With President Obama’s re-election, people in all 50 states have submitted petitions to the White House demanding that their states secede from the union. These petitions are gaining traction, and the most notable one is the one suggesting that Texas secede from the nation. It’s gained over 100,000 signatures, and with the petition being signed on Whitehouse.gov, the Obama administration is entitled to respond to it if it gains over 25,000.

The petition can be found here.

It’ll definitely be interesting as to how the administration responds to a secession request- if they do at all. Even though it is their policy to respond, I question whether or not they will.

But I also question something even more important; Could Texas actually secede from the Union, and would the state survive? The answer is yes, and yes. States have the right to secede from the union, as written in the Supreme Court case Texas v. White in 1869. This case describes that states may secede from the union pending consent of the states. Essentially, if all state legislatures were to pass a bill asking Texas to secede from the union, Texas would have the right to break off.

Could Texas survive to break off? Probably. Texas is the only state, in my opinion, that could ultimately survive independence. Texas has the second largest economy in the country, 15th in the world. They produce nearly 85% of America’s oil (If my memory is correct), and most American made computers and technology come from Texas. Building materials, machinery, food, and an extremely large percentage of ‘Made in America’ products come from Texas.

They don’t have a state income tax, and they can do without the federal funds for services the Federal Government provides. They only receive 94 cents in federal funds for every $1 on federal taxes. Obviously, Texas would save money by seceding from the union because of this. And with Texas being home to more Fortune 500 companies than anywhere else, it has an amazing economic base.

Texas could survive economically, after all, the unemployment rate in Texas is only 6.8%, considerably less than the National average. But what about defense, wouldn’t the state loose all it’s security? With over 25,000 members of the Texas Military Forces, the state can surely defend its borders on it’s own. And remember- you’re in Texas. Militias will form.

I’m not endorsing secession of any kind from any state, but with the threat of secession by the citizens, I’m sure Texas could pull it off and survive. Do I think it will secede from the Union? Nope. The most interesting thing will be the response from the Obama administration.
