Six Californias

Apparently, the proposal to split California into six states is heading for the ballots in 2016. As if having one California isn't bad enough. Actually, though, I generally favor this split, and to be fair it appears that the state is split into one obviously conservative part (Jefferson in the far north),two moderate states (South and Central California), and three far left ones (based around San Fransisco, LA, and Sacramento).

I've long been a supporter of the State of Jefferson, though I'd like it to annex southern Oregon. If it did, I would probably actively pursue a means of moving there. However, I predict that if this does go on the ballot and remain there, it will likely fail--not to mention that it would probably require some approval beyond just the State's say-so.

There is an interesting alternative option, however: the idea of super-states, states, and then a federal government. Under such a system, California, Texas (with perhaps some of its surrounding states), the New England/Northeast Ara, the Heartland/Midwest Area, the Great Lakes Region, etc would be sort of superstates, consisting of a number of states which are geographically, culturally, and economically connected. Texas and California and New York and Florida would all likely need to split into a few (2 or more each) smaller states to make this really make sense, with the superstates taking on much of the power and many of the responsibilities that the federal government has taken over the years, and states being more-or less restored to a greater amount of autonomy.

The problems here are that we would need at least one amendment to the constitution to make this happen, and then the federal government would need to be shrunk again (a good thing for sure), taking on a much more limited role.Such may be an unwieldy solution, but then again, our present situation in the US is not exactly great,with too much power concentrated in the federal government, and increasingly in the hands of the courts and the President. This could help alleviate at least one of those problems.

If it isn't a fully thought-out plan, nor one likely to be implemented in reality: then it would at least make for an interesting bit of speculative fiction.