r/politics • u/sweatycat New York • 19h ago

California to Negotiate Trade With Other Countries to Bypass Trump Tariffs

https://www.newsweek.com/california-newsom-trade-trump-tariffs-2055414
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u/Hephaistos_Invictus 19h ago

as much as the top 5 gdp's in the world

Wtf... I did not expect this to be true. That's mind boggling

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u/merikariu Texas 18h ago edited 6h ago

Yeah, ppl in Texas have bumper stickers that say "Don't California My Texas." But the CA's economy is much stronger, has better healthcare and labor protections, and weed is legal!

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u/carnutes787 15h ago

has better healthcare and labor [than texas]

that is an extremely low bar to the point of being nearly meaningless :( healthcare and labor conditions in CA are pretty poor and lightyears away from places like france

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u/ArkamaZero 15h ago

It's still hamstrung by being part of the US.

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u/carnutes787 15h ago

sure, but california has a higher GDP than france and about 15 million less people. but still we have an enormous 10% adult population with no healthcare access. whereas every french gets healthcare by virtue of being a citizen. we can blame it on whatever but the reality is still the reality

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u/ak1knight 10h ago

California is a bit hamstrung with taxation compared to a sovereign nation because of federal taxes. If all taxes paid by Californians went to the state they could do a lot more with social programs (and they already do a lot compared to most states). That isn't to say that California politics are totally progressive either of course, but no matter what they are limited.

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u/ArkamaZero 14h ago

Not excusing it. Just pointing out that California doesn't dictate the prices.

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u/carnutes787 14h ago

yes... the state does set prices and accessibility for Medi-Cal.

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u/ak1knight 10h ago

Federal money is the primary funding source for Medicaid/Medi-cal so there's really only so much they could do.

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u/carnutes787 10h ago

it's about 50-50 state/federal contributions, but that's really beside the point. single-payer propositions have been failing in california legislation for about two decades now. despite us being disgustingly wealthy. blaming washington for our failures is ridiculous

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u/Fun_University_8380 8h ago

Crazy the legal weed is still a selling point anywhere at all in 2025

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u/brotkel 6h ago

And they pay less in taxes. 

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u/XXendra56 12h ago

Texas has more registered firearms California has more registered fighter planes lol 

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u/CostRains 12h ago

Texas also has a higher murder rate, whether they believe it or not.

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u/YouBlinkinSootLicker 15h ago

California is a playground for the rich, and retired. Your homeless are innumerable!

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u/Echo-canceller 2h ago

6th state per capita but it's pretty normal. Homeless people are always around economic centers with a strong third sector.

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u/DOG_DICK__ 17h ago

Shitload of people, the center of west coast shipping, agriculture, tech, hollywood. I mean the list goes on. The only reason I didn't move to California is the high cost of living.

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u/diamondpredator 17h ago

There are lower cost of living areas away from the metropolitan hubs but yea cost of living anywhere close to a city is pretty high lol.

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u/morethanjustanalien 17h ago

If people in red states could read, this would greatly change their opinions on California politics.

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u/qtx extra butter 18h ago

I mean is it? Americans always like to compare their states to countries. So this is what it looks like it it were actually true.

Each state is basically a country. Some have good economies, some bad.

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u/Lower_Monk6577 16h ago

Yes, it’s honestly probably more useful to think of the US as less of a country and more of 50 semi-independent states who share an overarching governing body.

The US being a single country makes about as much sense as Europe being a single country, minus the language barrier. People in New York have very little in common with people from Arkansas. And quite frankly, a lot of us in the more liberal/progressive states are becoming quite fed up with those people controlling our government, since the concentration of population in cities and certain states means very little with the way our Congress is set up. Landmass has more to do with voting power than citizenship.

It’s one of the main reason why our politics are so polarized. Farmers in North Dakota have more voting power than a city dweller in literally any other state.

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u/Hephaistos_Invictus 16h ago

Well yeah, that I know. It's like if Europe became one country with vast differences as well. But I just never really thought about it because I always think of the US as one country

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u/JinFuu 18h ago

GDP Wise for our top 5 states

California = India

Texas = Italy

New York = Brazil

Florida = Mexico

Illinois = Saudi Arabia

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u/Tricky_Topic_5714 13h ago

LA county on it's own has a higher population than like 40 states. 

It's hard to overstate how big California is.

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u/CheetaLover 16h ago

Trump would still have higher GDP than Putin so maybe he thinks it’s OK.