Should the South secede?

[giblets]

Yes. It's ridiculous. Texas is more different from the rest of America than any other state, I would guess. Note I've never been there (apart from being stuck at the Houston airport for a couple hours), so I'm just going off what I've heard.

I doubt it. Hawaii is probably the most distinct.

[giblets]

Getting rid of the entire South is too extreme. Kicking out Texas would probably be sufficient.

[regexcellent]

Getting rid of the entire South is too extreme. Kicking out Texas would probably be sufficient.

You'd be stupid to want to do that, given the benefit to the US economy.

[Hauldren Collider]

60% reduction isn't enough.

I won't be happy until our military spending is reduced to pre-WWII levels (inflation-adjusted, of course).

I will give you the benefit of the doubt and surmise that you mean as a percent of gdp. However, I suspect you aren't, and would like you to think about why this makes no sense at all...

I'll give you a couple hints:
1. Population growth
2. Advances in military technology = war is more expensive

[Hauldren Collider]

I doubt it. Hawaii is probably the most distinct.

Now that I think about it, that's probably true. Fair enough. Texas can take second place, though.

[Guynemer]

I will give you the benefit of the doubt and surmise that you mean as a percent of gdp. However, I suspect you aren't, and would like you to think about why this makes no sense at all...

I'll give you a couple hints:
1. Population growth
2. Advances in military technology = war is more expensive

I'll give you a couple hints:
1. Who the **** are we supposed to be fighting?
2. What the **** good is a Cold War military against those sorts of threats?

[giblets]

You'd be stupid to want to do that, given the benefit to the US economy.

Benefit? They pay slightly more taxes than they receive in federal benefits, but I really don't care. I don't see any convincing reason why anything else matters.

[H Tower]

I would look at the major cities first and foremost. Look at where all the violence is coming from - Chicago, New York, etc. Anywhere in the North where there are a significant number of minorities there are huge problems. That's not really the case here. There is that real sense of bitterness - it feels like a war in the north between two camps that have very little in common and don't like each other.

Here? My parish church is more than half minority. Everybody pretty much gets along. I enjoy it tremendously.

What are you talking about Ben?
February 16, 2011, the 11 Most Dangerous Cities in the US. Chicago and New York don't even make the list.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/02/16/the-11-most-dangerous-cities

City Crime Risk Index
1. St. Louis 530
2. Atlanta 484
3. Birmingham Alabama (tie) 380
3. Orlando (tie) 380
5. Detroit 369
6. Memphis 361
7. Miami 346
8. Baltimore 339
9. Kansas City, Missouri 337
10. Minneapolis (tie) 331
10. Cleveland (tie) 331

Your little town on the Texas Praire lives in harmony, fine. But that doesn't mean that all of the South does.

[Guynemer]

I'm surprised to see Minneapolis on that list.

[regexcellent]

What are you talking about Ben?
February 16, 2011, the 11 Most Dangerous Cities in the US. Chicago and New York don't even make the list.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/02/16/the-11-most-dangerous-cities

City Crime Risk Index
1. St. Louis 530
2. Atlanta 484
3. Birmingham Alabama (tie) 380
3. Orlando (tie) 380
5. Detroit 369
6. Memphis 361
7. Miami 346
8. Baltimore 339
9. Kansas City, Missouri 337
10. Minneapolis (tie) 331
10. Cleveland (tie) 331

Your little town on the Texas Praire lives in harmony, fine. But that doesn't mean that all of the South does.

Dude Chicago has had a ridiculous murder streak this year. And the Rust Belt is probably the most dangerous part of the country, the whole Great Lakes region in fact.

But yeah, the South has its share of dangerous places.

[regexcellent]

Benefit? They pay slightly more taxes than they receive in federal benefits, but I really don't care. I don't see any convincing reason why anything else matters.

It's instructive that you think of everything in terms of taxation-spending accounting, as opposed to the broader economy, as if the only sector that matters is the public one.

[giblets]

It's instructive that you think of everything in terms of taxation-spending accounting, as opposed to the broader economy, as if the only sector that matters is the public one.

Yes? Would Texas erect massive trade barriers?

[Hauldren Collider]

Where is "Kill-adelphia" on that list? Something's wrong with those numbers.

[Hauldren Collider]

Yes? Would Texas erect massive trade barriers?

Simply being in a different sovereign jurisdiction is a massive barrier to trade. If they adopted their own currency, and they surely would, that would be another massive barrier.

[Ben Kenobi]

That's because it includes property crimes.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/05/the-10-most-dangerous-cities-in-america/239513/#slide2

1. Flint, Michigan
2. Detroit, Michigan
3. St. Louis, Missouri
4. New Haven, Connecticut
5. Memphis, Tennessee
6. Oakland, California
7. Little Rock, Arkansas
8. Baltimore, Maryland
9. Chicago, Illinois
10. Stockton, California.

10 cities, only 2 in the south. 0 in Texas.