ID gonna have seacoast (Lewiston, Teton: live, cost, moving)

[OneDawg]

Oregon is losing counties faster than a speeding bullet
https://www.opb.org/article/2021/05/...part-of-idaho/

[Mister Torgue]

I dig it. Eastern WA should do the same.

[redguard57]

We'll let you guys have all that fire-prone, welfare ranch territory to take care of. Thanks for drawing the border in such a way that basically off-loads all of Oregon's economically struggling and demographically declining counties onto Idaho. Have fun with the fire seasons!

I love how they carved Bend out. They gave up the one dynamically growing city in the whole region. It also cuts out the Warm Springs reservation. Way to support your indigenous communities, guys.

Oh, the OPB link is dead for some reason. https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/...ue-states.html

[banjomike]

I know that Oregon territory.
The more I think about this, the less sense it makes.

The deal is far too lopsided in favor of the Oregon ranchers and farmers, but only initially, and for a very brief period.
Outside of that very narrow time frame, Idaho's loss would become the Oregon's side's loss, as everyone becomes members of the poorer state. There would be a brief transition period that could present some profit taking, but once that's gone, the added burden would decrease everyone's net worth and raise everyone's net debt load.

Out of necessity, the deal would force Idaho's state government to instantly grow to twice its present size, as all the Oregon public facilities would become Idaho facilities.
They would all demand continual management, and the smaller state has no experience in managing things that are suddenly 2-3 times larger than before.
Mistakes would be made, and Idahoans already know how expensive those mistakes can be. We once elected a state Director of Education that cost us many millions in an experiment that completely flopped.

That would make those Oregon folks extremely unpopular with Idahoans. Idaho needs more good-paying jobs and immigrants who will attract those businesses.

It doesn't need more semi-arid land that can't make a profit, or the few rural people that inhabit it presently.

Nobody wins in this deal, but while everyone loses, Idaho loses the most.

[banjomike]

By the way, OneDawg-

Idaho doesn't need a seacoast.
We already have a functioning seaport. Lewiston is the farthest inland seaport in the west (if not the nation).

I read that linked article. Mike McCarter, the chief petitioner said he expects the move would "be a peaceful revolution."

It would certainly be a revolution, but I think it would be about as peaceful as when Germany annexed Poland.

[TohobitPeak]

Idaho used to be on the Pacific Coast before the land Oregon is on was formed.

BTW, the topic of this thread will never happen.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by TohobitPeak

Idaho used to be on the Pacific Coast before the land Oregon is on was formed.

BTW, the topic of this thread will never happen.

Yup.
Instead of Mother Earth making Idaho her new vacation beach, she chose to build the Tetons instead.
It was one or the other.

To get the Tetons, the Lost River range had to rise about another 7,000 feet to cut the slack for building materials. The White Clouds and the Sawtooths had to gain altitude too.
That's a lot of height the Pacific would need to splash over those mountains, even if California shook itself loose from the rest of the continent.

It's still pretty cool to find a seashell climbing Mt. Borah, way up around 10,000 feet. That was left when Idaho was a seacoast.

The chances for creating Greater Idaho are worse than the possibility I'll be able to go snorkeling for breakfast sea fish out of my back door.
Mother Nature is no idiot. Those Oregonians aren't real smart. If they were smart, they wouldn't want to make Greater Idaho.

Ain't ever gonna happen.

[OneDawg]

Originally Posted by banjomike

By the way, OneDawg-

Idaho doesn't need a seacoast.
We already have a functioning seaport. Lewiston is the farthest inland seaport in the west (if not the nation).
.

You have ocean access. It's not the same as being on the seacoast. Rail delivery is faster than barge.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by OneDawg

You have ocean access. It's not the same as being on the seacoast. Rail delivery is faster than barge.

Did I say it was the same?
Nope. Sure didn't.

Ocean access: seaport.

Rail is faster, barge carries much more cargo.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Oregon can solve their problem, not by leaving the state of Oregon, but by merely moving the Oregon/ Washington border south by a few miles just enough to move Portland into Washington state.


That moves most of the Progressive Angelenos into Washington where they fit better. It leaves a couple of "progressive" cities but they won't have enough votes to overwhelm everyone else in the state and they won't be able to impose their beliefs on people who don't want them by the process of overwhelming numbers of voters.