On behalf of ALL Californians? Is that you, Jerry?
I do not know, but that is why I picked Mississippi. It has one the lowest population of any state that is not a) tiny, like Hawaii, Rhode Island and Delaware, where overcrowding problems would likely become an issue quickly or b) a frozen wasteland like Wyoming and Idaho, which would take only a couple of hundred thousand to “turn.” I’m kidding about “frozen wasteland” of course, and you know, if climate change continues apace, Wyoming and Idaho might become the new Mississippi, climate wise. I just don’t know enough to make a prediction. The future, she is a bitch to predict.
Do you anticipate a counter-movement by conservatives to counter this organized effort by progressives?
Of course not. Conservatives are conservative. They don’t like change, and that includes changes of address.
Now if you’re talking money, that’s different. Any progressive legislation that threatens to upset conservative apple carts will attract a lot of money to oppose it. Astroturf groups will be created, ad campaigns will happen … as occurred with that New England state that implemented Single Payer, or tried to, and insurance firms pumped millions of dollars into the state to persuade voters it was a bad idea.
BTW, I think this is a great idea. I still think it would be smarter to start with a state that is already more in the progressive camp, like MA, but that’s a minor quibble.
I fully support every political movement, be it progressive, green, libertarian or what-have-you, to do this. The several states are supposed to be laboratories for political experimentation.
What laws, specifically, would give the poor people of Mississippi more money and control over their lives?
So White Flight was a progressive phenomenon? Sunbelt retirees are progressives?
Do you not think there are school districts in the US that perform as well as the Finnish model? Of course there are.
Look, I like many things about the Finnish model. I’ve long thought we needed to make it so attractive to be a teacher that folks competed to get in. I think we should make good teachers earn at least twice what bad ones do (and determine good/bad based on evaluation, not test scores). I like mandatory recess/PE and arts and music.
But whenever somebody says “just do what country X” does (whether it’s for education, health care, crime, or anything) without even mentioning the rather obvious and huge differences between the countries - yeah, I find that a bit daft.
Anyway, to the OP question, I think it makes more sense to focus on states that are already rather progressive and are currently pushing for progressive reforms. Vermont’s single-payer health-care system being an obvious example. I think demonstrating that it works there is more likely to effect the national debate than trying to pull up dead-last Mississippi through massive migration. I wish Illinois, as another example, were allowed to keep or even expand their restrictive gun laws because their effectiveness or ineffectiveness could do a lot to move the national debate.
I briefly thought that might be the case, but wanted to make sure. I was a bit startled to see Finland cited as an ideal of libertarian education policy. 
Wait, is this going to require living there? 
Here is Mississippi’s Voter Registration form. You must be a current resident, and have lived in your current county for 30 days before the election. So, you could move there for a short while to vote, and then move back, trading a vote in your old state for one in Mississippi.
Hmmm … good point. Still not sure how many conservatives would move to Mississippi to prevent them durned progressives from taking over. Hell, if they do that, we’ll just go to Alabama!
I lived on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi when I was a teenager. WONDERFUL PLACE, full of snakes, lizards, frogs and fish. The climate and land are beautiful, it just needs some progressiving up.
Folks - just finish off California. The Democratic party already controls the Assembly, the Senate and the Governor’s chair. With that control, plus the ability to add anything you want at the ballot box - you can come in and take it all with a little effort.
Seriously - I live here and have already come to terms with the fact that my vote won’t matter a bit in this state for many years - so get in here, and prove the naysayers wrong. Implement your taxes, programs, prison terms and worker’s rights programs. If it is as good as you say, California will rise again to the top.
Especially considering that to them, a much better place to live would be one with no liberals. Moving to Alabama, a lib might find himself…unwelcome. Severely.
This entire concept doesn’t jibe with progressivism/left liberalism. Progressives want to assert their way of life onto others using government force. They’re not the types to carve out a nook for themselves and live out the rest of their days in contentment.
- Colorado.
5a. Legalized marijuana,
5b. Boulder - “America’s progressive anus”,
5c. the constitution bans same-sex marriage but civil unions bill will pass and be signed this year (an influx of progressives may be able to turn this state into the freest state in the country and possibly freest place in the world),
5d. the rest of the state is sparsely populated,
5e. you want it cold? Go skiing. You want it warm? Stay on the front range.
If cold is bad you better strike Connecticut off the list. It’s not north midwest cold or anything but the northern part of the state can be brutal in Late Dec/January/February.
Nah. The libertarians are trying to do that with New Hampshire, I don’t know if it is working too well.
Besides, I don’t want to live in Mississippi or Alabama even if I could find a job in my field.
The best bet is to focus on naturally progressive states like Vermont or maybe CA and use lobbying power to get progressive legislation passed.
We only want to force ourselves on people when it is in other people’s best interest. We are like a rapist with a conscience.
Vermont is the obvious choice for progressives considering 1) it elected Bernie Sanders to the Senate, 2) is fairly small and lightly populated, 3) is culturally/socially/politically homogeneous thus not forcing to progressives to build unwiedly political coalitions, and 4) instituted single payer health care.