After reading the article, it’s not as much about seceding from the US as it is about restructuring their boundaries.
While I see several issues with doing this (the first example that comes to mind: how do all the unfunded liabilities, such as extravagant pensions, get divided up?) I can see where this discussion is important.
Well, the way I read it:
OR just wants to merge a few eastern counties with ID, so no new state
VA wants to merge some counties with WV, so no new state.
IL–they want to kick Chicago to the curb…so one new state.
CA–they want to split, but I didn’t catch into how many–I have talk of this in the past ranging from 2 states to 7, but most frequently I hear 3, so that could potentially be 2 new states.
NY–this article says split in 3, so 2 new states.
So that’s 5 new states.
From the article:
You’ve got Oregonians seeking to cascade into Idaho, Virginians who identify as West Virginians, Illinoians fighting to escape Chicago, Californians dreaming of starting a 51st state, and New Yorkers who think three states are better than one.