One of the ideas I have had that is less likely to lead to anything (perhaps) is that it is time to break California up into four states. I started thinking about and researching this idea in 2003, at the time of Gray Davis's recall, as a radical solution to California's dysfunctional politics and government, but I did not publish anything until March 2006, after Governor Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled legislature could not agree on an infrastructure bond that would also satisfy the Republican minority in the legislature. That kind of deadlock, fiddling while California falls apart, has been typical for decades.
So in 2006 I wrote about my idea for the first time in a Lookout column called "Unscrambling Eggs: It's Time to Break Up California;" here's the link:
In my second column about breaking up California, "More California(s) Dreaming," I suggested how California might divide into four states, and what their demographics would be, and I discussed some of the political implications. The column was ultimately picked up by the Internet planning clearinghouse Planetizen. Here is the link:
On October 18, 2007 I gave a talk at the monthly California Studies Association dinner at the UC-Berkeley Faculty Club on my ideas about breaking up California. Even though my plan might lead to the demise of the association, the talk was well received. You can download a PDF of the talk, with the slides included, by clicking here.
I will be publishing more on breaking up California, but in meantime, I would love to hear from anyone with ideas of their own.
