Is the most populous American state too big for its own good?
Tim Draper, a third-generation venture capitalist with a penchant for
big ideas, is promoting a plan that would split California into six
separate states. Why now? According to the proposed ballot initiative Draper filed earlier this month, the Golden State has been rendered "nearly ungovernable" by social and economic changes.
California has 58 counties, nearly 40 million people and an economy so large that it would rank among the top 10 countries in the world.
But given the state's diverse geography and industries, Draper's ballot initiative argues that the "citizens of the whole state would be better served by six smaller state governments."
"I am endorsing this initiative because it is a way to localize governance and bring more representation to the local level," Draper said in document distributed to reporters. "I am planning to work to get it on the ballot."