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Hahaha..If California were an independent country, CA would be the US' largest trading partner by far.
The trifecta of Silicon Valley and Hollywood and the Central Valley 'export' more to the US than anywhere outside of the US.
Well, then the country of California would have to worry about things like tariffs from the truncated United States.
Not to mention that much of the infrastructure here right now like a lot of the aqueducts, interstates, and even a lot of the port facilities, are maintained by federal agencies and potentially add even more costs to the state of California.
As much as I do agree with the statement that if any state were to go alone, CA might have the best chance of survival, I think it would be extremely problematic (in the real world).
I honestly think that at this point in US history, the Federal Government has way too much power. Wickard v Filburn (1942) was such a horrible precedent that I think that it probably needs to be re-addressed at some point in time. Even as someone who is a bit left of center, I do think states should have more latitude in policy setting. That sounds a whole lot better than all this secessionist talk.
Canada has very strong tech sector especially in Waterloo Ont and Quebec. Montreal is a huge pharacutical centre. Canada is also a world leader in transportation and not just cars but trains and airplanes as well. When I took the train to SF I noticed that the Amtrak I took was made in Montreal.
Toronto is a major international banking centre and is home to the 7th largest stock market on the planet. Canada does have huge amounts of natural resources but not just oil. From copper to forests to ore to water to food stuffs to fisheries to Hydro to natural gas to diamonds.........we are very well endowed. We are also one of the world's largest nucleur exporters and technology providers.
Mexico is an up and coming country but it's GDP numbers are warped by the huge disparity in income levels. Mexico doesn't have a lot of home grown technology but rather manufacturing that has moved there for cheap labour.
Canada does have a debt of $1.1 trillion but that INCLUDES the debt of it's provinces while California's doesn't include it's portion of the US national debt which is now at $16.3 trillion and the sky's the limit.
I admit to a bias being Canadian but Canada has the resources, ports, technology, political power, G7 country, stock market, and the most diversified economy of the 3. California would be a close second. No offense to my Mexican friends but Mexico is still very much a developing country and it's political, legal, and social insecurity alone is enough to place it last amongst the 3.
Canada has very strong tech sector especially in Waterloo Ont and Quebec. Montreal is a huge pharacutical centre. Canada is also a world leader in transportation and not just cars but trains and airplanes as well. When I took the train to SF I noticed that the Amtrak I took was made in Montreal.
Toronto is a major international banking centre and is home to the 7th largest stock market on the planet. Canada does have huge amounts of natural resources but not just oil. From copper to forests to ore to water to food stuffs to fisheries to Hydro to natural gas to diamonds.........we are very well endowed. We are also one of the world's largest nucleur exporters and technology providers.
Mexico is an up and coming country but it's GDP numbers are warped by the huge disparity in income levels. Mexico doesn't have a lot of home grown technology but rather manufacturing that has moved there for cheap labour.
Canada does have a debt of $1.1 trillion but that INCLUDES the debt of it's provinces while California's doesn't include it's portion of the US national debt which is now at $16.3 trillion and the sky's the limit.
I admit to a bias being Canadian but Canada has the resources, ports, technology, political power, G7 country, stock market, and the most diversified economy of the 3. California would be a close second. No offense to my Mexican friends but Mexico is still very much a developing country and it's political, legal, and social insecurity alone is enough to place it last amongst the 3.
I would be very, very interested to see a detailed comparison between California and Canada in the fields of technology, aerospace, finance, and pharmaceuticals. Both the Bay Area and San Diego are huge hotspots for biotech and medical research. Los Angeles was also THE place for aerospace and defense innovation during the Cold War and that legacy has only diminished somewhat. L.A. is still a huge player in that field and I bet the combined activities of Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, etc. put it above Bombardier in Quebec. As for finance, I'm not one to speak on that but both San Francisco and Toronto are pretty big players here as well.
Canada's advantages in natural resources are well noted, but Canada doesn't really have anything to compete with Silicon Valley. An interesting matchup and a close call for sure
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