It's Time for Secession
Where Dreams Are Made Of
On April 16, 1861, Virginia voted to secede from the Union, joining the growing separatist rebellion. That declaration was ultimately overturned by blood at Appomattox April 9, 1865 and in Texas v. White (1869) by writ, that affirmatively and definitively declared that our United States is eternal, everlasting, with each state locked in permanent union with each other until such time that states and the Congress agree in unison to change that arrangement. That, of course, is not the type of secession we are here to discuss.
On May 13, 1861, delegates from the western counties of Virginia met to discuss a different type of secession, one not from the Union but of their union to Virginia in particular. It took until June 20, 1863 but eventually those counties—those individual, local municipalities had achieved what before had been legal imagination: a part of a state seceding from another state. Virginia v. West Virginia (1871) affirmed this legal precedent, that a part of a state has a right to secede from its constituent parts.
Granted, such right has never been seriously tried in modern times, neither has it been tried in times outside of civil war. A large part of the reason West Virginia exists at all is because the Confederate-dominated Virginia state legislature voted to secede from the union, prompting loyalists to form the Restored State of Virginia. Would it be crass for New York City to form its own Restored State of New York, outside such a constitutional calamity? Yes, perhaps a little. But it is not only called for, but necessary.
I have long been a proponent of federalism and of granting greater local autonomy based on clear divisions of socioeconomic geographical lines. What this means, in plain English, is that America’s megacities ought to be states themselves, separated fully and divorced from their parent states. By the very virtue of their massive population and economic power, these megacities leave both themselves and their parent states with unsatisfactory outcomes. It’s a political mess: the budget needs of the wider, more rural state must be weighed against the needs of not just “a” megacity but the global financial capital of the world. You would think that this balance of power would benefit the city and leave the wider state disadvantaged but the experiences of the Cuomo and Hochul governorates disprove this theory. They stand plainly aligned with the interests of Albany over the interests of New York.
Let’s forget what is about to happen. Zohran Mamdani is about become New York City’s mayor after the November election. He will have been elected on a popular mandate based on transforming the city into a more equitable, affordable, and ultimately better place to live. And yet, his entire agenda; the democratic will of millions of New Yorkers has already been declared dead-on-arrival by the Albany government.
For Zohran to be a successful mayor, he will need to raise taxes. This isn’t a question about the merits of the tax increases (though a tax increase on the wealthiest residents of the city is extremely well warranted!), it’s a question of whether or not a city with a greater population than the rest of the state has any democratic say in their governance at all. Just listen to Ezra Klein and Chris Hayes talk about this:
This is a crisis of democratic legitimacy. Were this most other cities, I might even be sympathetic to the Governor. But I’m not, for the simple reason that this is New York City, one of the richest, most populous, most important cities in the world, and that while the state of New York is uniquely beautiful and diverse, it cannot equate to the economic juggernaut that the city is; more than half of the states’ GDP is the city alone. The wider state simply has a far more rural population, one far more geographically diverse and dispersed which means that the budgetary priorities of both will wildly differ, to the detriment of both. Rural New York will never have adequate budgetary attention because the city must be kept from falling apart, and the city will continue its slow decline because the rural areas must be saved from impending anarchy, tax season after tax season.
I’m not saying that this would be win-win for both the existing New York State and NYC; the State would be the clear loser here in terms of sheer tax shortfall alone. They’ll either have to make do with far less resources or rely far more on Federal aid. They’d be about the size of Virginia, population-wise, all of which also entails far fewer House seats.
Before we compare and contrast the present with the future, let’s assess what exactly this state would entail. Yes, it would include the Five Boroughs but also all of Long Island and further inland as well, to maintain a logical and well-reasoned boundary between old New York and new New York. Here’s a map:
This place would need a name, and while it would be called the “Restored State of New York” initially, it will need a firmer and longer term name as well. I leave such judgement to New Yorkers, but if I may be so bold, I am personally partial to Megalopolis. If successful, this experiment could inspire other megacities, from the Bay Area to Los Angeles to Chicago and more to attempt their own divorce.
Lastly, before we break down what each side gets, let’s talk brass tacks, crass politics. How could this be achieved? Here are a proposed series of steps:
Mayor Mamdani once elected officially submits a proposal for tax increases to Albany, which has already been rejected.
Mayor Mamdani, working with City Council and county officials, calls forth a convention to meet to discuss the ongoing democratic crisis. Now then there are two potential off-ramps for Albany: either they accede to the original request for tax increases, or they agree to be separated from New York City and Long Island, allowing the issue to go directly to Congress.
Should Albany refuse either off-ramps, the convention then declares the creation of the Restored State of New York.
The question then goes to Congress. Let us speak plainly: this would be a good outcome for the GOP. It would make greater New York a purple state, allowing them to capture perhaps two extra Senate seats and the resulting electoral college votes. And while it would benefit the Democrats in the City, that’s not necessarily an ironclad guarantee, as the city has in living memory elected Republican Mayors in Giuliani and Bloomberg. The Republicans in Congress should be in favor of this. The only question is, will the Democrats back it? Outside of Democratic members in the reduced old New York State, I don’t see why not. On balance, it doesn’t immediately change the makeup of the House or Senate, and members representing other megacities should clearly see the opportunity here. If I was a member representing Los Angeles, I would much rather run for Governor or Senator if the state just included Los Angeles! It would be an uphill battle, but one with a potential of victory.
Thus armed with Congressional approval, the new state of Megalopolis is born and an extra star is printed on the American flag, approval from Albany be damned.
Ahh the norms, ahh the legality, I can hear the critiques already! Fact: the Republican Party doesn’t care about norms or legality and neither should the Democratic Party, especially when a fundamental question of democratic legitimacy is at hand. No, we are not in a state of literal civil war. No, Albany has not declared its intention to secede from the federal government. Yet, I don’t think that matters, for the reasons laid out above. What’s the point of having a representative democracy if democratic elections are unable to achieve substantive political change? No point at all yet I still think democracy is worth fighting for. And right now, it’s not working in New York City and it’s not working in America more broadly. This alone won’t fix the City’s many problems but it will at least give the City the autonomy it both needs and deserves to fix their own problems.
Let Albany govern Albany, and let the City govern itself.
As promised, what each side will come out with:
