Sundering of America

[Barrister]

The South would be too big and too large to ignore. In NATO in particular, our removal would be a big chunk of NATO's largest participator- the Europeans if nothing else would be anxious to get us in, as would the yankees, as it would prevent their having to expand their military.

Although, whether we should join NATO is another matter.

Oh I agree it's too big to ignore, but you'd hardly be negotiating from a position of strength.

Quick back-of-the-envelope calculations put a 5 state CSA (comprising of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) at $1,018,000,000 GDP.  That puts it at #14 in the world, a shade ahead of Australia, and behind Mexico.  World organizations such as the WTO, NATO, IMF, World Bank, could all afford to put the screws to a new CSA when applying for admission.  And since all those organizations are dominated by the US, they probably would.

Also in terms of international recognition: even in the 1860s, when the US was far less powerful (and Britain and France far more powerful), no one recognized the CSA.  You'd have to negotiate terms of succession from the US before anyone else would touch you with the 'ole 10 foot pole.

[Lettow77]

Opinions in Europe look to be more positive than here. The Confederate flag waved as the berlin wall fell. I gave a german exchange student a copy of The South Was Right! to take back home. You'd be suprised.

   People not liking us, though, is all the more reason to be independent. We are resented for no reason, and it makes me resentful. We aught to take our ball and go home, so to speak. It'd be nice to live in a country where I am not demonised.

[Queequeg]

   People not liking us, though, is all the more reason to be independent. We are resented for no reason, and it makes me resentful. We aught to take our ball and go home, so to speak. It'd be nice to live in a country where I am not demonised.

So, basically, Zimbabwe for white people?

[Neil]

Ideally, the South would be unburdened by a much lighter tax load, and the North would no longer have to pour money into a net drain, so that both regions would prosper.

Edit: And there is no reason the South couldn't join NAFTA, and approach something approaching duty-free tradde.

Of course there is.  Neither the US nor Canada would allow the South into NAFTA.

Why would Southerners have a lower tax load?  Wouldn't taxes have to be much higher, since they wouldn't be getting free money from the wealthy parts of America?  I suppose the taxes of people who have lost their jobs would be much lower.

[Barrister]

Opinions in Europe look to be more positive than here. The Confederate flag waved as the berlin wall fell. I gave a german exchange student a copy of The South Was Right! to take back home. You'd be suprised.

   People not liking us, though, is all the more reason to be independent. We are resented for no reason, and it makes me resentful. We aught to take our ball and go home, so to speak. It'd be nice to live in a country where I am not demonised.

I don't give a fuck what some German exchange student thinks.  What matters is what Angela Merkel thinks.  What Gordon Brown thinks.  Hell even what Sarko and Berlusconi think.

And what they'll think is that all of them have, or have had, issues with successionists  They have no interest in promoting succession in such a key ally.

Maybe you're resented for no reason now.  Well you'll be resented for a damn good reason once you break up the USA.  And "We aught to take our ball and go home, so to speak" is about the worst possible thinking it terms of public policy.

[The Larch]

Opinions in Europe look to be more positive than here. The Confederate flag waved as the berlin wall fell. I gave a german exchange student a copy of The South Was Right! to take back home. You'd be suprised.

The Deep South embodies all that people in Europe think it's wrong with the USA, and you can believe that it's a lot.

[Neil]

Quick back-of-the-envelope calculations put a 5 state CSA (comprising of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) at $1,018,000,000 GDP.  That puts it at #14 in the world, a shade ahead of Australia, and behind Mexico.

And that's as part of the USA.  You can expect GDP to drop enormously after a seccession, as all those businesses headquartered in Atlanta flee to the civilized world.

[Queequeg]

Lettow, what would stop us from rounding up the most radical southerners, killing them, and maybe trowing in some civilians to terrorize the populace further? We're the only effective peacekeepers in the world.  The EU didn't lift a motherfucking finger in their own back yard in Bosnia, no way they'd do anything for a people they deeply dislike (up against a people they like, or at least have mixed feelings for), on the other side of the world, who happen to live in the most powerful nation in all of history!

[jimmy olsen]

Why are you guys arguing so seriously with him on this?

[Queequeg]

Why are you guys arguing so seriously with him on this?

Because he finds it upsetting far more than we do. 

[Barrister]

Why are you guys arguing so seriously with him on this?

Because, sometimes, shooting fish in a barrel can be fun. 

[Ed Anger]

Dear God, in a contest of Spellus v. Stonewall Jackoff77, I have to side with Spellus.

[katmai]

What about Texas?

La República de Texas?  It will be declared shortly after the Latino uprising of 2011.

[Jaron]

CA should secede, and as a poor, 3rd world nation, apply for US/UN aid.

[FunkMonk]

Latina Uprising