this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2024
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The Tech Billionaires Soft-Launching Secession in California — If these Silicon Valley plutocrats have their way, a swath of Solano County will be transformed into their own nation-state (newrepublic.com)
submitted 8 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
17 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

The Tech Billionaires Soft-Launching Secession in California — If these Silicon Valley plutocrats have their way, a swath of Solano County will be transformed into their own nation-state::If these Silicon Valley plutocrats have their way, a swath of Solano County will be transformed into their own nation-state.

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[–] Arete@lemmy.world 79 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Buying land in rural California to potentially incorporate a new town is not remotely comparable to seceding from the United States.

Some fun absurdities:

  • The article repeatedly refers to the plan as "secretive" while also discussing "packed town hall meetings", official statements, lawsuits, etc
  • there is a link to a supposed lawsuit, which actually links to an obituary.
  • the term "network zone" is defined as some kind of physical dystopian neighborhood with a billionaire ruling as king, but the linked definition describes the term as having to do with online forums.
  • the article defines secession as "paying people in gold or crypto" and attending private school.

It's a wild ride.

[–] LWD@lemm.ee 21 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Company towns are nothing if not the most American thing a businessman can do!

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's hardly American, company towns they were all the rage in Victorian England, and many of them still exist today. The problem is when they tried to pay you in company scrip. This has now been outlawed so now so it's not really a problem.

[–] LWD@lemm.ee 10 points 8 months ago

Stealing ideas from England is the second most American thing you can do

[–] SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world 26 points 8 months ago

Sounds a lot like another one of those A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear kind of situations that never work out, but now with more money.

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

See also:

  • Republic of Minerva (failed due to territory actually being claimed by Tonga)
  • Liberland (failing due to territory clearly belonging to someone and both countries agree to that fact)
  • Bir Tawil (failed due to it being inhospitable)
  • Rapture (fictitious but failed when its founder betrayed its principles to save it)
  • and Seasteading (Failed when Peter fucking Thiel knew it was too expensive)
[–] vulgarcynic@sh.itjust.works 4 points 8 months ago

Thumbs up for Rapture.

[–] Darkard@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago

Lol, which billionaire didn't get invited to the party and is so bitter about it they will pay for stupid articles?

I bet it was musk. Someone send him a xitter message and rile him up

[–] Sgt_choke_n_stroke@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago

"Democracy isn't the answer"

Just translates to: I can't work in group projects and receive full credit, so I'm going to come up with a half ass solution that history shows won't work.

[–] Shan@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

The media blitz is going to be insane for those poor people.

[–] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 6 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

The plus side is that they dumped ridiculous amounts of money into buying out all the land. Like 10x and more of the actual value. At least some family farmers got a big payday.

These fucks should set up Wyoming or South Dakota. Low taxes, would actually bring value to the state, and they could probally flip the state to blue just with their own selves. Likely take too long to helicopter back to the valley though, so the billionares just totally had to set this up in California.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 9 points 8 months ago (1 children)

No one from California wants to live in Wyoming or South Dakota. They’re willing to pay more.

[–] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

Ohh yeah i get it, but at least that would be interesting. These fucks are just setting up a play city for billionaires where they own everything from the water to the sky in some byzantine "vertically integrated ownership of a human life" bullshit.

Tge least they could do was make a tech mecha in Oklahoma, dump some money into rural states. Just get weird with it out in the wind blown plains, but nah.

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 2 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

They would never do that in the Midwest or the South because, as much as they lobby for it, nobody wants to work in these regions due to:

  • Lower pay
  • Legislation making it impossible to get aid for abortion, affordable broadband, and healthcare, which leads into...
  • Incredibly poor cultural fit, which leads into...
  • Inability to poach or recruit to the region, which leads into...
  • Challenges executing corporate vision

If they could, they would have already.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago

The weather is shit in the Midwest, and as the climate gets worse, the Midwest is going to be wrecked with those northern winds. The western coast largely avoids those winds because of several mountain ranges and the ocean, keeping it from freezing over.

[–] echodot@feddit.uk 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why would they pay to live somewhere that's inconvenient, no one would want to live somewhere inconvenient this isn't a billionaire thing, it's just a human thing. I don't get why you're mad that they don't want to live in Wyoming. Who does?

[–] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Im not mad, I just think it would be more intersting as a billionare to build a tech hub in a deeply rural state than 60 miles north of Frisco'. The dynamics and impact it would have to one of these deeply rural states would be fascinating.

Setting up a vacation city a quick helicopters ride from your san fran penthouse is pretty mundane. If you want to do something stupid with your ill gotten gains, at least be interesting.