South California dreaming

Jeff Stone was fed up with the money that California’s government spends on prisons, the power of public unions, the glut of regulations and the illegal immigration that persists.

California, population 37.2 million, is plainly “ungovernable,” he says.

So he hatched a plan to gather 13 counties in southern California - sans Los Angeles County - and form their own state, to be called South California. These would be mostly conservative, Republican counties representing 13 million people. He emphasized that the plan is subject to change to allow like-minded counties to join.

Stone, a Riverside County supervisor, has a good idea there, but he has it backwards. Rather, it would save Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area lots of trouble. L.A. and Frisco would no longer need to carry Riverside and many of the other “South California” counties.

It would genuinely benefit some large metropolitan areas to separate from their respective states. Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago particularly come to mind. They are the cash cows of their states. In conjunction with their suburbs, they contribute tax revenues in higher numbers and proportions to their state treasuries.

Yet they are shortchanged by their state governments when they need money to fund their schools and all other kinds of programs.

True, these cities suffer from the most deepseated urban ills, but the wealthiest people live in the suburbs and the better sections of the city while the most expensive hotels and restaurants are situated there. In Philadelphia, this combination generates high levels of sales and income tax revenues, and the city requires a minimum of state services.

They could resolve their problems themselves. They are self-sustaining.

This idea is nothing new. California has been subject to all kinds of separation plans 220 times. Four mayors of New York, since 1861, have called for secession from the state. Staten Islanders and Far Rockaway residents have sought secession from New York City itself.

Collectively, a South California, population 13 million, might well be self-sustaining, but the smaller counties among them are not so independent. Of the 13 counties, the majority of the voters in 11 counties are Republicans and are viewed as politically conservative.

One of the two majority Democratic counties is San Bernardino, population 2 million. Why would a large Democratic county want to hook up with 11 Republican counties? It stands to reason that San Bernardino would benefit far more by combining with Los Angeles County - if L.A. would have them.

The county of Los Angeles comprises some of the wealthiest communities on earth - Beverly Hills, Malibu, Bel Air and the San Fernando Valley which straddles the city and a number of affluent suburbs. Super-rich celebrities like Ted Danson, Barbra Streisand and Arnold Schwarzenegger live there.

If San Bernardino sticks with L.A., that would reduce South California’s population to 11 million.

Two of California’s richest counties would also be part of South California, Orange and San Diego counties which are each home to 3 million citizens.

Both are affluent counties, if not so much as L.A. and the Bay Area counties, and could probably operate on their own as well. Republican or not, why would Orange and San Diego counties spend their money to sustain their poorer cousins?

That would leave 10 inland counties with 5 million people. Gil Duran, a spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown, said that Stone’s territory for South California receives more money from the state than it generates, according to The New York Times.

The state of South California would still need to find the money for building and maintaining prisons, paying employees and fighting illegal immigration. It will also be required to abide by federal regulations.

The present state government has been running massive deficits partly because Republicans in the state legislature have blocked the governor’s efforts to raise taxes.

Stone backed off on his secession proposal. Instead, he proposed convening delegates from around the state to consider the current governance operation. Secession would be an option.

Oh, yeah, Riverside County taxpayers would not pay for the meeting. Stone said during a Riverside supervisors meeting that he would seek private donations to fund the session.

Is that how South California will be funded?