> analogy is quite misleading, because, in addition to California, there is also Wyoming, with a population of less than <600k

Wyoming has the population of Malta [1][2] but the GDP/capita of the United States and Norway [3][4]. It should be expected we'd have a different optimal solution from California.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming 588,000 in 2024

[2] https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by... 545,000

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territ... $90,000 in 2024

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi...

Sure, but fighting the impulse to solve problems at the Federal level that could/should be solved at the State level doesn’t preclude individual states from building multi-state solutions together.

Scalia was right in saying that the checks and balances slowing things down is a feature, not a bug. The Framers were right about protections against faction. I’m not sure they understood how badly malicious schemers could deliberately manipulate the system. Things just aren’t getting done, and it is killing people.