A Modest Proposal (with all due respects to Mr. Swift)

Here's a little thought experiment: As the gulf between (I hate the terms Left and Right, so let's use the more precise and descriptive terms) statists and individualists widens, the only peaceful solution seems to me to pick up where Lincoln left off and split the nation in two. Let's call them Individualica and Statistica.

We (the Individualists) will give up the west coast and most of the east coast down to Maryland. (We'll keep Virginia, the Carolinas and Florida offering Louisiana in exchange for Gulf access). The Statists can have Wisconson, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota (sorry to the Powerline folks and James Lileks, you'll have to move. I live in NY so I'll have to move too). We'll take New Hampshire, you can have the rest of New England.

After the split we'll keep the current Constitution excluding the 16th amendment (replacing it with one forbidding an income tax and putting a permanent upper limit on the combined size of state and federal government relative to GDP and a limit on the number of government employees relative to population). We'll also extend the 22nd Amendment to apply term-limits to Senators and Representatives as well. We'll also remove the General Welfare and Commerce Clauses (or at least make them much more specific so future courts and politicians can't ram every weary idea they have for increasing their own power into law using them as a vague excuse). We can also add the the 1st and 2nd amendments short addendums saying 'We really mean it: "No Law" means No Law!* and "The People" really means the People**. The Statists can do as they wish, adopt the unratified European constitution or the old Soviet one, guaranteeing everyone rights to everything: jobs, housing, food, medical care, etc...

We'd be happy to sign a full bilateral totally free trade agreement with the new Statistica, and if that's not acceptable we'll do it unilaterally and let the Statists impose any tariffs or trade restrictions they like. We will also offer unilateral free trade with every other nation on Earth. We'll do away with the current Federal register and all the current Federal agencies and will set up new Departments of Defense, State and Interior and replace the Register with a handful of laws against fraud, providing for the enforcement of contracts and regulating use of the commons. We'll move all criminal laws to local jurisdiction covering murder, assault, theft, etc... For everything else we will depend on the people themselves, as adults and not small children who require their parents intervention, to work out for themselves.

We will sign treaties with Statistica allowing full and free travel from one to the other with full rights of citizenship to either, but residents of each must obey the laws of that country. So if you live in Individualica and move to Statistica you can receive whatever benefits they offer but will have to live under their rules, taxes, etc... Likewise, Statisticans can move to Individualica but will not be able to depend on the deep bosom of government support, because there won't be any.

Some other details will need to be worked out. but it seems like a winning idea. We can then have a look in 50 years or so to see which citizenry is happier, more prosperous, healthier, etc...

Who's ready to sign on?

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* 1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

** 2nd Amendment: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.(In fact we can just drip the whole first clause as being redundant and simplify to "The right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."