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Texas Secession--Where Would It Lead? A Look at a Future Lone Star Republic

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J. A. Farrell is an idiot if he believes the things he wrote.
He fails to acknowledge that Texans are resourceful and hard-
working folks who are capable of accomplishing almost anything
they might need to do.
If Texas could withdraw (along with most of Ok, AR and the western part of LA) the new nation would need very little of
anything from anyone/anywhere!
The new nation would have to form a strong border defense
in order to keep people like Farrell out!

John Porter of NC 3:09AM May 30, 2010

For Texas to secede may include problems as any realist would expect.But maybe not as many as anticipated by some who are more negative!You"ll remember Pennnsylvania,Virginia&Massachussets were admitted into statehood, but remained commonwealths why????????simple!!They didn"t trust&were afraid of big goverment!!Likewise with Texas& they are right!The U.S.A.is a republic as long as we can keep it!!!!!Secessation is not PIE IN THE SKY!!!!!!!!!What was in the interest of Texans once upon a time is not the case today!!This is a wakeup call for the entire country!Those in Washington fear this&for good reason!!!I"ll continue to support Texans who wish to secede.After all the goverment has failed us&lied,deceived&abused it"s authority!90% of those in office need to be either indicted,thrown out of office ortarred&feathered.Texas should secede!I may move there myself!!

Kevin Moriarty of NY 11:31PM March 01, 2010

Anybody who sincerely believes that Texas will be able to secede from the Union without having to assume a pro rate share of the US National Debt is living beyond cloud-cuckoo-land...with 30 million people and the second largest land area of the states, whichever way you want to apportion the debt, that pro rate share is going to be rather large.
Additionally, Texas gets back more money each year than it pays to the Federal government. Therefore, the first issue for an independent Texas will be how to manage without that next influx of money. A lot of that money will disappear as military bases are closed (kiss goodbye to Fort Hood, folks).

Graham Shevlin of TX 9:40PM February 11, 2010

F the Union, if the state made its own laws and taxes then marijuana it be legal, taxed, and the violence on our border (southern) would be curbbed or haulted altogether!!!!

vic damone of TX 5:17PM February 09, 2010

Texas being free!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!! Bush being the president................ NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe his dad................ Remember the aloma

astros fan of TX 1:20PM February 05, 2010

Mr. Farrell, the U.S. federal deficit in October reached $1.4 trillion and the federal debt is almost to $12 trillion. Bush certainly made a lot of bad moves that racked up a huge deficit by the end of his presidency, but Obama, in his first 38 days, created a deficit even bigger than Bush made in eight years.
With all due respect, I have noticed that one of the liberals' favorite dismissals of much of what the conservatives say is, "That's a lie, you just heard it from talk radio." I didn't get those numbers above from talk radio, and I didn't make them up, either. Texas has a healthy economy and industry, even in the recession. Why then would we not want to be free from trillions of dollars of debt and deficit and bankrupt government programs? That's my concern. It makes for at least one good reason for secession, whether you like it or not.

Secessionist in Austin of TX 5:08PM October 26, 2009

Let's look at the facts shall we:
1) Texas Gross Domestic Product - Texas had a Gross Domestic Product of $1.245 trillion in 2008. This would place Texas ahead of 183 other independent nations.
2) Population - A 2007 estimate put the Texas population at 23,904,380. This would place Texas ahead of 117 other independent nations.
3) Labor Force - Texas has always been known for it's outstanding labor force. The 2009 estimates for the Texas labor force stand at 11,861,400 which would be more than 152 other independent nations.
4) Potential Government Revenue - Since a tremendous amount of tax money paid by Texans goes to fuel a bloated Federal bureaucracy and fund Federal programs that would not exist in an independent Texas, it is a piece of information that has to be calculated. We will also have to make one assumption to arrive at this figure. For the purposes of arriving at potential government revenue, we will assume that all taxes paid to the Federal Government will be shifted to Austin. This will give us a "potential" revenue for the government of an independent Texas. Texans paid $225.4 billion into the Federal tax system in 2005 (the latest year from which we can obtain data). The State of Texas collected $77.5 billion in the 2008 fiscal year. Combine these two and you receive a potential government revenue of $302.9 billion per year. This would place Texas 12th in the world in budget revenues and ahead of 183 other independent nations.
5) Exports - Texas exports in 2006 totaled $150.8 billion making us 28th globally and ahead of 167 other independent nations.
6) Military - Since Texas doesn't currently have a standing military other than the State Guard, we will have to calculate these numbers based on what we do know. The United States spends 4% of its Gross Domestic Product on the military and defense. Applying this percentage to the GDP of Texas gives us a figure of approximately $50 billion per year which would rank us 5th globally in military spending ahead of 190 other independent nations.
7) Energy - Texas Crude Oil Proved Reserves: 4,613 million barrels, ranked 1st in US. Texas is fully self-sufficient in current energy resources, when used wisely, to last Texas easily another 100-300 years. Besides Texas' oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy capabilities, Texas is a leader in wind, solar, & methane energy development and practical usage.
On top of all this, Texas is known as a "donor state" which means we get less that what we put in, so all of you who say "well who would pay for your roads and military ect." we would, and we would have more money to do it with (and more efficiently) Texas is more than likely to survive (and thrive) on it's own, while the US continues to slide into oblivion.

Shadow of TX 12:53AM October 15, 2009

damn andrew that was deep, and well said. you just blew my mind.
couldnt agree more

pete of TX 12:11PM October 12, 2009

Here we go again, another article that insults conservative minds. As a conservative man from the hills and a so called "hillbilly" I grow tired of reading such racist remarks. This is indeed the same kind of racism as existed towards african americans in the south. "Just let them go free they can't take care of themselves."
The author of this article is obviously racist "rednecks" is not a term you can lump people into you don't agree with. Anyone that wants less federal government, more freedom, and happens to talk with a southern accent is disregarded immediately by the media. I cannot believe I see no outrage to this article. Imagine if any other ethnic group would be refered too as so incompetent. I have news for you all, the ultra conservative people deserve to be heard just as anyone does. We deserve to be treated with respect. I am tired of being assumed to be a redneck racist because I want the federal government out of my life and my paycheck, I am not a racist, I am literate, and I have a right to be heard and represented in the government.
WEll for your information Texas has a bigger economy than Iraq and similar population, if you think Texas can't take care of itself then you are indeed a bigot and not an objective voice. Remember the civil war? Why didn't the union just sit back and wait for the south to collapse if we are all a bunch of idiots? Why did so many people die to stop this nation from splitting if "rednecks" aren't worth it? Admit it you hate conservative people, you don't listen to their arguments, and you do not debate them on topic. You simply make fun of them and construde statements and facts that display such people in a very unfair light.
If you are a southern conservative you know exactly what I am talking about. It does not matter what color we are or what ethnicity, we are oppressed in the media and this is a prime example. This organization should be ashamed to allow such filth to be posted.

Andrew of TX 4:38PM October 07, 2009

As a native Texan (back to 1828 when Texas was still part of Mexico) and the descendant of men who fought in the Texas Revolution,I think some of my fellow Texans who have a secessionist bent should read a few history books and FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS written during the Republic of what being an independent nation really is. Almost every other spring Mexico invaded South Texas, Texas could not afford an army to stop them. The militias could not stop a standing, trained army, even then. Texas money was worthless. If independence was so great, why did the overwhelming majority of Texas white men (the only ones who could vote) vote to join the U.S. This not to mention that any free black (and there were very few) had to petition the Texas Congress to be allowed to stay in Texas. For those who think their religious freedom is in jeopardy from the U.S. government, they should read the constitution of the Republic that forbade any priest or minister or any other member of the clergy from holding elective office.
From a practical point of view. Who is going to pay for the highways in Texas? (more than 1/2 of the money now comes from Washington. Who is going to pay for the National Guard or the Texas Army if Texas was independent? 70% plus of the TX National Guard's budget is paid for by the USA. What about the veterans? No VA hospitals or services, no health care for the men and women of Texas who were injured doing their duty. (I guess the Texas Veterans Commission could take over BUT- where will the money come from??) You people who gripe about taxes now, do some thinking. Everything, from school lunches to NASA, relives that nasty federal money. Do you think the Texas sales tax and business tax can support colleges (by the way won't be any federal college loans, grants etc), a military force, a customs service, a border patrol, etc. You say we won't being income tax to Uncle Sam anymore. True, but instead of sending the money to Washington, you will be sending it to Austin. THINK THINK THINK

Craig Manning of TX 2:00PM September 13, 2009