Sounds like they aree going to be ready for when they decide to break off...
https://www.businessinsider.com/kansas-is-using-sex-toys-to-...
They can deregulate everything, roll the dice and enjoy the flaky electric grid, fire ants, modified AR-15s, tornadoes, floods, etc. They can do whatever they want with their new southern border and we can do the same in turn.
The Civil War made it pretty clear that states cannot leave the union, and doing so would probably be treated as an act of war, and while Texas does have a pretty impressive economy, it's still not enough to take on the entire rest of the United States.
I lived in Texas for awhile, and there is this sort of running idea that Texas is somehow able to be self-sufficient in a way that other states cannot be. I think I dispute that.
I am sure there lots of people in Texas, California, etc. that think they'd be better off as their own states. Its the same logic as Brexit and its hard for elites to take it seriously because it is so obviously dumb. But the benefits are so poorly spread around there are just a lot of people who don't care. "I will still get my pension." "This town was dying before." etc.
She might still say this stuff, I don't know, I haven't talked to her in like 7 years.
The hypocritical potential of humans is incredible.
These people in general had jobs working for the state or local government. But they were very sure in their views about the economy. My point is that they also didn't really directly benefit much from tech, or international trade, or global finance. So they really didn't have a big stake in being right or wrong.
> My point is that they also didn't really directly benefit much from tech, or international trade, or global finance. So they really didn't have a big stake in being right or wrong.
I mean, they have some stake though; presumably most of them have a 401k or some equivalent if they have government jobs, which probably invests in a diversified S&P500 fund or something similar, and most of the biggest businesses in those are tech companies. They should care a little about those business; their retirements probably depend on them.
The world is filled with states similar in size to Texas (or smaller), by whatever measurement you want to use, all of which seem perfectly self-sufficient. Even those in Europe didn't join the EU out of concerns about self-sufficiency, but rather about efficiency and synergy.
I see no reason why Texas would be different in this regard. It might be unwise for Texas to attempt such, as there are benefits to remaining, but the idea that it couldn't be is nothing short of absurd. For the record, I don't think this opinion is unique to Texas, most of the other states in the US could do so just as well.
I mostly think Texas would not be able to win a civil war against the US, and so splitting off would be impossible. If they were somehow able to convince the federal government to let them secede, I think they'd probably survive, though I also think it would be a downgrade to Texas citizens.
ETA: Rereading your comment, I actually don't think we really disagree on anything here, I just chose some poor wording making what I said ambiguous.
Oh. I'll do you one better then. Texas is uniquely unqualified to be self-sufficient. They tried it once and went bankrupt in 10 years.
> I mostly think Texas would not be able to win a civil war against the US,
I don't know why one would or should be fought. The people who think that the US has the right to prevent secession are pretty weird... ask them if they think divorce should be illegal or if the husband should be allowed to murder a wife who tries.
In fairness, a lot can change in 100+ years. Texas has much better utilization of its resources with a much higher population now than it did the last time they were independent. It's possible that they'd do better now.
> I don't know why one would or should be fought. The people who think that the US has the right to prevent secession are pretty weird
It might be weird but wasn't that the conclusion of the US Civil War? I very highly doubt that the fed woudl let Texas secede without a fight.
> I very highly doubt that the fed woudl let Texas secede without a fight.
Sure. And I would expect the fight to be litigative, or even diplomatic in nature. But martial? Though, I will say I keep forgetting how bloodthirsty the typical person is, and how few socially approved avenues they have to engage in that mindset. So who knows.
Except there's more than one state that would probably side with Texas out of culture war spite.
Also, we just so happen to have the majority of military manufacturing located in said states because defense contractors spent decades relocating for that sweet savings on taxes.
> we just so happen to have the majority of military manufacturing located in said states because defense contractors spent decades relocating for that sweet savings on taxes.
Most of the financing for these companies is funded by the US military. I doubt Texas (or Texas and the few surrounding states that also left) would be able to maintain the nearly infinite military budget that the fed has, and the military manufacturers would move to a Union state as soon as possible. I guess the physical factories would still be there, but there's a lot more to manufacturing than just the factories.