Should the USA split apart like the USSR did?

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I'm starting to think that maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea. Nothing really unites Americans together anymore other than the illusion that the government has force fed us that we are the greatest nation in the world and a country of "freedom". That same illusion being shattered and exposed for what it actually is in my opinion is why we are now having the longest riots and protests in our nation's history.

Maybe it's time for the states to get a divorce? I mean if we can't even rely on our president to lead us out of the worst pandemic in history when he leaves it all up to each individual state governments to handle the crisis (and some of them have done terribly like Florida and Georgia), or when you consider that this is the worst economic disaster in a long time rivaling that of The Great Depression, then why do we even rely on such a useless Federal Government?

I'm starting to think splitting the USA up without another damn civil war like over a century and a half ago might be the best thing for us. What are your thoughts?

Also just another thought. Maybe splitting the states up and allowing the right and left to keep to their own blue and red states will keep them from trying to force their own ideals on each other? I think part of the problem with the USA today is that both Republicans and Democrats have been trying to force their beliefs on each other.

One problem with that is the blue states would be split apart with one half on the West Coast and the other half in the Northeast. I think a better solution would be to give individual states more power and freedom. For example, we could take the federal government out of education, health care, and welfare. Lower federal taxes and let each state decide whether to tax their residents to support the health care and welfare they want their state government to provide.

Sounds like a better idea to me.

Somehow I doubt it will happen though, at least not without a fight. The Federal Government would not let those who wanted to leave the country go before, so why would they now? Especially when the USA is the most powerful country in the world.

Well, it would be interesting to see what would happen to the 165,000 US soldiers and 800 US bases abroad if the US was no longer there.

I'm literally not sure that's true any more... China surpassed the US as the world's largest economy in 2016 (according to purchasing power), and it is rebounding from the coronavirus much faster than the US...

... And given the current political instability of the US, I find it plausible that China might already be the most powerful country in the world.

How about in-between option. Instead of splitting into 50 states, maybe US should split into just "two" countries: one consisting of mostly blue states and the other consisting of mostly red states. I think both sides will benefit from this.

Its not worst in history. Spanish flu a century ago was much worse than this. And the black plagues in middle ages were even worse.

OK so it's the third worst...

Well, there were multiple plagues in middle ages and earlier.

You're probably right. :/

I have been hearing about this since Trump went into office and we are all still part of the US. Honestly I don't think it would be a bad idea. But just imagine how much change it would cause. New license plates, new address for everyone because of new country listed, needing birth certificates so you can enter another country that used to be part of the same country or maybe not because we didn't need anything when my mom and I entered Scotland from England. We didn't even need to go through customs. So it could be the same here too. I imagine blue and red would split and become their own countries. I feel we have splitted anyway.

Plus I guess there's the potential for states that were once allies under the same government to turn against each other in a war. That's honestly the only thing that would worry me about this idea, but maybe the separate states would at least be able to keep peaceful relations for a long time?

Well, as the OP has said, it happened before -- with the collapse of Soviet Union -- and somehow those issues were handled. So -- whatever it is they did to handle those issues -- the US can borrow those techniques from them.

It won't happen because the blue states want to shove their ideology down the throats of everyone else who is opposed to it.

So do red states, and it was YOUR president who was threatening a civil war on twitter if he got impeached!

Scotland and England are the same country, the United Kingdom.

However, you don’t need your passport while travelling within either the Common Travel Area (between the U.K. and Ireland) or the Schengen area (between the other 26 EU countries).

Because of attitudes towards immigration in the US, it is unlikely you would replicate this agreement if your states became different countries. Perhaps some states might come to bilateral agreements with their neighbours who had similar wealth and values.

Would suggest that the UK’s departure from the EU is the best model for the sort of fiasco you would have waiting for you.

Other issues:

- Paying for shared infrastructure like interstate highways, railways, power cables, pipes, and reservoirs.
- Paying the pensions of federal employees.
- Trade deals, continued tariff elimination, mutual recognition of standards, etc.
- Establishing your own customs regimes.
- Visas, particularly for work (it is almost impossible to legally migrate to the USA - this would have to change or majors skills gaps would develop).
- Defence - each state would need its own army, Air Force, and navy.
- Intelligence - will every state be willing to share with every other state? Will every state have access to Five Eyes? Nine Eyes? Fourteen Eyes?
- And a whole load of other stuff that the federal government currently does that you take for granted.

The facts say otherwise. Red states have always been big believers in state rights and local government control.