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Break Up America?

Break Up America?

By: Glenn Kuehne
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About this listen

People have called for a 'National Divorce'. This podcast explores what a peaceful breakup would look like and issues that would have to get addressed along the way.

Glenn Kuehne
Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Dividing the Debt
    Sep 19 2025

    Sometimes we end the way we began. This episode shows how much debt each new nation would take if we divided it per person. Taxes were to be 'apportioned among the several States...according to their respective Numbers". (Art. 1 Sec. 2, Clause 3). Two of the new nations would get a windfall, Texas would get a break, and one new nation would be very unhappy. Who? Listen and learn.

    References:

    https://govfacts.org/explainer/us-national-debt-37-trillion-and-growing/

    https://www.us-debt-clock.com/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_GDP

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    33 mins
  • Breaking Apart Counties within States
    Sep 18 2025

    The six nation proposal has only one 'swing' region between current Democratic and Republican party control. However, some regions that border a new proposed nation would be on 'the outs'. I look at two areas: the 13 counties in Oregon in the Greater Idaho movement and the western counties of Virginia who probably would not want to be in the new New England based nation.

    Resources:

    https://www.politico.com/2024-election/results/virginia/

    https://www.politico.com/2024-election/results/oregon/

    https://ballotpedia.org/Greater_Idaho,_Oregon,_countywide_ballot_measures_(2020-2024)

    https://greateridaho.org/

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    26 mins
  • Would some of the new nations be deadbeats?
    Sep 18 2025

    We are focusing on the six nation proposal and looking at whether each region is a 'taker' or a 'donor' for payments from the federal government to the states. A common view is that the 'red states' are moochers. Surprisingly, the new nations are not massively subsidized.

    References:

    https://oldcc.gov/defense-spending-state-fiscal-year-2023

    https://usafacts.org/articles/which-states-contribute-the-most-and-least-to-federal-revenue/

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    24 mins
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