I am tired of the federal government and the administration that represents my country because it does not represent me or the people around me. 

I believe that with the way things are going, we, as the state of California, must separate and exist independently and separate from the union of the United States.

We live in an era where it has never been more obvious that our government does not care about the average American citizen. 

With that said, I do not believe that I should have any allegiance to the current federal government, as I do not trust it.  

I am not alone in this thinking.

A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California from June of this year revealed 80% of all the people polled do not trust our federal government, and why should they?

Recent events alone are enough to cause this shift in belief toward our leaders, including: 

The invasion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in California and the additional 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which permits “suspicionless stops in California.”

H.R. 1 or the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which is predicted to increase the total number of uninsured individuals to 17 million by 2034. 

The fact that our own state feels the need to redistrict via the Election Rigging Response Act, to combat our own president outwardly telling Texas to do the same so the Republicans may hold a house majority. 

These examples, however, are only the tip of the iceberg to how California is regularly disrespected and pushed around while having its resources siphoned from it. 

California provides so much to the U.S. We provide the most in federal funds, we grow the most food and we have the highest gross domestic product out of the entire country.

We give so much and this is how we are treated? I do not believe that we are valued enough, or appreciated enough. 

Operating on a loss

California is not perfect; we have plenty of issues, ranging from an increased number of unhoused individuals to a high-speed railway system that may never be finished. 

Additionally, the cost of living is one of the most expensive in the nation which certainly doesn’t help unhoused individuals. 

However, how are we going to solve these problems at home when we aren’t getting the proper reinvestment from our federal government? 

From 2021-23, a staggering $163 billion that was paid by Californians in federal taxes was not returned to us, making us a “donor state.” 

This means that with all the money that we give, we aren’t even seeing a full return back into our home.

That is around 20% of the taxes we pay as a state that other states benefit from instead. 

This gap in spending versus receiving is only going to get much bigger, unfortunately. H.R. 1 is cutting federal funding to programs like Medicaid (approximately $1 trillion in the next decade), the National Park Service ($267 million) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ($200 billion in the next decade). 

But further than that, we as a state will be required to pay more for services we already provide, like CalFresh. 

This will greatly increase the margin of loss.

Personally, I don’t want my tax dollars from my tank of gas going to a red state across the country whose citizens most likely have nothing good to say about where I live. 

So why support them? 

Government overreach with growing fear

I have family that needs medication for mental and physical illnesses that they cannot get otherwise without our medical assistance programs. 

With H.R. 1 in place, this situation will only hurt them, all while our president is saying that so many people using these systems are frauds affecting 3.4 million Californians. 

These drastic changes to healthcare will cause higher costs for medical services, more barriers of entry for these services, a sicker population and the shutdown of rural hospitals and clinics.

However, these effects are just the beginning. 

Our military being stationed in our backyard is a problem too.

President Donald Trump is not only invading our own country with ICE but with the National Guard by sending American troops into cities under the guise of fighting crime. 

Five hundred Texas and Illinois National Guard service members in total have been deployed to Chicago and Illinois. Three hundred troops from California have been deployed to Portland, Oregon. 

If you are not scared by this, you should be. 

How long will it be until these soldiers set foot on Californian land permanently? This is similar to how a few thousand were deployed by Trump during the June 2025 Los Angeles protests, a deployment that was deemed illegal. 

However, our state is fighting back, like by suing the Trump administration for attempting to steal National Guard members from our state before taking Texas. We are on the edge of being occupied by our own military, and I do not want to be a part of that. 

Things are going to get worse. 

These policies will only get more drastic as time goes on, and the people around us, whom we care about, will get hurt.

Could California leave?

All things considered, 58% of Californians believe we would be better off peacefully seceding from the U.S., but is that even possible? 

One organization looking to make it possible is Calexit which has been aiming for an independent California since 2016. Their reasons for independence and plan for our state’s future include things like lower taxes & economic growth, universal single-payer health care for all, protecting civil rights and more.

Additionally, they outline specific and key aspects of our state that would not be lost in seceding. These include things like military defence, our water, social security and international trade. 

However, the short answer is no. Constitutionally, it has been deemed illegal since the U.S. Civil War unless the idea of secession was approved by Congress or unanimously agreed upon by all other 49 states. 

Unfortunately, the other possibility would be a civil war or revolution. Although I believe not many people would want that due to the untold multitude of negative consequences, it would most likely be the necessary path. 

As history shows, an authoritarian government does not change through protests and letters to politicians, but through force and a unified people who fight back against the ruling class. 

I believe that when Americans are truly united to fight for something they believe in, they fight harder than anyone else. With the way things are going, people will only grow more contempt for the current administration until the only way out may be to fight.  

Some people may feel that these ideas are un-American. However, in a time where American flags with swastikas are being found in the GOP congressional office, maybe it’s time to act as our forefathers did in World War II. 

I say that protecting your home, your family, your freedoms, your liberty and your livelihood in any way that you see fit, from a government that grows increasingly more controlling, is the most American thing you can do right now. 

If our needs are not being met as a whole, then we should undoubtedly leave to grow and prosper on our own. 

If a state really wants to secede, I believe it is its right to do so. Our will to live as independent citizens should not falter due to the law. It was those same laws and policies that drove this kind of thinking into the light in the first place.

There are many benefits to being a part of the U.S., but these benefits have simply been outweighed by the choices of a government that is slowly becoming more authoritarian than what I believe America should be.