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I don't necessarily think it has to merge. I once posted a humorous ( I thought- tee hee) comparision with Monaco which is a highly functioning very small place---- small places can exist economically.
I would be in favor of going to a county system- we already have counties established.
It would raise the unemployment rate significantly- what happens to all those newly redundant little job rich entities.........
Granted small can work, but it's tough. At the level of nations, though, it's easier in certain ways. First, put aside lucky little sheikdoms with oil, since that's not us. Or those with special historical attributes, like the Vatican. In more relevant small countries the death spirals are mitigated because it's often hard to leave a small nation due to language barriers and immigration restrictions in nearby countries, or maybe there _are_ no nearby countries. At the least, you probably can't move a couple miles over the border and work/visit the old country with no visa or border delays. Many tiny countries survive via loose banking and money laundering rules, low wealth taxes, and not letting any poor people enter the place -- Monaco fits that. RI can't do such things as a US state.
Anyway, I know your Monaco example wasn't fully serious, but it does illustrate a point. US states have it really hard: countries have various barriers and policy options that US states do not. US cities and counties have bankruptcy, US states do not. So if you can't stop your taxpayers from fleeing, and you can't shed your state's obligations, what happens?
Hadn't checked the forum for a while and was surprised to see all the activity. I appreciate all the insight on Rhode Island. It's always good to get the perspective of both those born and raised vs those who moved from out of state.
As far as COL, it's actually lower where I am right now. Based on all the calculators online, there is actually a 15-18% increase in COL from CA Central Valley to Providence. The higher COL areas in CA are all located near the water. San Francisco as an example has a 50% increase in COL compared to where I am.
Hadn't checked the forum for a while and was surprised to see all the activity. I appreciate all the insight on Rhode Island. It's always good to get the perspective of both those born and raised vs those who moved from out of state.
As far as COL, it's actually lower where I am right now. Based on all the calculators online, there is actually a 15-18% increase in COL from CA Central Valley to Providence. The higher COL areas in CA are all located near the water. San Francisco as an example has a 50% increase in COL compared to where I am.
The COL stat isn't surprising. The difference between the Central Valley and the California Coast couldn't be bigger. The two times I've been to the Central Valley, other than maybe the weather, I couldn't believe I was even in California as I knew it from spending time in San Diego, LA or San Francisco. Not to mention Carmel or Santa Barbara. Another world, glad it's cheaper.
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