Real Kato Blog: The Great Divide

Lots of folks have been advocating splitting off the "blue states" from the "red states". I'm not so sure that's such a good idea.

You may have seen this picture:

There's even a web site, jesusland.com, based on this. After this year's election, many Republicans and Democrats have been advocating that we divide the United States into separate pieces, perhaps along Civil War boundaries. It's tempting. Of course, both countries would claim to represent the "true" United States, so we would probably have to fight over the name. It would be like trying to keep the house in a divorce (or the double-wide trailer, for those of us living in red states). For now, we'll stick with the names in the graphic: The United States of Canada, and Jesusland.

But all of us should think carefully about what would happen if our party represented the center of political thinking. The folks in the USC would have to deal with ultra-liberal left wingers, and the folks in Jesusland would have to deal with ultra-conservative right wingers. It would be a fight against socialism on one side, a fight against fascism on the other.

The United States of Canada

Let's think about The United States of Canada first. It probably would end up a lot like an uber-version of Canada, though we might boot out the Quebecois for being too nationalist. Here would be some of the highlights:

- Strict church-state separation. The USC would probably have stronger wording in its Constitution that the state must be an entirely secular entity. There would be no "under God" in any pledge of allegiance, there would probably be no more swearing on the Bible in courts, there would be no "in God we trust" on the currency.

- Highly progressive tax system. There would be very high taxes at the upper end of the income ranges; I could envision a 90% tax bracket at the $1 million level.

- Government-mandated health care. In the USC, health care would be an inalienable right. Perhaps employers would be required to provide a certain level of coverage, or the government would have a universal plan for which everyone would be eligible.

- Technological and commerce economy. High-tech companies like Intel and IBM would be drawn by the educated populace, though companies like Nike would be pushed away by the high cost of labor. The country's sound fiscal policies would attract investment and the banking industry.

- Emphasis on public education over private schools. Good public schooling would be considered important to the country's future, and a lot more money would be spent in this area.

- Affirmative action. There would be an emphasis on achieving racial equality through affirmative action. This is in keeping with the USC's policy of protecting the minority against the majority.

- High minimum wage base. The minimum wage would be a livable amount; in today's US dollars, probably somewhere around $9/hour. Exceptions might be made for teenagers in service jobs.

- Welfare programs. There would be a strong safety net for the poor and unemployed; the idea would be to provide people housing, child care, and training so that they have the opportunity to find work.

- Emphasis on international diplomacy rather than military force. The USC would still maintain a highly trained and skilled military, though the size of the armed forces and the amount of money spent on defense would certainly be curtailed.

- Gun control society. There would be a bit of a battle between the liberals and the libertarians here, but ultimately the USC would restrict the ownership of many kinds of automatic weapons.

- Concern for environment. There would be pollution controls, wildlife refuges, and national parks. A fair amount of money would be spent on enforcement of environmental regulations, industrial waste cleanup, recycling programs, and alternative-energy research.

- Legalization of marijuana, prostitution, gambling; restrictions on tobacco. All of these things would probably get lumped into the same category: things that are legal but highly regulated.

So the summary of the USC's advantages would be: civil liberties, egalitarianism, a highly educated populace, and a clean environment.

But we should point out the potential problems also: high costs for businesses, large bureaucracies, a fragmented and factional political system, urban infrastructure costs, and a trend towards socialism. Jesuslanders would deride the USC as a moral wasteland and a haven for welfare-dependent slackers.

Jesusland

Now let's turn our focus to Jesusland. I'm not sure what country would be a good comparison here... I might say Nazi Germany, though that might be a bit inflammatory. Anyway, here would be the country's highlights:

- State sponsored Christianity. Christianity would be written into the Constitution here, and would be considered a fundamental part of the country's moral fiber. Other religions would be allowed, but you would only see Christian (or at least Judeo-Christian) references in anything sponsored by the federal government.

- Alternative tax system. The idea of a progressive tax system would be wiped out by something else. If income taxes are retained at all, they would probably be in the form of a flat tax. But income taxes might be replaced by a national sales tax, or a value-added tax system.

- Emphasis on private/corporate health care. Health care would be something that people buy, just like any other product. While the government would still have regulations on medical practice and safety, the economics of health care would be governed by market forces.

- Agricultural, manufacturing, energy, pharmaceutical economy. Cheap labor and low regulation would bring about a booming manufacturing economy. There would be high access to natural resources, helping agricultural, textile, and energy industries. A privatized and deregulated health care system would benefit pharmaceutical companies.

- Emphasis on private schooling. While community-funded public schools would still exist, a large amount of money would be spent on private schools. High schools would be more like colleges.

- Strict race-neutrality. The government would emphasize race-blind policies and would eliminate affirmative-action programs (citing them as reverse discrimination).

- Market-driven wage policy. The idea of a government-mandated minimum wage would be eliminated.

- Elimination of government welfare programs. Eventually, federal welfare programs would be virtually non-existent. There would probably still be community-funded housing projects and perhaps some federally-funded food programs, but the idea of a social safety net would be seen as something that discourages people from working.

- Large military force, imperialism. Jesusland would see an evangelical imperative to spread its philosophy throughout the world, and would use a large military to help that effort.

- Gun ownership society. Lots of people would own guns.

- Relaxed environmental standards. The government would leave industries to regulate themselves on environmental affairs, figuring that polluters would eventually be driven out by local communities or free-market forces.

- Looser restrictions on tobacco; high restrictions on drugs, gambling, pornography. I'm not sure why Jesuslanders give tobacco a moral exemption, but they do. Alcohol falls into a murky grey area. There would be strict enforcement against other drugs, including marijuana. Gambling and pornography would be curtailed, though the libertarians would battle the moralists in this arena.

Summary of Jesusland's advantages: strong cultural and moral focus, business-friendly environment, and free-market idealism.

Jesusland's problems would be many: economy suppressed by low consumer demand, oppression of minority races and religions, high crime and disease rates among the poor, a rapidly-increasing class divide, pollution, and a trend toward feudalism. USC residents would be shocked at the assault on human rights and the government's smug and pious attitude towards the international community.

The thing is, neither of these countries would probably end up any better than the United States of America. We do better here because we represent the best of both ideals, and because our overly-radical tendencies are moderated by people in the other party. It's the yin-yang principle: harmony and balance through opposition. So we will continue to battle each other, and our arguments will be intense at times; but, like it or not, we need each other.

Long live the USA.

Permalink 2 Comment

Posted by Ken in: politics

Comments

Comment #1 from Crouching Hamster (Guest)
2004 Nov 26 - 3:03 am : #

Don't knock Canada. I'm dating Canadians. And I'm LUCKY to be dating Canadians. Up here, they're in high demand. You know how Latin men or French men are stereotypically the foreign ones that are so sought after? Well now it's Canadians.

Comment #2 from Jen (Guest)
2004 Nov 27 - 3:58 am : #

Don't force me to live in Jesusland! We are so clearly a purple state... there has to be another classification.

Comments are closed for this post.

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