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I have noticed of late that there is a growing movement in the cities and counties across America. This movement hasn't made much noise yet, but the cacophony is becoming ever louder.
I don't want anyone to jump up and declare this to be an outrage or even that it will be the salvation of us all, not yet, although this is an important issue that we all should become aware of. Oh, did I forget to mention what this issue is..? Some of you have already guessed and are actually way ahead of me. Of course, I'm talking about secession (hence the name of the article), specifically secession of the Coachella Valley from Riverside County, forming a new county called Coachella County.
The main question I asked when posed with the idea of secession from noted marketing expert Dave Eckenberg was this: Is there a real benefit to making a megalopolis smaller? Will smaller be better? There are, of course, other questions that must be answered as well, such as: Will the voters support the idea, and what are the costs to break up a civic monster that has tentacles stretching out over areas that not too long ago were usually considered a sovereign country?
It should be obvious, given a small bit of thought, what the answer is to the question "is there a benefit?" Can Riverside County, as it stands today, become more efficient and responsive to the needs of the people if it were broken down into two smaller parts? As I see it, the most immediate benefit of the Coachella Valley seceding from Riverside County is that our own local people and politicians would gain control over our destiny, not some bunch of bureaucrats from Riverside which is far, far away. For me, this alone is enough of a benefit to proceed. Another good argument is that a large bureaucracy is magnitudes more inefficient than a smaller one. Smaller, less complex, governments can most often respond more quickly and fairly to the needs of their people then large bloated governments. Areas within a very large city or county usually become neglected in favor of areas that have a closer proximity to the center of power, Coachella and Desert Hot Springs are prime examples of this. Power always radiates from an originating focal point and diminishes at a geometric rate as gets further away from the source (whew!). In other words, the guys with the say so are too far away to care much about what happens to us in Palm Springs or Coachella.
The economic costs involved in making a split become trivial compared to the improved quality of life for everyone, even though the current power structure would likely disagree because they would have less money to play with (and less power). It would be certain that those who currently have the power wouldn't want to give up any of it, even if they were convinced that life in general could improve within all areas effected. It would be difficult to say at this point if taxes would need to be increased or decreased as a result of a breakup. A study would need to be made to discover if the current rates were sufficient based on the revenues of each of the newly created counties. I tend to think that there is more than enough money to satisfy everyone, even including the cost of creating a whole new county government for the Coachella Valley. We live in a rich and diverse area that deserves far better than it's getting now. This thought is shared by many people throughout the country who are pursuing secession for their neighborhoods. Some of the most notable places that have taken up secession are areas of New York City and Staten Island, the San Fernando Valley, and Hollywood.
I believe that this country was built on the idea that everyone should enjoy a certain amount of liberties and freedoms. The only limitations to individual freedom that a government should apply come under the heading of equal protection. No one has the right to injure anyone. Government has to make sure everyone is protected from being harmed by another, or deprived of a liberty (including from government harm and injustices, I might add). I don't think that a distant monolithic bureaucracy can protect me as effectively as one that is close by that I know and have contact with.
Now to answer the question "will the people support secession?" PalmSpringsBuzz.com is currently conducting a poll to establish the level of support or non-support. You can take the poll yourself and cast your vote. I encourage everyone to log on so the poll will be fair and accurately reflect the mood of everyone. In fact, do it right now. You'll also see the results of what everyone else has voted for so far. Click the link.
Of course this is only my opinion, it's right for me.
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