to ask 200 million people to agree on one government and equally pointless to expect 200 million people who disagree to hold that government accountable.
@@gorkyd7912 Electoral college was a compromise made over 200 years ago by wealthy rich white male land owners, half of them including Washington and Jefferson slave owners. The electoral college gives some people greater say based on where they live. Abolishing it gives everyone equal say. Electoral college is minority rule, democracy is representative government. You are defending minority rule because you fear the increasingly diverse majority having an equal say. As for states fine just abolish the federal government, my state California is the fifth most powerful economy on earth a G7 nation by every measure not a state.
@@gorkyd7912 California could agree with the blue states and probably most purple states to form a North American union similar to the European Union and then the red states would be even poorer than they are right now.
If California were to secess from the union I think it would go very poorly. Although many of the citizens might choose to stay many will also leave (assuming they will have that option). Also I would think many of those fortune 500 companies would move as they are only there to be based in the US or have US affiliation. I think things would fall apart very quickly. Maybe great in theory but not so great in practice.
@@sebastienholmes548 Because without California the blue states are at the mercy of the red theocracies and will just follow us out. Many red states like Texas want to secede as well. The empire is tumbling down.
California was on its way to becoming its own independent nation until gold was discovered in the northern region back in the 19th century. Then Uncle Sam couldn't wait to add another star on his US flag just because, lol! As a native Californian, I'm ALL for secession as long as: 1) we got a large enough military presence to validate such a monumental move, 2) the current capital is relocated from Sacramento to Fresno so as to discourage ANY talk of California possibly splitting in half right after secession, and 3) ONLY DROUGHT-TOLERANT CROPS ARE GROWN HERE!!!!!! Otherwise, gonna have to bite the proverbial bullet and keep playing the role of America's No. 1 source of taxpayer revenue for the time being:::sigh::: 🙄💰💸💰🤷♀
Wild fires in California are land management problems not necessarily climate change. A big part of the agriculture water is federal already. You talked about their economy but didn’t cover its debt load or compare it to countries that doesn’t have military protection. How many countries are loosing the population that California is loosing without war or conflict?
@@ToyotaCamrySEv lol California is LOSING population, what “demand” are you talking about? It’s not 1997 anymore, it’s 2022. Florida and Texas are the boom states
@@timlinator tell the town of Paradise, Santa Rosa and all the places in California that are miles away from federal forests that it was the feds policies. If the budget has such a huge surplus ( a lot from federal handouts not spent by the state ) then why don’t they put it to the significant debt load? Why are gas taxes so high and CA has some of the worst roads… all slight of hand tricks… they keep moving the money.
@@kurtgrundel4045 the fires started on federal land. California is not a taker state like most red states. Our debt load is no higher per capita than Texas. California doesn't get its fair share of federal highway dollars, we are paying for roads in red states. Keeping our federal dollars to spend as we wish will solve a lot of those issues. California is forced to contribute over $100 BILLION per year to the federal war machine making us the third largest defense spender on earth. We could easily defend ourselves for half that and would also no longer be bailing out red states. California is the number one contributor to FEMA but only the 11th largest recipient. Texas is the largest recipient. We pay for hurricanes in red states.
California has plenty of water and only 15% comes from the Colorado. 80% of all water is used for agriculture most of which is exported to other states. Try getting your facts straight.
@@neilhipps2834 Yes it does have enough water if we restrict agriculture temporarily until enough desalinization plants are brought online. We can also get water from our friendly northern neighbors.
Id like to make a point, because I’m honestly sick of people propping up California like the state doesn’t have any problems. California has: -1/3 of all homeless Americans (by far highest in the nation) -highest poverty rate in the nation (they beat Mississippi in 2020) -highest taxes in the nation -highest rent / housing prices in the nation -highest gasoline prices in the nation -a declining and in trouble school system that is one of the worst in the nation -a declining population as of 2022 -mass exodus of companies ( HP, Tesla, Oracle, and Norton online security to name a few) On top of that, being in debt to the federal government 1 trillion dollars and defaulting last year on it. They are also running out of water and are having some of the worst forest fires ever seen. Let stop acting like it’s 1987 California ya? Because it’s 2022 and it’s time to start realizing there is a problem.
wrong on nearly all counts. Stop drinking the faux propaganda koolaid. California economy is growing faster than Texas. We are the fifth largest economy on earth, 50% larger than Texas and three times larger than Florida.
@@tylerkriesel8590 California has 15% of the total US population and GDP of USA. Many of our homeless are from other states and includes veterans with PTSD from republican wars for oil. We also have the best weather to sleep outside and more generous benefits. Half our 160k homeless live in Vans and RV's, they are working poor. 160k out of 40 million is .4% of our population. We are not the poorest state but adjusted for housing yes but for a fraction of the $100 BILLION we are forced to fund the us war machine we could subsidize housing costs and then be well below most red states. We don't have the highest tax states or housing costs, google is your friend. We are going clean energy by 2035 including no more gas cars so we don't really care about gas prices. Our population had a slight decline in 2021 due to COVID and trump immigration policies, California's diverse economy attracts immigrants from around the world so once we are a nation controlling our own immigration our population will increase again. We don't want a wall or fear the world as you snow flake conservatives do. California is not in debt to the federal government it is red states that take more from the feds then they pay in taxes, again google is your friend. Many red states have worse school systems than California get your facts straight. There is not a mass exodus from California in fact California GDP is growing faster than Texas and Florida. Our GDP is 50% larger than Texas and three times Florida even though our population is just double Florida. California has the pacific ocean and is developing solar powered desalinization. It is the landlocked western red states that have other source of water and will rely on the pacific that goes through California and our desalinization technology for water in the future. GDP growth by state according to Forbes www.forbes.com/sites/andrewdepietro/2022/05/17/us-gdp-by-state-and-fastest-growing-states-by-gdp-growth/?sh=d3b7c4d5a721
Defaulting to the federal government on 1 trillion dollars. Where the heck did you get that B.S.? I'm a journalist in this state and cover state and local politics, that is just bizarro land. We had a budget surplus this year in excess of 100 Billion dollars! The fact that you're "research" pulled up that whopper, shows that you are not worthy of debate.
Dude without our taxes you'd be a third world country. Far more of our taxes poor into the Red States. If they blue states were serparate, we'd be in great shape financially. More like wealthy European countries.
@@melbaker9495 If Red States are richer because of taxes from the federal government, that implies blue states are getting poorer because of the federal government. If that is the case, you could be free from the shackles of the federal government pulling blue states down, that would benefit people from the blue states. Red states would be rich still compared to many other countries, and poverty by itself is not a crime and no shame. Federal "benefits" to poorer states keep the politicians of those states from improving their economy because otherwise they wouldn't need the federal government to help them. The same happens in my country, the poorer states keep gaining federal money and the politicians from those places keep the places poor because they need poverty to justify money being poored into their pockets (and they steal a good chunk of it, the other chunk is used to provide sloopy services and benefits). If states go their own ways, the consequences would be a more clear view of the real wealth of that place, and by competition to improve their wealth, the politicians would need to create a better business environment to allow companies to move into that country. The more countries you have in the world: 1- the less centralization of power in a few powerful countries, less bullies and more trade relations being built, because countries coudn't do war economy, impose too big of tariffs, etc. Humbleness is necessary to small countries' governments. 2-Voting with their feet, the bigger the number of countries and the smaller the territories, the easier it is to move out if your government becomes opressive, politicians compete to have people so they can tax people, that means the overall level of liberty increases in the long run. 3-More diversity of economy and legislations, people can move to places that suit their values. 4-It is inevitable, no territory in the history of manking was able to be kept together for more than a few centuries. The bigger your territory become, the more diversity of opinions, of ethnicities, of divergent national feelings, etc. Separatism is something that simply happens, regardless of what we think of it. 5-Places like Texas and California are destined to be their own countries, they are just too big and independent-minded. They are not perfect, both would/could face difficulties, but it just feels like destiny.
@@emmanuelmedeiros7 red states would be poor compared to any first world country that includes most of Europe, Canada, Australia and many Asian nations.
Your video asks what if California was a country??? Don’t you know that it is a Country? State and Country are synonyms that verifies they mean the same thing! California is a State/ Country one of Fifty in the USA, a Nation of 50 Countries/ States in the USA! The USA is a Nation it is NOT a Country!
California alone is the world's 5th largest economy, ahead of the UK. It contributes the most to US tax revenue.
No white is 70 and other is 30 including blacks and other races
Thats because they sell their products WORLDWIDE.. movies, tv, software, tourism.. a painter, construction guy, police officers, starve because of the monopoly they have worldwide.. Top Gun movie made over a billion outside the country.. California gets the first cut of the taxes.. Trump passed a law limiting State Income and Realestate taxes write downs.. Biden nuked it… think about that..
@Gamer everybody relies on someone else for something
@56236no sh_$ ...illegals killing left and right great job chinacrats good job
@Gamer bo they don’t. California receives 0,90 dollars in tax from every dollar they pay to the US government, while States like missisippi reiselivet 2,89 dollars for every dollar they pay in taxes. California is a very self-sufficient state and the US would be fucked without it
What a great video.
I'm a lifelong Californian and there are so many amazing things that you'd need 4 hours to discuss them.
One of my favorites is just how beautiful this state is. Can't go hiking in a forest in Texas, skiing, admiring coastal cliffs, redwoods, Sequoias, Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, Joshua Trees, amazing weather, highest mountain, lowest point, etc... All here and nowhere else. Don't worry. We'll fix our issues.
The Beach Boys and Katy Perry didn't sing about Texas girls.
Yup, I lived in Idaho for a few years but it doesn’t have what Ca does. As far as what you’re talking about at least. Nothing compares.
Just got back from a visit in Idaho and damn I’d this the most relevant thing I’ve read in days.
California is beautiful geographically, but a sesspool in terms of how its being run. Homeless people everywhere in big cities, and Earthquake risk that can not be ignored. But let's talk about Gavin Newsom.. a man who locked down the state.. .forced them to wear masks.. but as soon as he needed to go out for dinner or better yet... HOLD THE SUPER BOWL... all of those mandates and restrictions were thrown out the window. Its like Michigan, where Whitmer plays the same thing. There is a reason why people are fleeing that state more than ANY OTHER state in union, and it certainly has nothing to do with its geographical beauty.
@@kingjsolomon Yep, Idaho: doesn't have CA's high taxes that don't go towards fixing the state, a governor who cleaned up San Francisco for a foreign dignitary (think Tucker Carlson's trip to Moscow), brutally strict zoning laws, a progressive Democrat orthodoxy that's so consuming by its own dogma, the list goes on.
Are you really so ignorant of how screwed up your own state is? 30 years is the minimum amount of time it will take for you people to fix your issues. How many children will be deprived of a childhood as great as the 90s? How many children will grow up to see their cities become tourist traps? How many children will never know what it's like to grow up in a lazy beach town because the cities they live in stopped being lazy beach towns decades ago? How many adults will grow up to become curmudgeonly seniors because they had to wait until their late 40s to early 60s to get their lives started?
I would say the political divide isn’t so much North/South as it is coastal vs inland areas of the state (with the exception of some of counties at the Oregon border). I’d sooner support a movement for an independent CA than one that would split us up.
Agree.
Nah dude, split the state into 80 parts so you dominate national politics
It's actually urban vs. rural, just like every other state in the country (and most other countries).
The big divide, other than those few counties on the Oregon Border, is east and west of the Sierra Nevada. I could see the state splitting along the Sierra/Cascade divide, and then Western California uniting with western Oregon and Washington.
The coastal/inland divide exists within the north/south divide.
Something that people from the eastern and midwestern US always find surprising is that a non-neglibible portion of people here on the west coast identify with our state above our country. I don't think it's advantageous for CA to become independent as things stand, as much as we are a bastion of certain values, we're also facing political waves that are affecting the rest of the US, and I don't see that changing either way. That said, if we became less dependent on agriculture (it's the major user of water, not the cities, and them changing to lower value crops would mean that we're no longer constantly flirting with drought), got HSR built, and had housing policty promote denser living, then I'd see it being fairly plausible to turn out relatively well.
Thoughtful comment.
I’m from Ohio. Cleveland specifically. And I definitely identify closer to my city than my state or even the country. So I know what you mean.
So out of curiosity, what would be your solution to become less dependent on agriculture (aka, one of California's largest sources for exports and also the very thing that feeds people)
Because I would argue that cities lead to more water waste and pollution by far. On top of that, its not a sound economic plan to rely on imports for food.
@@isaacwestling1141 As far as I understand it, it's not an issue of changing the flow to needing imports for food. Back in the late 18XXs, California was wheat country, the valley flooded frequently, and malaria was a serious risk. However when competition in that market arose in the form of Indian and Australian wheat, farmers switched to higher value crops like walnuts and citrus, which use much more water. As such, I don't think we need to entirely move away from agriculture, but just be smarter about how much water we allow a given parcel to be irrigated with, pushing farmers to use less water intensive crops.
@@ashleyhamman an interesting take away, I like the thought process behind it.
Actually there is plenty of water for people, just not enough for agriculture anymore. Can’t supply 80% of the worlds almonds anymore!
Having left CA for school, I came to really appreciate the freedoms and culture we have here. I’m never leaving again
what part of california
@@kevinpace866 The San Joaquin Valley. Freshest food on the planet, access to all parts and people of this beautiful state, and the hardest working people who comprise California’s heartland.
Awesome video, positive and straight forward, the video shows California’s strengths and weaknesses. I’m proud to live in this great state. Thank you for all the good information you provided. I’m going to share this video with some of my friends who live in the South and put California down.
Yes, I was born here and LOVE it here!! 🐻
Born here and have been here my whole life
@Realm only the price to live here is besides that it’s really great
@56236 If it's so terrible, what are you doing on TH-cam?
great hahaha
The Northridge earthquake occurred in January 1994, not 1996.
Did you know that California has the most national parks in the US. It has 9!!! :) Very pretty place!
Great video!
People always overlook how on top of the tech and entertainment industries, California also is a huge agricultural exporter! Over 13% of the nations crops come from here!
Of the 13 % some crops art above 90% produced here. There is no place on earth as productive as Ca. Crops
In addition to that, 2/3 of the nation's fruits are grown here and 1/3 of the nation's vegetables are also grown here.
13% of the nation's crops grow here when you have enough water.
California is about 40 million people, us population about 330. So about 11% of the population. California does have good farmland but for its massive population it cannot sustain that longterm by itself. And dont even get me started on energy.
@@stgravatt First yes we can and second it is not 49 vs. California. California will lead the like minded states into a new union for North America. The murikkkan empire is collapsing.
@@Skittles1987 Not to mention the Nuts
California really has everything except water.
Agriculture, technology, arts and entertainment, shipping ports, and plenty of national parks to draw in tourism.
It would immediately be a third world country just because it doesn't have water
@@salvation8755 - Nope. California gets lot of water from snow in the Sierras, Cascades, and coast ranges, seasonal rainfall, and groundwater. As an independent country, it'd just have to be a lot more careful with the water it has. States can no longer rely on water from the Colorado River anyway. And, most of California's wealth, other than agriculture, comes from industries that don't use much water.
So, nobody will be able to water lawns, rice, almond, alfalfa and other water hogging crops will have to be switched, at least partly to other crops, a lot more water will have to be recycled, some water will have to come from desalinization, etc. It can be done.
And, it may have to be done, red and blue states in the US are heading towards a divorce. This will have positive and negative impacts.
Positive:
1. Educated Californians are developing the technologies and industries that are driving the US economy. After the split, California could focus on improving its education system, thus increasing the education gap with states like Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, etc., that have terrible education systems.
2. Taxes. California, New York, and the other rich blue states are being dragged down by the third world red states like Wyoming which take more from the federal treasury than they put in.
3. California has progressive politics. As an independent country, California could continue to protect women's rights and other human rights. California could take in educated people, women, and other persecuted refugees from regressive states like Texas and Florida.
Negative:
1. After tIf ed. As a member of the US right now, progressive states like California, Oregon and Washington currently protect the civil and democratic rights of people in backwards states.
2. The US is the world's superpower. Yes, China is strong, but it is grossly overpopulated, has little water and farmland, is filled with deadly pollution, and even more corrupt than the US. Even if the US divided up into the progressive blue states and regressive red states, the blue or red states on their own would not be strong enough to stand up to China.
3. If the blue and red states split, they would be different enough and competitive enough that there would eventually be war between the two sides. The blue states, while having a much smaller land area than the red states, would have a much larger population. So, the war would be one sided. But, millions of people would lose everything and die if the two sides split.
@@freeheeler09 Texas is a blue state? Also, Florida schools are actually better then California schools. Public schools in California are some of the worst in the nation. California also has 1/3 of all homeless Americans, highest debt to the federal government, a declining population and is going through a super drought.
Idk why people talk about California like it’s 1987. It’s 2022 and it’s time to start looking at what is ACTUALLY happening. Business are leaving California for states like Tennessee, Texas and Florida. California has also lost population for the 2nd year straight, and no signs of slowing down.
@@tylerkriesel8590 “Tennessee”
@@moonshinei ya that’s the 16th state, just wanted to let me know that bud?
Correction; the Northridge quake occured in January of 1994, not 1996 and was not associated with the San Andreas Fault, rather it took place on a previously unknown blind thrust fault. On this note, while the San Andreas Fault is the most famous and gets the most press, the most dangerous fault is actually the Hayward Fault.
Also i'm from California, pero vivo en Mexico 👋🇲🇽🇺🇲
With respect, the Northridge quake was not in 1996 and cost the region over $50 billion, with less than a quarter of that amount coming from FEMA.
94
I think that CA would potentially benefit from a global economy as an entry point for commerce into North America and overall global trade.
The ports of Oakland, Long Beach, and Los Angeles would be key shipping destinations for container ships. If it were an independent country, CA could also change the terms of import to be more attractive than diverting to ports in Oregon or Washington.
From a larger international economic perspective, the cultural diversity and politics (despite some claims of being anti-business) would draw overseas firms looking to make further investments in North America, but without having to deal with the larger United States, Mexico, or Canada. Imagine CA as the North American Singapore or Hong Kong (before the full Chinese crackdown) with special economic trade zones and agreements. This could extend CA's ability to be independent by forming treaties and defense agreements, akin to Switzerland. All the tech data could be the new Swiss Bank account. These funds could pay for safe nuclear reactors and, therefore, desalination plants to provide for towns and cities.
Ultimately, while this is a fun thought exercise, the real strength of CA comes from being under the umbrella of a larger Federal system that can tap into the funds generated by the other 49 states, a central military, and free trade/travel between other states. Until something catastrophic happens, CA will be a state.
Thank you for the fun and informative video!
It already does.... LOL
@@factsoverfeelings1776 Does what? I wrote a bunch here.
I feel proud of my home state.
I’ve been so excited for you to do this video! Did not disappoint!
Hello! Love your channel as a Mexican I can give you some few new countries to talk about here the list: Republic of Rio Grande, Republic of Yucatan, and Republic of Chiapas.
Thank you! Always looking for new what if country possibilities! It's been very US focused so far (mostly because it's easy for me to hone my content with areas I know best) but that's going to change pretty soon!
A fun idea to wrap up this series is to do a reorganization of the states. For instance divide California in 2 because of population add DC as a state. Merge some of the smaller states. SD & ND added together is very close in size to Montana so not to large to govern. The best idea is merge all of Maine, Mass, Conn, Rhode Island, Vermont, & New Hampshire then call it Brand New England.
Why would you add DC as a state and not just have it be part of Maryland? There’s already too many states on the East Coast, and the South, and on the Great Plain. We just need like 20-30 states tbf
English has been the official language of California since 1986. The Greater Los Angeles Area includes Los Angeles County, Ventura County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County.
California leaving would trigger a collapse of an already failing union. Our neighbors would join us in a new union.
@@bobhabib750 truth. Other blue states mostly donors follow us right off this sinking ship.
California leaving would be unable to support its self most Californians are living in poverty lol
@@stayswervin554 California funds red states and is rated the most viable as a nation about Texas. People aren't leaving in poverty
@@bobhabib750 4th largest economy on earth just passed Germany.
@@stayswervin554 4th largest economy on earth just passed Germany. California is robbed blind by the federal government to bail out red states and fund its war machine. We are much richer after independence.
Great analysis and video overall homie!! Love coming your way from Bakersfield, CA (other Californians, I know) Keep it up!!
As a country it would have to develop a significant military to protect its interests especially the water rights of the Colorado river.
Thank you for your great video. I really appreciate each one of them 👍
You're forgetting Bakersfield with a metro area of almost 1 million people! Everyone always likes to pretend like the Central Valley is an empty desert. Bakersfield is in fact a large city with a huge metro area and a ton of industry. It alongside Fresno are some of the fastest growing areas in the state and the country as a whole!
A large city with a poor freeway network 😭
@@thatcapuchin6597 Is a freeway network what defines the quality of a city? Hmmmm...
How about Paris then? Bad city? How about Strasbourg? Or Siena? Or Amsterdam? How about Valencia or Barcelona? All "bad cities"?
@@TohaBgood2 Clearly you misread or misunderstood my comment. I stated that the city (Bakersfield) which lies in Kern County in Southern California has a poor freeway network meaning lack of freeways to allow for access from all parts of the city. Hope this clarifies the misunderstanding.
Wow. I just looked it up. Kern County has 917k people.
Who knew?
@@thatcapuchin6597 And what I was saying is that a "good" freeway network is not an advantage. If anything, it kills a city. You lose any street life. You lose a ton of land to parking lots and extra car lanes. The population gets fat because no one walks anywhere.
I understand building freeways in the boonies where you need to transport goods. But what benefit is a freeway to a city? So that people can drive through without contributing to the local economy? Why would you want that?
I left Cali in 1998. Cost of living prohibitive at the time. Now it's rich and poor mostly no middle class. Hollywood and SV are slowly leaving the state, Sad, it's was and is beautiful place to live.
It's still an incredible place to live, the issue is the high costs because there's so much demand. I've lived here for nearly 4 decades
It would be very interesting what an independent California would be like. What would its economy be ranked?
What rank with the economy be? Did you watch the video?
@@highlymedicated2438 5th largest. It would be a very rich country, and would likely pack a lot of power for its size.
@@jaker.2311 ...with virtually no middle class. It's a third-world Marxist banana republic.
Fifth most powerful on earth.
@@bobhabib750 republicans are the dictators. Newsom was democratically elected and your socialism cry is as old as the crust in your underwear. California's policies are no more socialist than Canada, Germany or Japan dope.
California could be its own Country .
1. It would have to solve its water issue internally
2. Its Power issue internally
3. How to govern each part of the State as states , Sacramento has to much of a centralized hold on the state. which stifles' innovation and economy. That's why only certain areas are wealthy while some of the counties in CA. are some of the poorest with in the nation like Tehama and Fresno counties .
These 3 i believe are the major stumbling blocks for CA to become its own country . I believe also these issues also need to be addressed for CA to survive as a state in the USA.
Great video!! I have an idea: what if the areas of land and water switched?
Yes I believe California can be it’s own country same goes for Texas. Not sure about the other states.
Alaska and Hawaii could probably do it because they have to be somewhat self sufficient.
@@matthewgoodman7588 Alaska would probably be taken over by Russia
Probably no other states except maybe Florida but there are lots of other multi state areas that could, like New England or the Northwest.
We should get our independence. With the money we send the federal government in one year, we could have paid for the entire high-speed rail route, free university for all, and free single-payer universal healthcare.
I love watching ur channel
I think Hawaii is the only state that could pull off a secession. Alaska is way too rich in oil to be secure. Russia would reclaim the territory and invade it militarily.
If Alaska is not owned by the US, russian soldiers would well be trepassing in this state instead of in Ukraine today.
Hawaii is way too strategically Important for the US to let go, it also is heavily dependent on tourism which would stop after independence.
If California was a country, It would be self sustaining and prosperous! Agriculture, technology, health care, education.,entertainment, tourism, transportation, trade, etc. etc. California would thrive!
I lived in CA for 50yrs…, we spend way too much money we don’t even have.
We will go bankrupt if it’s not part of US.
California pays more to the Federal government than get back; also has a 97.5 billion surplus.
😂😂😂 Are you kidding? It's not our spending, we pay the most in taxes to keep other red states afloat.
The country depends on California, not the other way around
California gives much more than it takes when it comes to the rest of the country.
Never been to California, but it is a very interesting place. I would love to visit the redwood forests and all of the northern parts of the state. Too bad they are running out of fresh water for all those people that live there 🥵
They are not running put of fresh water for all the people. Private water use only uses 18% of water in the state. Its the 60% draining agriculture in the middle of a desert that throats all the water.
The northern trees in California don't survive from rivers nearby. Most of them survive off the amount of fog and mist from the early morning.
All of the west is in a drought right now. Southern California is going to have to change the amount of water it uses including a lot of recycling and desalination. Come for a visit. More National Parks than any state except Alaska and pretty much every climate in the U.S. from deserts to high mountain peaks.
@@melbaker9495 desalination is a horrible idea on any large scale. Agriculture needs to move out of the desert. Thats it. It accounts by farrrr for the largest water use.
I’m from California born and raised here! I have a love & hate relationship with my state🤣🤣 From the Bay Area btw
Even more interesting is how the relationship to the US would change if CA were to become an independent country: It would have its own, likely strong currency; it would no longer need to contribute to the US treasury; It would economically dominate neighboring states; It might become more affordable and desirable to live in CA as a result.
If California was a separate country, then they wouldn't have had the many people after the Civil War moving there nor those in the early 1900's. The small movie studios would never have left New Jersey for California and Silicon Valley would not exist either. It would have been mostly farmers and cattle ranchers and maybe some fishermen.
Love California
You forgot to mention all the homelessnes problem in the state
From what we save not bailing our red states or funding the federal war machine we could buy every homeless person a beach house.
@@timlinator not with that deficit.
@@sebastienholmes548 What deficit? California is running a surplus and is a donor state. We will no longer be propping up those dead beat red states and the us war machine.
Homelessness exists across the nation.
What if California forms a country with Baja California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska?
Mexico would have to be consulted.
You should do a what if Canada became a state episode
Here's a what if country idea for you or should I say countries. This idea requires splitting the US into the following multiple countries:
1) The New England states plus New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and DC
2) Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia
3) The Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri
4) Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana
5) Virginia, The Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi
5) Florida and the Caribbean Islands
6) Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana
7) Alaska
8) Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico
9) California plus Baja and the Pacific Islands
The drought is over, thanks to the atmospheric river and the 200% snow pack this year.
You do know that "state" _means_ the same thing as "nation" or "country." There is a common assumption within and outside the US that sees a "state" as a glorified "county" or parish. The "United States" is a union because the colonies decided to remain allied, sharing a broad framework of law. However, that Constitution also recognizes the rights of states rather confusingly. It addresses individual rights throughout the federated "states" but is far less explicit about the "rights" of those states. The 10th Amendment essentially leaves a range of individual rights and state rights to be negotiated among the citizens of the individual states.
you forgot to mention the California Burrito
The Mexico border is in the state of Baja California, you should point that
What if the world had to do without California’s food production?
Just found your channel today, binging the heck out of it. Thanks!!!
I live in California anyway I think it's better to keep having California being part of the United States instead of being it's own country.
I live in California as well and disagree. Viva California Libre!
@@timlinator California needs more desalination plants to get water from the Pacific Ocean but anyway there's a lot of challenges that California would have to face if it did became it's own country.
@@williamedwardhackman4695 California's forced bounty to the US war machine alone would pay for all of that.
@@williamedwardhackman4695 California is no alone. All the blue states would join us in a North American Union
@@timlinator I'm against voting in general I loathe politics I only trust the Bible.
I’m not trying to start a political debate but I honestly don’t see it as having a good economy. I live in the Sacramento area all my life and most people are living paycheck to paycheck while working 2 full time jobs or 1 full time job while sleeping in their car or in a shelter. I honestly think the idea of it being a large economy is a lie but that’s my opinion
The moneys in the hands of rich people and not working people
Theres poor people everywhere and struggling people everywhere. That does not take away from what the state produces and how much money goes in and out.
"Country" is a vague term. Try to think of "nation" and "nation-state." You seem to be asking about California as an independent nation-state. To consider that, you first have to think if it coheres as a nation. A nation is generally thought of as a people with, notably, a common history, a common language, a common religion, a common legal and commercial framework, and a definite geographical area. These things make up what we think of as a culture. One could have a reasonably defined nation without having all these elements, provided there is adequate strength in them together. The Swiss don't have a common language, but they have a strong history, a very strong legal/commercial frame in which they live, and so on.
So does California have these elements in such strength that the population coheres as a nation? If it is a nation, then it could be an independent nation-state, despite the difficulties you identify.
The problem I perceive is the internal cultural divisions are monumental. As others note, there are truly radical differences between, for example, coastal areas and the Sierra Nevada. The fact that proposals for the dissolution of California into two to five separate political entities is adequate evidence that the state does not cohere sufficiently to be a "country."
Also, I've heard we (us California tax payers) contribute greatly to the US economy so it'd be a fiscal blow in that direction, no? 🇺🇸
Japan also has to deal with earthquakes. Why would it be any more difficult for California to do so.
I understand the wildfires and drought, though. Still, Spain and Italy are smaller economies but still deal reasonably well. I think California wouldn't be in any worse shape.
Those would be the days.
And China would surpass us for biggest economy.
If CA was a country, then it would trend towards failed state (ex. Haiti). Thomas Buckley, a former CA mayor, wrote a whole article about it.
california is the best state
California is in trouble is so many ways.
Why must I have to stick to the topic
Northridge earthquake was in 1994 not 1996...January 1994
I have a question es California bigger than the country Peru?
While I think California could be fine if it was an independent country, I also believe that it succeeds right now because of position within the U.S., not in spite of it. Its economy is roughly in proportion to the U.S. economy as its population is to the total U.S. population. Its access to the U.S. market is what helps it and without it, I believe California would struggle. The U.S. would still have the worlds largest economy and third largest population without California and that, I am sure, would be more attractive to global corporations. California needs the U.S. as much as the U.S. needs California.
I wish it were less expensive here.
The water issue is too big to overcome at this point. I don’t know why California isn’t already building a water pipeline from other states. It would be billions of dollars of investment but better to have it than to not
California has plenty of water. It is a matter of transporting it from the wet northern area to the dry and more populated southern part.
We have plenty of water and building desalinization plants. We can also pipe it in from the north or by ship using refitted oil tankers.
Because only the place they can get from is Mississippi River. They can’t get from Great Lakes
@@Whitneypyant California doesn't need those states. We have multiple sources of water including rain/snow fall, desalinization, water from the north. Yes we should build a pipeline to Oregon, Washington, and Canada which is much shorter than the great lakes. Also by ship from the north
It would suck as a country instead of a state.
If California can leave the union without causing a war I think it’d be in our state’s best interest but unfortunately that’s a huge if
I'm Californian and support California independence from fascist murikkka. Other blue states should join us and form a North American Union.
Red / blue is simply rural vs. urban. Blue states simply have more dominant city populations while red states have less dominant city populations. If you wanted a blue country you would need self-sufficient cities. It's generally a better idea to just get along with people of different viewpoints and instead of trying to get rid of them just get rid of the shameless ideologues who can't compromise.
@@gorkyd7912 one person one equal vote not electoral college and senate two per state regardless of population. That is minority rule not democracy. BTW rural areas are shrinking while urban areas growing. Republicans only have power because of a rigged system that grants power by land not people.
@@timlinator The electoral college is pretty much the core of the United States; the part that unites the states. The states each elect their leadership through a popular vote of some kind and that's where each voter is intended to have an equal vote to control their own affairs within that state. The federal government is elected by all of the states acting together in a balance to create a centralized power structure to represent each state on the international level; not the people within the states but their elected governments. The fact that people want to abolish the electoral college so their individual vote has more impact on the federal level relative to other individuals in other states is a testament to how imbalanced the federal government has become relative to state governments in people's everyday lives. If you did actually abolish the electoral college it would be the end of representative democracy, it's pointless to ask 200 million people to agree on one government and equally pointless to expect 200 million people who disagree to hold that government accountable.
@@gorkyd7912 Electoral college was a compromise made over 200 years ago by wealthy rich white male land owners, half of them including Washington and Jefferson slave owners. The electoral college gives some people greater say based on where they live. Abolishing it gives everyone equal say. Electoral college is minority rule, democracy is representative government. You are defending minority rule because you fear the increasingly diverse majority having an equal say. As for states fine just abolish the federal government, my state California is the fifth most powerful economy on earth a G7 nation by every measure not a state.
@@gorkyd7912 California could agree with the blue states and probably most purple states to form a North American union similar to the European Union and then the red states would be even poorer than they are right now.
It would definitely get rid of the out of state homeless.
If California were to secess from the union I think it would go very poorly. Although many of the citizens might choose to stay many will also leave (assuming they will have that option). Also I would think many of those fortune 500 companies would move as they are only there to be based in the US or have US affiliation. I think things would fall apart very quickly. Maybe great in theory but not so great in practice.
California would be just the first domino that leads to a blue exit and the end of the usa.
@@timlinator and what makes you think that?
@@sebastienholmes548 Because without California the blue states are at the mercy of the red theocracies and will just follow us out. Many red states like Texas want to secede as well. The empire is tumbling down.
A rason tiene queser por ser osa menor las costala iones no estan ay por estar hay de🤔🌟🐻
The pronnunciation of PARAGÜAY was awful, you should leaen the right pronnunciation with the channel General Knowledge
Correct grammar for this title: "What if California WERE a Country?" Use a subjunctive verb in this case.
i live on california and and that would happen
Then the congress disctricts within would be states.🤔🤔🤔
Drought?
Hollywood
Not anymore. We're good.
@@heraldomedrano1417 is thriving and still a moneymaker.
Well if it were a country and I was President of the US I would most definitely build the biggest most beautiful wall you ever saw with no gates.
tell me why is california with C ,Kentacy,Kansas with K?better all with K,
Because English makes no sense.
What if it were a country too.
The American education system has failed its students.
This will happen
I am in california
50 percent reduction of homelessness for the USA
Nope, homelessness exists across the nation.
@@cheesewithxbread and 50 percent of said homeless reside in California
@@halo7077it's 30% but as soon as they do become an independent country they would deport 10-15% of homeless who are not native in California.
California was on its way to becoming its own independent nation until gold was discovered in the northern region back in the 19th century. Then Uncle Sam couldn't wait to add another star on his US flag just because, lol! As a native Californian, I'm ALL for secession as long as: 1) we got a large enough military presence to validate such a monumental move, 2) the current capital is relocated from Sacramento to Fresno so as to discourage ANY talk of California possibly splitting in half right after secession, and 3) ONLY DROUGHT-TOLERANT CROPS ARE GROWN HERE!!!!!! Otherwise, gonna have to bite the proverbial bullet and keep playing the role of America's No. 1 source of taxpayer revenue for the time being:::sigh:::
🙄💰💸💰🤷♀
Wild fires in California are land management problems not necessarily climate change. A big part of the agriculture water is federal already. You talked about their economy but didn’t cover its debt load or compare it to countries that doesn’t have military protection. How many countries are loosing the population that California is loosing without war or conflict?
so you know how california is the most in-demand place in the country to live?
@@ToyotaCamrySEv lol California is LOSING population, what “demand” are you talking about? It’s not 1997 anymore, it’s 2022. Florida and Texas are the boom states
California has huge budget surplus and it is climate change and that land mismanagement is by the federal government.
@@timlinator tell the town of Paradise, Santa Rosa and all the places in California that are miles away from federal forests that it was the feds policies. If the budget has such a huge surplus ( a lot from federal handouts not spent by the state ) then why don’t they put it to the significant debt load? Why are gas taxes so high and CA has some of the worst roads… all slight of hand tricks… they keep moving the money.
@@kurtgrundel4045 the fires started on federal land. California is not a taker state like most red states. Our debt load is no higher per capita than Texas. California doesn't get its fair share of federal highway dollars, we are paying for roads in red states. Keeping our federal dollars to spend as we wish will solve a lot of those issues. California is forced to contribute over $100 BILLION per year to the federal war machine making us the third largest defense spender on earth. We could easily defend ourselves for half that and would also no longer be bailing out red states. California is the number one contributor to FEMA but only the 11th largest recipient. Texas is the largest recipient. We pay for hurricanes in red states.
We would have to build the wall up to Oregon
Oregon and Washington wold likely join us. #CalExit is just the first domino that leads to #BlueExit and the end of the Murikkkan empire.
what if we cut their water off they wouldn't be the top 5 any more would they
Not smart, are you?
California has plenty of water and only 15% comes from the Colorado. 80% of all water is used for agriculture most of which is exported to other states. Try getting your facts straight.
@@timlinator no it dont
@@timlinator you need
check your facts agin no it dont
@@neilhipps2834 Yes it does have enough water if we restrict agriculture temporarily until enough desalinization plants are brought online. We can also get water from our friendly northern neighbors.
Republic Of California.
Commonly known as "the California Genocide"? Only known so by you.
California, go right ahead. I wish you well.
You know all the goods from Asia come through the massive port in LA right?
Bummer
And Nancy Pelosi can be queen!
Nope we will put her in prison.
Wishful thinking . .
I wouldn’t say California is the most “culturally prominent” state of the US, that title belongs to states like New York and Pennsylvania to me.
All New York has going for it is NYC and Pennsylvania isn’t even relevant
Hell no. New York as a state is not diverse. New York City is diverse. The diversity that exists in California can not be found anywhere else
@@cheesewithxbread dude yes it does. Both states are the center point for American culture, many immigrants came to the us through NYC. Daft mf
Nah. Mississippi is. Had a culture and ancient civilizations history that everyone has forgotten
It would collapse in no time
Nope
@@SCHRODINGERS_WHORE you're right I guess you can't collapse an economy that's already collapsed
@@Anestary When did the largest economy in the US by GDP collapse?
@@andyjay729 yes big tech and a few companies making all the money while 90% of California's population struggles to survive
@@Anestary That's a nationwide problem, not just in CA.
Id like to make a point, because I’m honestly sick of people propping up California like the state doesn’t have any problems. California has:
-1/3 of all homeless Americans (by far highest in the nation)
-highest poverty rate in the nation (they beat Mississippi in 2020)
-highest taxes in the nation
-highest rent / housing prices in the nation
-highest gasoline prices in the nation
-a declining and in trouble school system that is one of the worst in the nation
-a declining population as of 2022
-mass exodus of companies ( HP, Tesla, Oracle, and Norton online security to name a few)
On top of that, being in debt to the federal government 1 trillion dollars and defaulting last year on it. They are also running out of water and are having some of the worst forest fires ever seen.
Let stop acting like it’s 1987 California ya? Because it’s 2022 and it’s time to start realizing there is a problem.
wrong on nearly all counts. Stop drinking the faux propaganda koolaid. California economy is growing faster than Texas. We are the fifth largest economy on earth, 50% larger than Texas and three times larger than Florida.
@@timlinator stop spamming me buddy, your not convincing anyone.
@@tylerkriesel8590 you are not convincing anyone with your lies.
@@tylerkriesel8590 California has 15% of the total US population and GDP of USA. Many of our homeless are from other states and includes veterans with PTSD from republican wars for oil. We also have the best weather to sleep outside and more generous benefits. Half our 160k homeless live in Vans and RV's, they are working poor. 160k out of 40 million is .4% of our population. We are not the poorest state but adjusted for housing yes but for a fraction of the $100 BILLION we are forced to fund the us war machine we could subsidize housing costs and then be well below most red states. We don't have the highest tax states or housing costs, google is your friend. We are going clean energy by 2035 including no more gas cars so we don't really care about gas prices. Our population had a slight decline in 2021 due to COVID and trump immigration policies, California's diverse economy attracts immigrants from around the world so once we are a nation controlling our own immigration our population will increase again. We don't want a wall or fear the world as you snow flake conservatives do. California is not in debt to the federal government it is red states that take more from the feds then they pay in taxes, again google is your friend. Many red states have worse school systems than California get your facts straight. There is not a mass exodus from California in fact California GDP is growing faster than Texas and Florida. Our GDP is 50% larger than Texas and three times Florida even though our population is just double Florida. California has the pacific ocean and is developing solar powered desalinization. It is the landlocked western red states that have other source of water and will rely on the pacific that goes through California and our desalinization technology for water in the future. GDP growth by state according to Forbes www.forbes.com/sites/andrewdepietro/2022/05/17/us-gdp-by-state-and-fastest-growing-states-by-gdp-growth/?sh=d3b7c4d5a721
Defaulting to the federal government on 1 trillion dollars. Where the heck did you get that B.S.? I'm a journalist in this state and cover state and local politics, that is just bizarro land. We had a budget surplus this year in excess of 100 Billion dollars! The fact that you're "research" pulled up that whopper, shows that you are not worthy of debate.
California leaving the Union would be the greatest thing to happen the US. California drags the rest of the country down along with New York.
Dude without our taxes you'd be a third world country. Far more of our taxes poor into the Red States. If they blue states were serparate, we'd be in great shape financially. More like wealthy European countries.
It's the other way around. The rest of the states drag California down.
@@melbaker9495 If Red States are richer because of taxes from the federal government, that implies blue states are getting poorer because of the federal government. If that is the case, you could be free from the shackles of the federal government pulling blue states down, that would benefit people from the blue states. Red states would be rich still compared to many other countries, and poverty by itself is not a crime and no shame.
Federal "benefits" to poorer states keep the politicians of those states from improving their economy because otherwise they wouldn't need the federal government to help them. The same happens in my country, the poorer states keep gaining federal money and the politicians from those places keep the places poor because they need poverty to justify money being poored into their pockets (and they steal a good chunk of it, the other chunk is used to provide sloopy services and benefits).
If states go their own ways, the consequences would be a more clear view of the real wealth of that place, and by competition to improve their wealth, the politicians would need to create a better business environment to allow companies to move into that country.
The more countries you have in the world: 1- the less centralization of power in a few powerful countries, less bullies and more trade relations being built, because countries coudn't do war economy, impose too big of tariffs, etc. Humbleness is necessary to small countries' governments. 2-Voting with their feet, the bigger the number of countries and the smaller the territories, the easier it is to move out if your government becomes opressive, politicians compete to have people so they can tax people, that means the overall level of liberty increases in the long run.
3-More diversity of economy and legislations, people can move to places that suit their values.
4-It is inevitable, no territory in the history of manking was able to be kept together for more than a few centuries. The bigger your territory become, the more diversity of opinions, of ethnicities, of divergent national feelings, etc. Separatism is something that simply happens, regardless of what we think of it.
5-Places like Texas and California are destined to be their own countries, they are just too big and independent-minded. They are not perfect, both would/could face difficulties, but it just feels like destiny.
@@emmanuelmedeiros7 red states would be poor compared to any first world country that includes most of Europe, Canada, Australia and many Asian nations.
And Nicaragua is poorer than Costa Rica. What is your point?
Your video asks what if California was a country??? Don’t you know that it is a Country? State and Country are synonyms that verifies they mean the same thing! California is a State/ Country one of Fifty in the USA, a Nation of 50 Countries/ States in the USA! The USA is a Nation it is NOT a Country!
Completely false. Go back to grade school.
@@MayTheSchwartzBeWithYou So sorry that you don’t know the difference between a Nation and a State/Country.
@@cdmcintyre1854 You're the one who doesn't know the difference.
@@cdmcintyre1854 “What? …Bro what are you talking about man…”
@@dapweb9373 The true facts! one nation under God with liberty and justice for all!
It's be destroyed in 10 min
We don't get much help from the government in fires anyway..
fish