Yeah, it’s Olbermann, but…
Anyway, I’ll just leave this tidbit for you to ponder upon regarding Texas.
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He’s got a point, but Olbermann is more nutjob than curry.
It would declare war on California as soon as they secede.
It would immediately raise the IQ of our nation by 50%.
Wow, no Texas cowboy yokels left to start frivolous wars for personal profit and destroy the American economy. Big plus.. Go. Go! Go Please!
The US economy would tank as businesses left sinking ships like CA & NY. Other Red states would join sucking more businesses into the new onshore tax haven.
Please let them do it!
…It seems to me somewhat of a vacuous argument though.
If the whole point of secession is that they don’t want Federal spending, the argument that to run a country you *need* Federal spending is null and void. I understand what he’s essentially saying is “You’ll *miss* Federal spending once it’s gone”, but that’s different than *needing* it.
Plenty of countries get along without big federal agencies. I wouldn’t necessarily want to live in *any* of them, but that’s just me.
Also, Olbermann really can’t pull off vitriol well. It doesn’t suit him, he’s just awkward at it, and he should really stop.
There are smaller republics in Europe….
Just saying.
Not that I support the idea, but where does Olberman think tax revenue comes from? He seems to think that the federal government just generates tax receipts by itself and is a gift to the states. If Texas does secede, money from taxes would stay in Texas and not have to be routed through the feds.
Echo #8
I now more than ever believe in States Rights and that the Federal Government has vastly overstepped it’s mandate.
After all, the main purpose of the Constitution is to provide for a common defense, regulate commerce between the states, and administer to the judicial affairs between states.
That’s about it. Not social security, not welfare, not highways, and so forth.
It’s not the job or responsibility of the States to bail out California or General Motors! The States may do so voluntarily, but according to the Constitution, cannot be forced.
For a good primer on Federal Limits, read the Supreme Court ruling on the “Seminole Tribe v. Florida” case.
Also peruse the New Hampshire House Concurrent Resolution #6.
“Whereas the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire, Part 1, Article 7 declares that the people of this State have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves as a free, sovereign, and independent State; … That the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government; … ”
Jan/2009
It’s a good read, and one I agree with.
[Link fixed – ed.]
The country would be better off if the wackos in California seceded instead.
Texas wouldn’t need an army. Maybe, a small Navy to protect its flagged merchant ships. All Fed owned land in Texas would be freed up to be sold to private individuals for productive purposes. It would be a major economy on the world scene.
Olbermann, of course, missed the big point. Yea, Texas wouldn’t get billions of dollars in federal aid, but how much do Texans pay to the Federal Government?
I bet they pay far more than they get back. Yes, the state taxes will go up to compensate for the loss of federal dollars, but overall taxation will be less because it’s easier to follow the money and demand accountability, which is impossible with the overbloated Federal Government we now have.
Not to mention, Texas has lots of oil which it will be able to sell at a competitive rate when freed from Federal regulations.
Check this. Texas gets back .94 cents for every dollar it pays to the Feds.
If Olberman knew anything about Texas history he would know that the hispanics of Texas are a part of the reason Texas beat the Mexican Army. The hispanics of Texas couldn’t stand Santa Ana nor his thieving corrupt Mexican cohorts. An example dear moron, just because Ben Franklin was of english decent doesn’t mean he was a British loyalist.
BTW, technically, Texas and the U.S. have to ratify their union agreement every year, the only State that I believe has such an agreement. If either one does not ratify the agreement can you guess what happens? It could get real sticky considering that New Mexico, Arizona and parts of Colorado and Utah were once within Texas borders. Yeah, if Olberdumb is gonna pull some shit out his ass I thought I could pull some shit out of mine.
I guess the Russian professor might be right after all…
If Texas actually secedes I’ll eat my hat.
Mexico might be interested in annexing them in such an event, though.
This is just the right wing jerking off.
#3 Exactly what I was thinking.
Unfortunately a large part of the military industrial complex is texan.
OTH, if they did it would be Mexico’s big chance to recover some lost terrain.
Re #22: that table covers Discretionary spending that EXPLICITLY went to Texas. It does not cover mandatory Federal spending on e.g. Medicare, Social Security, etc. Neither does it cover discretionary spending on Federal projects that have a heavy presence in Texas, such as NASA and the Military, (Yes, Wikipedia is wrong – who knew?)
In 2007 Texas contributed $225 billion in Federal tax revenue. (Source: IRS via Wikipedia “Federal tax revenue by state”.) How much Federal money went in to Texas, with all those big-ticket items? I don’t think “trillions” is overstating it.
I would rather see California do it.
A new country – Mexas.
hmm,
WHY leave?
Anyone seen a list of the corps and companies that ARE IN/headquartered in texas??
IF they sede, then we can CUT OFF THE HEAD of about 1/2 the corps. RESTRICT them from spreading out, and taking money BACK INTO TEXAS.
Whats lost?? OIL!
Texas has one of the biggest supply chains of OIL. WHICH means the USA would be hit by INFLATED GAS PRICES..
WHAT texas dont have..
They may have cattle, but a good share is sold to RICH restaurants. we get to sell them a GOOD share of beef and FOODS..
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j16tD0Ekp3g
your video isnt showing.
Olberman is an idiot. Does he really expect Texas to continue to send $40-50 billion in federal taxes to D.C. after they hypothetically secede? That money would stay in Texas and would be spent locally for all the things that are now funded by federal money. AND there would be no federal mandates so spending could easily be decreased.
So what if Texas would have to build some new post offices. Big whoop.
Secondly, Texas would become a haven for business. Business would not flee but rather flock to Texas.
And Olberman spent a big amount of his argument on sports franchises. Who gives a F***. They are private businesses that pamper a handful of millionaire athletes. Texas will be fine without a NFL team. And who will the Longhorns play? Um, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, U of Houston, Baylor, SMU, Rice, etc… just like with the old Southwest Conference. But who gives a crap anyway. What a lame argument to not secede.
As for the border fence, it will be on the north to prevent the Americans from coming south, not vice versa (I actually know several Oklahoma residents that want their state join the Republic of Texas).
As for the influx of Hispanics to Texas, when Texas can finally control their own borders and deport illegals then the hispanic population will plummet. The Federal Government should be doing that now but choose not to.
As for shooting pigs from helicopters (a total non sequitur there, Uncle Dave), pigs are not native to Texas. The Spanish brought them from Europe. They are a huge nuisance that cause widespread crop damage. Anything to improve culling ferrel hogs is welcome here.
# 3 Sister Mary Hand Grenade of Quiet Reflection said, “It would immediately raise the IQ of our nation by 50%.”
Sure, we’ll keep Dell, TI, Cisco, all the telecom company R&D sites. Go start your own.
# 4 qsabe said, “Wow, no Texas cowboy yokels left to start frivolous wars for personal profit and destroy the American economy. Big plus.. Go. Go! Go Please!”
Hey, the US voted ’em in. Buffoons all.
We’ll keep Lockheed, Raytheon, Bell, Carswell, Dyess, Lackland, Randolph, and the Johnson Space Center, too, as well as the McDonald Observatory, big oil, electronics, food, and an enormous mfg. base. Good bye.
Quite a few of you people are really fucked up. Likely 20 somethings that don’t know their arses from a hole in the ground. Sometimes I wish I could go back and be a kid – back when I knew it all.
On the subject of sports, he forgets to mention that the Grizzlies and Expos were both profitable in Canada, without ever having US TV contracts. The fact that they folded had more to do with mismanagement and sabotage than being from an out of US market. Also, baseball and basketball are far more popular in Texas than here. Canada can support 6 major league hockey teams and 8 major league football teams. If Canada can support 18 major league sports teams with only 7 million more people than Texas, then Texas can surely support their 10 major league sports teams.
Texas would be more than capable of leaving on its own. It would be the 15th wealthiest country in the world by GDP if it did leave. Speaking from above the 49th, i would love to watch this happen. If a referendum to secede from the union could be passed, I can’t imagine that the rest of the US could justify stopping them. I don’t know why they would want to.
The ONLY way Texas could make it is to become like the Cayman Islands and Cambodia.
Of course then they would join Venezuela as pariahs of the Western Hemisphere.
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