North Dakota, maybe.
I’m going to be contrary and say a small state that Singapores its way along. Delaware could be an independent country selling flags of convenience and tax shelter services.
Nitpick: the raw material for aluminum is aluminum. Bauxite is an aluminum ore. It’s the primary source of aluminum, which is different.
Kind of been suggested before, forty odd years ago. Why would a single state go it alone? Seems more likely that several would secede together. And likely some counties would try to secede from the new nation, back to the US.
California would have to overcome its spending problem before it could handle independence.
The Wisconsin suggestion, one that I had never entertained before this thread, is actually a pretty intriguing one.
The OP is a bit confusing, because it talks about “self sufficiency” and “best able to survive” like they’re the same thing. Delaware isn’t self-sufficient at all; it relies heavily on imported goods. Economically, it would be alright.
Clearly the three big states, Alaska, Texas, and California have the advantage.
If New York were to secede, I suspect a lot of people who work in NYC and live in New Jersey or Connecticut would move to somewhere in New York, most likely on LI or in Westchester or Dutchess.
As for resources, there are wine grapes, hops, apples, and other agriculture you can get drunk with; New York is a dairy state, perhaps not to the degree Wisconsin is, but it’s a major industry. A bunch of companies are headquartered in Purchase. There’s hydroelectric energy along the St. Lawrence River. I have no doubt there’s untapped industrial potential upstate. The downside: I have a feeling the “forever wild” Forest Reserve would be shrunk significantly, if not eliminated.
I don’t think secession would be a good idea, but it would be possible.
Actually, if it were an amicable divorce, independence would help its spending problem. It pays much more into the federal government in taxes than it receives.
Other states would have a harder time going it alone, spending-wise, especially the rural states that receive a whole bunch of infrastructure and farming subsidies relative to their population.
Interesting the thread seems to define self-sufficiency using secondary or tertiary resources. How self-sufficient is a state without primary resources for energy generation, abundant clean water, arable lands for food, and raw materials to keep a basic lifestyle going for its population? Seems to me that current inter-dependencies might not last long if animosities among the states took a turn for the worse.
The one thing that seems to not come up is the necessity of a military force and border enforcement. These require people with the assertiveness to be trained in firearms and ready mentally to use them. Only 3% of the US desire to serve, are fit to serve, and pass all requirements the US has for standards. Texas is a place, as is Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Arizona(?)… that have the stomach for it. I’m a 24-7 trucker throughout mainland USA and know this from observation. I also know, as a trucker, states are less self sufficient than one thinks, though some may be able to pull it off. Even your drinking water requires chemicals to be delivered to your public works, diapers may come from Missouri, to list a few imports that if cut off would render a state incapacitated. Stop trucking alone, and in 3 days necessities will be gone from store shelves. My fleet alone runs over 3000 trucks 24-7, to keep this nation restocked on out of state goods.
Least amount of federal aid versus the amount its citizens pay in federal taxes.
Wyoming couldn’t control its borders if you put every citizen on a viewing platform with a rifle.
This thread has been revived a couple times already over the last decade, so be warned.
Overall, this would be Connecticut or New Jersey. Per capita, it would be Connecticut who pay way more in federal taxes than those states get.
Hardly states you’d think as being self-sufficient, especially as many of the top earners actually work in New York and commute.
Beyond that, Connecticut is hardly likely to remain a hub of commerce when its businesses suddenly find 95% of their customers across a national border.
CT it is then.
… what?
Yeah, it’s a zombie, but we all like to pick nits. If anyone is still looking at California, there areeleven seaports; except for the Colorado river water, which does run across our border, most of our water is internal; and we’ve got California versions of several federal departments already running. CalOSHA is the one that comes to mind fastest.
I checked a couple of mineral maps and mostly saw iron and a little tungsten. But there were lots of construction sand, gravel, and stone. Which isn’t bad. And cement.
There are over 200,000 oil wells listed, but it looks like only about a quarter of them are active. I was not going to dig through that database. That should give us enough asphalt, together with the gravel and cement, to keep the roads maintained.
We produce more than 85% of all US avocados, 95% of the olives, and all of the commercial almonds. And I’d say that’s enough nit-picking for today. Also that I haven’t heard of any movements to seced from the US. Movements to divide the state in half come and go regularly, but secession movements don’t seem to spring up.
Enough nut-picking, too, I’d say.