California Has What it Takes

California is unique as a nation within a nation. It the most populous and most diverse state in the country. This diversity is a central part of California culture, an indispensable part of California’s economy, and essential to California’s future on the world stage as a major global economy.

It also explains why Californians are ideologically and culturally different from citizens of the United States. This diversity further explains why Californians have different public policy preferences. Every day, Americans shake their heads at what California is working to achieve – whether it be a cleaner environment or a more equal society. Common sense to Californians is often ridiculousness to Americans.

Meanwhile, we live in a time of great peril. The federal government is engaged in unwarranted mass domestic surveillance of Californians, the militarization of California police departments, and illegal foreign wars fought by California’s men and women in uniform. We the people have been silenced by lobbyists manipulating our elected representatives, and the corporations behind their political campaigns, deeming us powerless to affect change within the United States federal system.

In California, the peril is greater, although more obscure. Our infrastructure is failing, our schools are ranked among the worst in the entire country, poverty rates are among the highest, income inequality continues to grow, and Sacramento must borrow money from the future to provide services for today. On the surface, California may come off as a failed state, yet a deeper analysis shows our problems trace their roots back to Washington, D.C.

When admitted into the Union in 1850, California was promised “equal footing” with all the other states. Today our footing has begun to slip, as we find ourselves the victims of decades of federal exploitation. The federal government has used California for the betterment of the other states while it has neglected and ignored California’s needs at all levels of government. And our federal delegation to Washington has proven to be powerless against the alliance of the other states pitted against us.

It is time for California to rise out from the political dysfunction that has mired this country for so long, stifling progress, prosperity and opportunity. It is time for California to be financially solvent and energy independent. It is time for California to look confidently into the future. It is time for California to put Californians first.

California must redefine its relationship with the United States: California must be emancipated and prepared to go it alone.