The California state Capitol in Sacramento, pictured in 2024, is home to a government that operates with levels of economic, regulatory and moral autonomy that rival sovereign nations.
Andri Tambunan/For the S.F. Chronicle
California independence is not a crazy idea.
California independence is an everyday reality.
And it’s working beautifully.
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Just look at recent history. For decades, California has operated with levels of economic, regulatory and moral autonomy that rival sovereign nations.
That autonomy is most visible on environmental matters. California has protections for endangered species and the coast that exceed American law. California has capitalized on waivers from the federal Clean Air Act — which allowed it to set tougher emissions standards to fight smog — to build its own highly skilled regulatory agencies.
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The results are stunning. While the U.S. doubles down on coal, oil and gas, California’s power grid is increasingly powered by wind, solar and battery storage. Electric cars have proliferated, and greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2020 were met.
California’s independence raises global standards. The state’s climate rules have touched off similar planning in subnational and local governments worldwide. California has forged its own foreign policy, clinching treaties to boost trade and investment with China, Canada, Mexico and Europe.
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Our commitment to independence benefits Californians in other areas, too. California has set its own, far-reaching labor regulation standards that treat gig workers and fast-food employees as citizens of a modern social democracy rather than economic cogs. The California Consumer Privacy Act effectively governs how Silicon Valley treats data worldwide. And when the federal government repealed “net neutrality” rules, California imposed its own law to prevent internet service providers from favoring specific content.
California is an essential independent force for human rights in an America that is abandoning those rights. When the Supreme Court rolled back reproductive rights, California enshrined them in its Constitution. In the face of Americans’ anti-immigrant hysteria, California extends rights in healthcare, education and mobility to all its residents, regardless of their legal status. And while California’s sanctuary laws should be stronger, they remain a declaration of independence from U.S. mass deportation policies that include enforced disappearances, concentration camps and other crimes against humanity.
All this independence is why President Donald Trump aims attacks and lies against California. It’s harder for him to consolidate his dictatorship in the face of our independent successes.
Trump seeks to undermine our independence. We integrate immigrants into our communities, so he steals them away. We make progress in finding housing for our unhoused people, so he freezes funding. We reduce greenhouse gases, so he cancels the federal endangerment finding, the legal basis for our righteous climate fight.
We’re leaders in broadband and artificial intelligence research, so he terminates funding for both. Our economy runs on trade, so after California blocked his tariffs in the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump ignored the ruling and reimposed them.
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Trump’s plain intention is to make California a colony from which he can extract money and resources. One example: his use of the Iran war to invoke the Defense Production Act, seize control of California’s energy infrastructure and reopen a Santa Barbara oil pipeline, a blatant violation of our laws and Constitution.
Frighteningly, some candidates for governor — Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a Democrat — have argued for playing ball with Trump and trading in independence for a “normal relationship” with the U.S. regime.
That’s nuts. Surrendering independence would be suicidal, because independence is California’s best survival mechanism. It would also be bad for Americans — since California’s independence is a buffer against U.S. government volatility.
When the federal government shuts down because of partisan gridlock, California’s government continues to function. When the president starts a war and spikes gas prices, California’s renewable energy investments provide essential alternatives. When Trump issues destructive economic orders on taxes or spending, capital can flow to steady, growing, innovative California.
In short, California’s independence is not a risky gambit. It’s a safety measure, a force for stability, here at home and around the globe.
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America, we are your Western Firewall. You’re welcome.
Now is not the time to pull back. With the U.S. turning against California values — democracy, freedom, trade and free enterprise, diversity, inclusion — now is the moment to become even more independent.
And we are. As Trump dismantles the federal government and its agencies, California has been building replacement infrastructure, especially in public health, environment and science. Much of this is being done in cooperation with other states, including Oregon and Washington.
Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.
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Our next step should be to create replacements for American finance, including our own version of the IRS and the Federal Reserve, to preserve stable, independent banking and tax enforcement. We also need to ramp up our own military and civil defense structures, as stupid wars and Trumpian mismanagement degrade the U.S. military.
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With our finances and defense in order, California can become a fully independent republic — and perhaps the most successful country on Earth.
Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zócalo Public Square.