Venture capitalist proposes California 2.0, a plan for six new states

IDG News Service - A prominent venture capitalist proposed on Monday a plan to split California into six new states, including one called "Silicon Valley" that would stretch from San Francisco to San Jose and include the entire region where many of the biggest tech companies have their headquarters. Tim Draper presents his plan to break California into six states at a Silicon Valley news conference on Monday. The plan by Tim Draper, who was an early backer of Skype, Baidu and Hotmail, faces multiple hurdles and would require significant support from among the state's 38 million  residents, and from the rest of the country if it makes it any further. He hopes to put the idea plan on the November 2014 ballot, which would require about half a million signatures. On the face of it, the chances of it being realized are low. But Draper said splitting California would bring real benefits. "Something's not working in our state, and I'm convinced that it is with the existing system, the existing breadth of industry and varying interests. California is untenable and un-governable," Draper told a sparsely attended news conference at the Silicon Valley school for entrepreneurship that he created and that bears his name. There were about 20 people in the room, although only six appeared to be reporters. "I'm convinced that the best path for Californians is to create six new states that are unencumbered by trying to balance the interests of people who have very divergent goals and aspirations," he said. Draper said he believes the interests of the tech industry in Silicon Valley, the defense and entertainment industries in and around Los Angeles, the farms of the state's Central Valley, and a growing medical devices business in the south of the state are best served by local governments. For Silicon Valley, he said tech companies would benefit from a state government that was more "tech savvy." When pressed on that assertion, Draper offered regulations covering the tech industry as an example. "Whenever I try to talk to people in [California state capital] Sacramento, they are not really in touch with what we are trying to accomplish in Silicon Valley," he said. "Here we are working on new communications systems that are always several leaps in front of the bureaucracy. So the bureaucracies are all trying to catch up, and we're not quite sure how we should be governed." His proposal comes at a time of growing discontent in San Francisco and Silicon Valley at the apparent impact of the tech industry. The massive amount of wealth created by companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter has amplified economic disparities in the area and made the local housing market one of the most expensive in the country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .