By Jiaxin Zuo
According to a CBS report on January 16, 2018, the New California State has been proposed to declare its independence from rest of the state of California. The founders of the new state plan to separate the new state from California’s coastal regions including San Francisco, Alameda County, and Los Angeles in order to establish the 51st state of the nation. Protesting the “tyrannical” governor of California, the Vice Chairman of the founders group Paul Preston declares that they cannot bear the high taxes, horrible education, business environment, and radical ideology.
When it comes to California, people often think of start-up companies and Hollywood; however, despite relatively the affluent Bay Area and LA county, agriculture including irrigated agriculture and livestock industry take up to 30% of the state’s area and has a population of more than 25 million. According to CNN, California has become a state with the largest gap between the rich and the poor in the US. Residents in Central Valley have a median income of $20,100, while those in Silicon Valley have $55,215.
Despite the wide disparity in income, people in both regions have to pay the same percentage of personal income tax. After tax, the income held by the top 10% California residents is still 15 times that of people who are the bottom 10%. Therefore, such a high state tax rate and social welfare programs seem ineffective in shortening the gap between the rich and the poor, thus, deepening the burden in poor areas.
In order to avoid over-taxation, regulation, and mono-party politics in the State of California, the New California proposes to split. Surprisingly, looking at the New California’s map, Santa Clara County, the heart of Silicon Valley and among the wealthiest counties in California, is included in the New California State. Can New California really find a way to balance the tax rate and the gap between all counties?
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