2010-07-15

Secession talk in Alabama and San Francisco

Art Carden posts at Mises.org, Can Secession Succeed?

He links to his article in Forbes, Crazy In Alabama?
In response to an ongoing conflict over electronic bingo and other kinds of gambling, at least one legislator in Alabama's Seventh Congressional District--which includes part of the state's "Black Belt"--are discussing the possibility of seceding from Alabama and forming a new state. Residents of the district, over 60% of whom are African-American, claim that they are being slighted by the state government. The secession question speaks to a larger question: Does the United States have the right number of states? Should we have more?


In the San Francisco Chronicle there's The Bay Area needs to act like a city-state
It is clear that Sacramento can't solve California's problems. It is also clear that California's voters are unwilling to force real change, preferring merely to add to the state's thicket of ruinous, gridlock-inducing initiatives. Meanwhile, the mess in Sacramento is threatening the Bay Area's economic future.

That is why the Bay Area needs to start thinking like a city-state. In an age when nations have become so large that their citizens no longer identify with distant governments, city-states are political units large enough to have a global economic impact but small enough for even the most casual citizen to understand the relationships that make their city-state work. Politicians are local and thus more inclined to pragmatism and constructive action. Businesses understand that their fortunes are tied to the success of the local community. This balance between effect and size and the tendency toward social cohesion make contemporary city-states like Singapore and Hong Kong bright spots in an uncertain global economy.

No comments:

Post a Comment