l*****7
发帖数: 8463 | 1 计划加州分为6州可能是一个民主党的噩梦;
亚裔的好机会.
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http://news.yahoo.com/plan-divide-california-6-states-advances- to divide California into 6 states advances
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California has reached the breaking point, says Tim
Draper. The Silicon Valley venture capitalist is pushing a proposal to crack
the nation's most populous state into smaller pieces — six of them.
California has grown so big, so inefficient, it's essentially ungovernable,
according to a ballot initiative that could reach voters as early as
November.
It has to go, he says.
"Vast parts of our state are poorly served by a representative government,"
according to Draper's plan, which cleared a key government hurdle this week,
part of the process to qualify for the ballot. California residents "would
be better served by six smaller state governments."
In an interview Thursday, Draper said he has seen a state once regarded as a
model slide into decline — many public schools are troubled,
transportation, water and other infrastructure systems are overmatched and
outdated, spending on prisons has soared.
A group of states could change that, he said, competing and cooperating with
each other.
Without change "it will get worse," he warned. "California is not working."
No one would dispute that California, home to 38 million people, is full of
rivalries and squabbling. Dodgers or Giants. Tacos or sushi. Where water
goes, and how much of it.
But the state has proven reliably resilient against attempts to split it
apart, dating to the era of its founding in 1850. Over the years, proposals
have suggested California should be two states, or three, or four.
"It's certainly fun to talk about," said Raphael Sonenshein, executive
director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State
University, Los Angeles. But "its prospects are nil."
Even if it were to be approved by voters, Congress would have to endorse the
idea of creating six new states — and adding 10 senators to the chamber's
political mix (as with all states, California currently has two). Congress,
under the U.S. Constitution, must approve the creation or division of any
states.
View gallery
SPLITTING UP CALIFORNIA
HERE WE GO AGAIN: Investor Tim Draper has until July 18 to gather more than
807,000 signatures to ge …
"I don't think anyone is going to give California 12 Senate seats,"
Sonenshein said.
Draper, in documents he submitted to the Secretary of State's Office,
recommends dividing California regionally, including establishing a state
called Silicon Valley, which would include San Francisco and nearby counties
that are home to technology giants like Facebook and Apple.
Los Angeles would become part of the new state of West California, which
also would include the coastal cities of Santa Barbara and Ventura. The
state's farming heartland would become Central California. San Diego would
be the largest city in the new South California.
Earlier this week, he received approval from the state to begin collecting
petition signatures to qualify the proposal for the ballot — he needs about
808,000 by mid-July to make the cut.
It's also possible the proposal could be delayed until 2016. Facing a tight
deadline to gather signatures and build political momentum, "I want to make
sure there is enough time," Draper said.
The complexities of dividing a state the size of California, by itself among
the world's top 10 economies, would be daunting.
What would become of the California State Water Project, which uses
aqueducts and pumping stations to disperse water across the state? If the
federal government approves the idea, tax collections and spending by the
state would end, and its assets and debts would have to be divided.
Draper said the smaller governments would be more responsive to the needs of
residents and communities, compared to Sacramento. There would be vigorous
competition for residents among them, he predicted, again driving change.
Campaign veteran Matt David doubted the proposal would get far.
"California is as diverse geographically as it demographically, but
ultimately we all take pride in the fact that we are Californians," said
David, a Republican consultant based in Los Angeles. "Diluting that identity
between six states will never happen." | l*****7
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