Hi everyone,
If ever there was a candidate for a state being it's own country, I'd bet on the Republic of California.
California now has the 5th largest economy in the world. Yes, 5th...see for yourself:
http://commerce.ca.gov/state/ttca/ttca_homepage.jsp
On top of that, California produces more than half of the nation's fruits, vegtables and nuts using only 3% of the nation's farmland.
http://www.cfbf.com/info/agfacts.aspx
Of course we also have massive tourism, computer and entertainment industries.
We also have possession of most of the western shore.
However, would it ever happen? Probably not. California is happy to be a part of the US family. If for some reason, California and the US had a falling out, it wouldn't be pretty. There is NO WAY the US would stand by and let California be it's own country. The federal government would not want to lose all that produce, income and coastline. No way. There *would* be military action by the federal government.
Sigh....but who would *I* side with? Ack. I don't even want to think about it.
California is what I know and love. Yet I am very proud to be a US citizen. I suppose that I would want to stay a part of the USA unless there was some completely heinous thing the federal government was trying to pull.
.....Kelly
