Tim Draper insists 'Six Californias' ballot measure is for real

[alp227]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

SAN MATEO -- Venture capitalist Tim Draper insisted again Monday that he's not just joking about his proposal to split California into six states.

The Secretary of State has now given Draper the go-ahead to start collecting signatures for his ballot measure, but the Silicon Valley tech investor offered mostly off-the-cuff answers at a news conference Monday when asked how he would run or fund a campaign that has generated plenty of media attention and a huge dose of "Is he really serious?" suspicion.

Draper said he hasn't yet decided whether to try for this November's ballot -- for which he'd effectively have to gather almost 808,000 voters' signatures by mid-April -- or try to put it on the 2016 ballot.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_25219845/tim-draper-insists-six-californias-ballot-measure-is

[mackerel]

1. the water rights that's all I care about

[merrily]

8. You don't care if most of California's electoral votes go red?

[XemaSab]

17. Two of the states would have 70% of the water

and no incentive whatsoever to send any of it south.

[another_liberal]

2. This goes to show . . .

Just because you know a lot about something (venture capitalism) that does not mean you know a lot about everything else.

[davidpdx]

4. Very true

I'm sure his proposal leaves the poorest areas fending for themselves. This one will go down by a large margin.

[TomClash]

13. Hmmm . . .

"Just because you know a lot about something (venture capitalism) that does not mean you know a lot about anything else."

Fixed that for you.

[another_liberal]

15. I do like your version better.

More to the point.

[TeamPooka]

3. rich guy trying to destroy our state for his tax purposes.

[blkmusclmachine]

7. R Money

[merrily]

9. Maybe Presidential elections, too.

[JDPriestly]

16. Right. Why SIX parts?

Because that way, Silicon Valley can lower its tax rate and not contribute its share to dealing with the tax burden of California. You know, the tax burden that funds all the services and amenities that make Silicon Valley along with the rest of California livable.

This is the demonstration of the unwillingness of another rich man to bear his fair share of the burden for keeping America a healthy, strong country and his home state, the state that provides the courts that keep his companies legal and his financial interests safe and financially afloat.

Poor people end up in court when they commit crimes, get divorced, bankrupted or have their children and possessions and homes taken from them.

Rich folks like this guy go to court to collect debts, decide contested divisions of property in divorce and probate (inheritance) cases, fight over parental rights, face charges for driving under the influence, sue someone for damages including defamation and libel or even some petty argument with a neighbor, fight over a patent or copyright, and similar things. You can count on one thing. Very often when rich people go to battle in a courtroom, the stakes are high, the trial is a test of endurance -- very long -- and the richest person has a good chance of winning.

This character (the guy proposing this plan) has no idea what he is suggesting. Each new state would have to draw up its own Constution, a humongous set of laws, courts (including separate appellate and supreme courts), commissions, departments. Each would have to elect a governor, attorney general, treasurer, set up schools, etc. This boondoggle idea will go nowhere. Imagine the huge bureaucracies and corruption this plan would give rise to.

I could picture California being divided into two states. That would deal with our under-representation in the federal government, but behind this magic number SIX, there is a very ill-conceived, ignorant fantasy.

[TeamPooka]

19. 6 states preserves the rich enclaves and leaves the poor areas on their own

The smaller the 6 states can be, the smaller their respective tax bases would need to be for the rich.

[Kablooie]

5. So LA would get 2 Senators all to themselves.

As would SF and San Diego, each getting 2 new senators.
That might be kind of fun.

[merrily]

11. Right now, 100% of California's Senators are blue, as are

100% of California's electoral votes (since 1988). I don't think that will remain the case if Draper prevails. I think Republicans have more to gain from a change.

[TeamPooka]

20. they might be blue but they are not liberals.

[merrily]

21. Who said they were liberals? My point is, they're not Republicans.

[TeamPooka]

22. One of them might as well be the way she votes.

[merrily]

23. Yes, that is true--or almost true-- of many Senators (D), but their

existence in the Senate still gives Democrats control of committees and even the conservadems can usually be relied on when it comes to a cloture vote or a major policy issue.

I understand what you are saying, but I suspect what Draper is after is putting more Republicans in the Senate and the House and also turning California blue in Presidential elections. We could debate if it matters, even if any of it matters or if it's all kabuki. But that is not the topic of this thread.

[joshcryer]

6. Article IV, Section. 3, Clause 1

Good luck getting this Congress to agree on anything.

[merrily]

10. Excellent point. One of the provisions of the Constitution that rarely

comes into our attention.

[MADem]

12. He wants to break one of the world's largest economies into six piddling ones.

He wants ten extra senators in the US Senate--and he's hoping he'll have Republicans in there, instead of those two Democratic women!

And he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting his way on this. Even if he managed to put LSD in the water and convince everyone to vote for this hare-brained scheme, the US Congress has to approve it, and that just AIN'T gonna happen!

[TeamPooka]

24. but he's not willing to do that to big banks.

[MADem]

25. He shoots, he scores!! TeamPooka for the thread WIN! nt

[Turbineguy]

14. As any Teabagger can tell you,

six governments are smaller than one.

[jsr]

18. Tim Draper has too much money.