11-15-2012, 06:08 PM
One of the reasons why I sited Texas instead of the other 49 as the one that "interested me" is because the other 49 don't really have a history the way that Texas does. It has had a nationalist movement almost since it became a state. While they are "in the grand scheme of things" a minority fringe group, they are a pretty decently sized minority fringe group.
Couple that with the limited reading that I have done with Quebec, and that they have come "close" to secession, I do think that there is more of a chance of a Texas Secession than any other state, but I wouldn't (at least not yet) quantify it as having even the same amount of traction as Quebec.
Problems that I would see facing a "nation" of Texas.
1.) The Social / Racial tensions. I'm not from Texas, I've not spent a "lot" of time in Texas, but like it has been pointed out, there is a growing hispanic population. There would be backlash. It might not be "huge" but in a nation that would have somewhere around 30 million people when it "became" a nation, those problems would be magnified.
2.) Along with #1, you would have the border. The Texas / Mexico border is a substantial land area, and based on the little that I've read, there would be a serious push to shore it up. With a population of 30 million, do you have the infrastructure to do so?
3.) As has been noted, you now have to deal with the "Federal Level" at a "State Level" The amount of federally run programs is astronomical. Coupled with the current lack of "State" Income Tax, and you will now have to worry about procurring funding for things that were previously funded by Federal Income Tax. One of the main reasons that Texas was agreeable to becoming a state int he first place, was the the U.S. government agreed to absorb the $10 Million in debt that the RoT had racked up. (To put that in today's numbers according to a nifty inflation calculator I found, that's $246,806,173.04. That's a pretty impressive amount of debt to rack up in 10 years, in the mid 1800's with a smaller population.
4.) Military. Do you allow the U.S. to maintain Military Bases? Do you kick them out? How do you build your own military? What do you do to keep your borders safe?
I don't think that it would ever happen, but I think that if it were to ever happen to a state in the U.S., it would be Texas.
Couple that with the limited reading that I have done with Quebec, and that they have come "close" to secession, I do think that there is more of a chance of a Texas Secession than any other state, but I wouldn't (at least not yet) quantify it as having even the same amount of traction as Quebec.
Problems that I would see facing a "nation" of Texas.
1.) The Social / Racial tensions. I'm not from Texas, I've not spent a "lot" of time in Texas, but like it has been pointed out, there is a growing hispanic population. There would be backlash. It might not be "huge" but in a nation that would have somewhere around 30 million people when it "became" a nation, those problems would be magnified.
2.) Along with #1, you would have the border. The Texas / Mexico border is a substantial land area, and based on the little that I've read, there would be a serious push to shore it up. With a population of 30 million, do you have the infrastructure to do so?
3.) As has been noted, you now have to deal with the "Federal Level" at a "State Level" The amount of federally run programs is astronomical. Coupled with the current lack of "State" Income Tax, and you will now have to worry about procurring funding for things that were previously funded by Federal Income Tax. One of the main reasons that Texas was agreeable to becoming a state int he first place, was the the U.S. government agreed to absorb the $10 Million in debt that the RoT had racked up. (To put that in today's numbers according to a nifty inflation calculator I found, that's $246,806,173.04. That's a pretty impressive amount of debt to rack up in 10 years, in the mid 1800's with a smaller population.
4.) Military. Do you allow the U.S. to maintain Military Bases? Do you kick them out? How do you build your own military? What do you do to keep your borders safe?
I don't think that it would ever happen, but I think that if it were to ever happen to a state in the U.S., it would be Texas.
nobody ever slaughtered an entire school with a smart phone and a twitter account – they have, however, toppled governments. - Jim Wright