Almost every single state has some bogus "secession" movement. None of them are serious. Eastern Washington is no different. From what I remember, Congress has to approve of new states anyway, and every sane person knows that to Congress, a new state wouldn't be about bettering the quality of life for citizens of the United States, it would be about which party gets more Senators and electoral votes.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by iheartskyscrapers
I've heard of the "State of Columbia" before. A friend of mine sent me an email about it a few years ago. Back then, the idea was to combine Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho and parts of Southeastern BC....in other words, it had to have been a really bad rumor or a half-assed attempt at an April Fools Joke since that would never happen. The west side of the state may ignore us when it comes to spending, but they love us when it comes to tax revenue...just a few more bucks to spend in Seattle. I REALLY doubt this would ever happen, and that's assuming there really is anyone who wants it to.
That said, Spokane would be a great capital city. Hmmmm, where should the capitol building be built?
|
I'm too lazy to find the numbers again, but from what I recall reading once, Metro Seattle gets 99 cents back from the state government for every dollar it sends. In other words, Seattle about breaks even.
Most of Eastern Washington gets a lot more than it pays. The exception of course being Metro Spokane, which is by far the most screwed region in the state.
I suppose Seattle should probably get a little less as urban areas always do and Spokane should get more as it probably isn't getting enough, but I don't think it is as dramatic as you are making it sound.
I mean, do you actually think secession would solve anything? Spokane would just be subsidizing the rural parts of the state again.
And the right time for "secession" would not have been 1900... States don't really break off of eachother and never have. West Virginia was technically illegal and occured during a Civil War, something that I can't imagine happening in Washington. Maine may be an exception, though I'm not sure.
Secession would have had to occur before Washington statehood in 1889.