I keep hearing that different states are going broke. Ok, sounds scary, but my question is: what does that mean? What happens when a state goes broke?
I guess it could play out in a lot of different ways, depending on what the people in that state's government decide. I'm no expert on how government works, so I don't even want to speculate. However, apparently a decision maker in one of the states in peril (California), had actually checked the US Constitution to see if the state could go back to territorial status (CA never was a territory, although most states were). I don't know whether this is an option for these states or not.
Apparently there are four types of territories, depending on whether they are 'incorporated' or not, and 'organized' or not. The type that looks the most likely to me, if a state should yield its sovereignty, is the 'unincorporated organized territory'. Today, this type is represented by:
That gives you an idea, if a state becomes a territory (if that is even an option), of the potential status of its citizens. If you click on the links above, you will find more info on the type of government each of these territories has.
Here's something to consider if you value the right to free speech, to peaceful assembly, practice of religion, right to bear arms, etc.:
'The Supreme Court ruled that territories /belonged/ to, but were not /part of/ the United States. Therefore, under the Territorial clause Congress had the power to determine which parts of the Constitution applied to the territories.'
What is common to all territories is that their citizens, while residents in that territory, cannot vote in presidential elections (but can vote in primaries), and they have one non-voting representative to the US House of Representatives. (That delegate can, however, vote on matters while they are 'in committee'.)
Otherwise, government of an organized territory roughly parallels the government of a US state. In general, an 'organized' territory has (or is permitted to have) its own constitution, (appointed or elected) governor, legislature, law enforcement and courts.
They say every cloud has a silver lining--although Nancy Pelosi would probably still hold her post in the House of Representatives, and could talk as much as she wanted, she wouldn't be able to vote on bills!
No, not really, unfortunately. The people in power don't play fair, nor do they ever cede their power. You can be sure they would make some kind of provision for each state-turned-territory to retain their privilege of having voting representatives.
One other thing I suspect, is that they would not let the opportunity go to waste to take federal ownership of the land and resources of any states that go this route (if that doesn't already, automatically happen). In fact, the federal government would pretty well have the leverage to force the state to comply with whatever terms they laid down for them, in exchange for granting their request.
Is The Transformation To Communism Already Well Underway?
Is The President AWOL?
Incidentally--I wonder if the huge number of illegal immigrants in California may have had anything to do with its financial collapse . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment