The Naive Concept of New California

A few moments ago, Governor McMaster delivered his state of the state address in Columbia. I read through the transcript of the speech before I sat down to write this article hoping to find some inspiration from it. I did not, unfortunately. McMaster does not really seem to have a good answer for the education problem in our state. He stated that, �poverty is the enemy of education,� which is true. He added that the best way to improve education in areas stricken with poverty is to hire �Good teachers and good principals.� What a novel concept.

            He then transitioned into an endorsement of charter schools which is not a solution for struggling families who cannot afford to send their children to an institution of that kind. He also pushed for adding police officers to all schools as a safety measure against shootings. As a student, I am not a fan of this idea because it creates an environment where school feels like a prison. Adding more guns to school creates a gun culture that is not healthy in a learning environment. It�s like fighting fire with fire.

            McMaster did not provide a solution to the education problem in our state. He was correct that poverty is a major inhibitor of education and that it takes a long time to improve an economy that effectively fights poverty, but that is all he said. He addressed the issue but did not provide a viable solution.

            On the topic of offshore drilling, McMaster affirmed that he was against it because of the dangers it would create on our coastline and possible negative effects on South Carolina�s tourism industry. I agreed with him on this issue.

            Those were two important statements that I found in this address. It was pretty typical of state of the state addresses so there was not that much excitement to be found.

         

   Tonight�s main story is about a place far, far away: California. Last week, an organization promoting the creation of a �New California� put out a declaration of independence, wishing to become the 51^st state of the union. While the story garnered a lot of attention and speculation, it is not going anywhere. It has become more of a joke to the rest of the country. The declaration itself was roughly three pages with the majority of it copied and pasted from the original Declaration of Independence. While this campaign is laughable, many Californians in the counties wishing to secede agree with the framers of this declaration.California is not as liberal as it seems.

     

Source: Public Policy Institute of California

       The wealthy, conservative regions of California and cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco could not be more different. Taxpayer money trickles from the wealthier regions of the state to the poorer inner cities with nothing in return for those taxpayers. While the majority of the population votes Democrat, making it the most powerful blue state in the country, the wealthy, conservative, minority pays for most of the laws passed by the Democratic state government. They feel underrepresented and angry which is an understandable grievance. Some would say that this is good because it helps level the playing field so the rich do not keep getting richer while the poor keep getting poorer. Others would say that it is unfair for people to be forced to put their money towards policies that they do not agree with for people in a place that they do not live. I�m somewhere in the middle because I understand both sides to the argument. People shouldn�t be able to pick and choose where their taxpayer money goes because they would only pay for programs and services that directly benefit themselves. However, they should be able to reap some of what they sow. They need to be shown what their money has produced in the poorer areas that it is being sent. If that is being done and it is creating results, I think it is just. If this money is not creating a positive impact in the communities it is being put towards, I side with the people who are angry.

            The reason that the campaign to secede will not go anywhere is because not enough people feel strongly enough about the issue to fight for secession. The effects that secession would have on the economies of California and New California could be damaging and disruptive. It would hurt the Democrats in terms of their representation in Congress and their amount of electoral college delegates. However, the area that would remain as California is still densely populated by millions of people and is the source of the state�s large number of representatives in Congress, so the Democrats would not lose too many delegates to the electoral college.

            While secession will not be achieved, the grievances of the people living in what would be �New California� need to heard and addressed by the state government. That�s all for this week.