Russ Steele
When California goes bankrupt, rather than get a federal bail out should it be required to renounce state status and revert to being a territory?
This idea comes from a comment at the Volokh Conspiracy blog. “Any law that lets states be bailed out should require them to renounce their state status and revert to being territories, to be reorganised by the federal government as new states. That has the advantage of getting rid of the old, dysfunctional, state government, removing the state and its inhabitants from national influence until they’ve had a chance to learn some wisdom, and being enough of a penalty to make bailouts unattractive to other states.”
Becoming a territory again could also create an opportunity for the citizens still remaining in the state to reorganize California into two or more states, Coastal California and Sierra California. Or, if you prefer, Northern California and Southern California. It is clear in it's current configuration California has become ungovernable. In every crisis there is an opportunity.
Exit question: Is this an idea worth pursuing?
