The issue of California secession isn’t going away.

Last week, the California secretary of state approved a new ballot measure on secession for the signature gathering phase of the initiative process. If activists are able to collect enough signatures by late July, voters in 2028 will be able to vote yes or no to the question “Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?”

Permit me to use a Bible account to start this article. Whether a Christian or not, this account of Solomon’s son highlights some key aspects regarding government and taxation. The passage is from 1 Kings 12:1-20, describing when Rehoboam became king after Solomon, the son of David:

In 2001, now-Mises Institute President Tom DiLorenzo wrote about California being a “La-La Land” where rolling electrical blackouts were reminiscent of what happens in Third World countries. While keeping the lights on is now a bit easier in the Bear Republic than it was two decades ago, the recent Los Angeles wildfires have exposed the follies of never-ending progressive governance there.

In his inaugural address President Trump called President William McKinley (1897-1901) “great” and proudly announced that he had changed the name of Mount Denali in Alaska back to Mount McKinley. The reason the president picked McKinley of all past presidents to heap praise upon is that McKinley was a lifelong political tool of big business, primarily Northern state manufacturers who championed protectionist tariff taxes so rabidly that he was called “the apostle of protectionism” and “the Napoleon of protectionism.”