Silicon Valley investor: Split California into 6 states

[Alex23]

Is the most populous American state too big for its own good?
Tim Draper, a third-generation venture capitalist with a penchant for big ideas, is promoting a plan that would split California into six separate states.

The proposal calls for the creation of new states called Silicon Valley and West California that would be anchored by the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. Orange County and San Diego would be part of the new state of South California. To the north, remaining counties would be divided into regions called Central California, North California and Jefferson.

Why now? According to the proposed ballot initiative Draper filed earlier this month, the Golden State has been rendered "nearly ungovernable" by social and economic changes. California has 58 counties, nearly 40 million people and an economy so large that it would rank among the top 10 countries in the world.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/30/technology/california-split-draper/

[Roger Bacon]

Investors have offered to buy Belle Island for 1 billion, to create a new libertarian State. It would be a US Territory like Guam. 1 billion dollars would save Detroit (which no longer has the funds to maintain their parks anyway), but the greedy power hungry politicians will never allow something like this.

Investors seek to buy island from Detroit and start a 'new nation' free of personal and corporate income taxes, where everyone has good credit and citizenship costs $300G

By Dan Prochilo

PUBLISHED: 10:38 EST, 26 January 2013 | UPDATED: 12:46 EST, 26 January 2013

A developer wants the city of Detroit to sell an island that is now a city park to a group of buyers looking to transform it into the newest U.S. commonwealth.

Rodney Lockwood, a developer from Bingham Farms, a village of 1,100 people about a half-hour from Detroit, is pushing for the city to sell the 982-acre Belle Isle for $1 billion to a group of investors who 'believe in individual freedom, liberty and free markets,' according to a website set up by proponents of the concept, commonwealthofbelleisle. com.

During the next three decades, the buyers would establish a 'remarkable new nation' of 35,000 people using private money, transforming the island into a quasi-autonomous state with its own government, currency and system of taxation.

There would be no personal or corporate income tax in this business-friendly utopia.


This is what Belle Isle could look like in 30 years, if a group of investors purchases it for $1 billion and realizes their vision of turning the island in the Detroit River into a new U.S. commonwealth


Developer Rodney Lockwood says the economic effects of his plans for Belle Isle, the largest island city park in the United States, could restore Detroit to its glory days

All citizens would be mandated to have good credit, no criminal background and command of the English language, according to The Detroit News.

Supporters forecast that a privately owned Belle Isle would rival Singapore 'as an economic miracle,' generating 'billions of dollars in desperately needed economic growth' and becoming 'a social laboratory for the western world' -- an experiment in small government.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2268696/Belle-Isle-Developer-wants-buy-island-Detroit-start-remarkable-new-nation.html


Fred Smith, Washington, United States, 11 months ago

The genius of American entrepreneurial capitalism is that no matter how repressive the state, ideas bubble forth. China allowed Hong Kong freedom and hundreds of millions of Chinese moved out of poverty. Michigtroit would do well to consider that path also. Creating islands of economic freedom liberated from an ever expanding Leviathan would provide examples of what America might yet become - again that Shining City on th Hill. We don't have to teach the "grass" to grow, just move the political rocks off our lawn. Lockwood has made his proposal -- why not allow him his experiment? Fred Smith, Director of CEI's Center for Advancing Capitalism

[Roger Bacon]

[Alex23]

Interesting stuff.

We've been hearing about splitting Cali north and south since I was a kid. in 6 states doesn't seem to make much sense, 2 would. Chances are SoCal would be much more conservative, which is a good thing. I have houses in both so not sure what I would do  .

I say fuck it, we buy Baja from the Mexis and start our own state 

[Nomad]

Interesting stuff.

We've been hearing about splitting Cali north and south since I was a kid. in 6 states doesn't seem to make much sense, 2 would. Chances are SoCal would be much more conservative, which is a good thing. I have houses in both so not sure what I would do  .

I say fuck it, we buy Baja from the Mexis and start our own state 

Sell the hippie one? Why would you want to deal with higher taxes?

[Roger Bacon]

Interesting stuff.

We've been hearing about splitting Cali north and south since I was a kid. in 6 states doesn't seem to make much sense, 2 would. Chances are SoCal would be much more conservative, which is a good thing. I have houses in both so not sure what I would do  .

I say fuck it, we buy Baja from the Mexis and start our own state 

Yes!! I'm in

[Roger Bacon]

Sell the hippie one? Why would you want to deal with higher taxes?

He could rent the hippie house out, tell them it's "green" and all that garbage. They'll pay three times what it's worth.

[hrspwr1]

If you can be patient the San Andreas will step in and settle this argument.

[_aj_]

Sacramento would make sure to gerrymander the new "states" (oh brother) into 5 new permanent Democrat strongholds with 10 new socialist Senators and a fistful of House nebrews. No thanks.

How about we just fucking saw it off and let it sink into the Pacific?

[Alex23]

If you can be patient the San Andreas will step in and settle this argument.

lol good point. wait, runs pretty much under my house 

[Archer77]

In less than a 100 years the majority Hispanic population in California will become their own country. I have no doubt about that.  The United States as a unified entity has 100 years maybe a little more left until it breaks apart.  Demographic changes and economic strain will break it into regions.

[Viking11]

Fuck that. It's a state. Not a goddamn business. Leave it alone and go destroy a company somewhere.

[Kwon_2]

It's a good idea to separate Los Angeles and San Fransisco as much as possible.

[Alex23]

It's a good idea to separate Los Angeles and San Fransisco as much as possible.

Agree.