ONE COLUMN A WEEK FROM NOW ON. WEDNESDAYS ONLY
Texas secede? They’ve been talking about it for years, and now they may be serious! I hope so, but it’ll take a lot more than 30,000 signatures on the White House e-mail. It would take a vote of the whole state, and I think it could happen. If it did, what would life in Texas be like? Try this on for size, and if it happens, I’m moving there.
The Free Nation of Texas would have a constitution, naturally. It might be similar to ours with the leaving out of the 14th and 17th Amendments, but an additional one which prohibits governmental subsidizing anything at any time, for any reason. No Handouts, welfare, or ’public’ anything, including, transport, health, retirement, but naturally excluding roadways. No unbalanced budgets, and no government bonds or securities on sale. No politician could vote to hand out largess from the public treasury, so government would never get out of control or grow like Topsy. English would be the official language in the Free Nation of Texas, and non-speakers would be suspect and deported.
There would be absolutely NO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, or BUREAUCRATS. No OSHA, no Departments of anything at the federal level. No federal taxes collected on income, telephones, electricity, gasoline, diesel, or anything else. Texas would run the airports and be responsible for safety on the runways or in the planes. No TSA. Texas would check the railroads, which don’t need it, so there would be no federal messing with Texas roads, railroads, ports, or of transport of any kind. Texas would control their own education, agriculture, labor, medicine, hospitals, air traffic, and would eliminate all state welfare, because all federal welfare would be out. Welfare is a disease which the Free Nation of Texas would avoid at all costs, leaving charity to volunteerism or churches, which cost taxpayers nothing. Eventually, public schools would be phrased out, as well as school taxes, with parents being responsible for their children’s education, which would be extremely cost effective. Personal responsibility, would be the key phrase and attitude in the Free Nation of Texas.
Recipients of U.S. Social Security and Medicare, would continue till their death, but all those not on them would receive their money back, and Texans would save for their own retirement, and pay their own medical bills, which would soon become very competitive and reasonable. All the federal employees and bureaucrats would be out of jobs, and would probably put their homes up for sale and leave. Their homes would be bought by freedom loving people, who wanted to live in the Free Nation of Texas. The federal buildings would be sold to the highest bidders, who would undoubtedly use them for profit making enterprises. National parks and monuments would become Texan monuments and parks. The interstate highways would remain, but be maintained by Texas, with no interference from D.C.
Texas would seal their borders with Mexico quickly, and at their own expense, since the federal border patrol would be out of a job. Texans would control their own borders very effectively, and private land owners who were trod upon by illegals or anyone else, would be free to shoot the intruders with impunity. Texas would send all illegals back to Mexico, except those who had been there for may years, learned English, and contributed to Texas society. They could be made citizens of the Free Nation of Texas.
Texas would be neutral, and the National Guard would be returned to what it was originally,. and that was the State Guard. Texas being neutral, and not have problems with other nations, so the state militia, state guard, and of course the famous Texas Rangers, would make the place safe, with no men going to foreign nations to fight absurd wars. No draft registration, no veterans, foreign embassies, and no foreign aid, including none to the United States, which will go down in economic flames eventually, thanks to government handouts. No FBI, CIA, or ATF admitted to The Free Nation of Texas. The Free Nation of Texas would not belong to the absurd United Nations, IMF or World Bank, and would take no dictation, rules or laws from any outside organization.
Dollars would be used at first, but the Lone Star Dollar would begin to be circulated, and its printing limited to so many thousand of them per citizen, so there would be no inflation. Gradually, the Lone Star Dollar would make the US dollar look silly, since it buys less and less all the time, but the Lone Star Dollar would hold its value, and replace the D.C. version. “Good money drives out bad money.” Telephones and the internet wouldn’t be affected by secession, and Texas would sever itself from the electrical grid, and provide it’s own electricity. There would be no EPA to harass everyone, and without a government calling a mud puddle a ’wetland,’ or the ’earth warming’ nonsense and rules,. the lack of myriad federal bureaucracies would make the Free Nation of Texas a wonderful example of freedom from government.
Like Switzerland, everyone would be required to own a gun and know how to use it. No ’carry laws,’ or restrictions keeping citizens from protecting themselves. The liberals in Texas, mostly around Austin, would feel very uncomfortable, and would probably feel far more at home outside of Texas, so they would leave I am certain, or radically change their outlooks. Texas has a governor who is a nice guy, but not very bright, as the debate proved, but he doesn’t want secession, so he might be replaced with a bright, freedom loving, libertarian type of president. Millions would want to live in the Free Nation of Texas, and naturally business and manufacturing would move there, where the atmosphere was friendly towards people, business, and manufacturing. The huge reduction in the cost of living, and the freedom from Washington’s claws, would be astounding! No more federal income taxes, Social Security, or Medicare payments or deductions from one’s pay, and the freedom from Washington, would so refreshing, that other states would be sure to try to follow. Oklahoma, actually is more conservative-libertarian than Texas, so maybe they would join Texas in leaving the union, and the new nation could combine bother states.
Years ago, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho considered combining and seceding, but Washington and Oregon both went for Obama, so that would never work. Texas has everything it needs to be completely independent. It’s got seaports, oil, sunshine, and lots of Texans, who are wonderful people. When I had three hotels in Silverton Colorado, we used to say that, “Texas money keeps Colorado Green.” Texans are great people, and the phrase, “Don’t Mess With Texas,” could take on a new meaning if Texas seceded and became the Free Nation of Texas!” “Don’t Mess With Texas,” would be the national slogan and even be on the Lone Star Flag.
I don’t spend hours writing these columns, and they come right off the top of my aged brain, so I am certain there are many things I haven’t thought about or mentioned here, but the idea could very well take root, and blossom. These ideas are not Republican, but libertarian, which name comes from ’liberty.’ Send it to everyone you know in Texas, and tell them I am rooting for them. Go Texas!