The Balkanization of America (27 page)

With no information available, people in the city start leaving their apartments looking for food and water. Some collect the snow to drink; tens of thousands break into grocery stores and restaurants looking for food. Fighting breaks out between any who have and those without. Within an hour, fires are burning out of control. In some areas, entire blocks are burning. The fire department can’t get to the fires because the sanitation department who clear the streets went on strike until the electricity gets turned back on. A hundred people start out at Times Square marching to Gracie Mansion. The crowd grows to thousands as others join the protest demanding the mayor get the power turned back on. The streets haven’t been plowed; the snow is still falling. At 3 PM over twenty thousand people reach the Mayor’s home. Gracie Mansion has power supplied from an emergency generator. The protesters become enraged seeing the Mayor has the power while they don’t. The newly elected mayor, an avowed communist, welcomes his people to the “people’s house” Gracie Mansion is sometimes called New York’s white house. The mayor assumes the people are coming as part of the New Year’s celebration. His Happy New Year from “his people” is a brick hitting him in the chest. Hundreds of bricks crash through the mansion’s windows, the mob swarms into the mansion, looting all of the food and liquor. They destroy the mansion and burn the 200-year-old house to the ground. The mayor’s people don’t appreciate “some animals being more equal” than others. The mob chants, “We want power!”

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President Brownstone calls a meeting with his key advisors and their staffers, he decides to hold it in the situation room which is larger than the Oval Office or the executive conference room. The situation room walls are covered in high definition monitors. The President opens the meeting saying, “I’m sorry to drag everyone over here on New Years. However, we have a situation brewing that has all the makings of blowing up. President Obsma hasn’t been seen since midnight; New York City is still dark. No one seems to know what caused the blackout. If you’ve not heard, crowds in New York City just attacked their mayor and burned Gracie Mansion to its foundation. There are hundreds of thousands abandoned on various freeways, As the President speaks; the monitors that ring the room display images of Gracie Mansion burning, mobs of people breaking into looting stores, streets of burning buildings.

Vice President Cruize looks around the room, he asks the staff to draw the borders on the maps, he and the others study the images. He turns to the President saying, “Mr. President, I’m sorry, but I fail to see our problem here. If we turn our attention to the maps, almost all of these disasters are in the LSA. The DFW area is covered in ice. However, they’re used to it, they get one- or two ice storms a year. No big thing, they’ll stay home with their families for a couple of days. We might see an uptick in births nine months from now, which is all I think the impact is going to be.”

Steve Forbas looks at the President and Vice President, “While these disasters may be located in the LSA, if they happened anywhere else in the world we would be the first ones on the scene providing support. I suggest we contact Mr. Reid and offer our support. The LSA doesn’t have much of a military; most of them came over to our side, as did many of their first responders, they are going to need help. These people were our neighbors and our citizens a few weeks ago, are we going to let a line on the map stop us?”

Randy Paul, addresses the group, I tend to agree with Steve. However, I do think we should get the LSA’s approval before we cross the border. Otherwise, Reid and Polsi will claim we invaded them.”

The military aide thinks no one can hear him when he whispers, “So what, they couldn’t stop us anyway.”

President Brownstone responds, “Major, I heard you and even if you’re correct, that’s not the way we’re going to act. If they don’t want us to provide help, they’ll tell us. Randy, you know Reid well, why don’t you give him a call. I’m not sure he’d appreciate or accept a call coming from me.”

“Mr. President, I’d be happy to.” Randy Paul, looks up Red’s private cell number on his smartphone, dialling, he says, I’ll put him on, Speaker.

On the fourth ring, Harold Reid answers, “Paul, are you calling to wish me a Happy New Year or to gloat because we can’t locate President Obsma?”

“Harold, neither, I have you on speaker, I’m in the White House situation room with the President. We know the LSA has been hit pretty hard by Mother Nature, is there anything we can do? We can have support people in New York City checking the power plants within thirty minutes; we can have FEMA in the city very quickly with food and water. We can also rescue those stuck on Interstate 5 between Portland and Seattle.”

“Randy, that’s so nice of you. Why if you hadn’t voted against my Global Warming bills we wouldn’t be in the situation we are today. You have to agree that this winter’s strange weather is caused by Global Warming. I’d say yes, please do provide all the help you can, and while you’re at it, the LSA would like President Brownstone to go on national TV and announce he’ll support the
Kyoto Protocol. Mr. President, if you really cared about al of the world’s people you’d stop fracking, vs. increasing your fracking, if you really cared about the world’s people, you’d pass laws like I tried to do when I was the Senate leader to reduce the country’s dependence on oil. Randy, you and that phony President don’t care about people. You called and offered us aid as a PR stunt. I’m the acting President of the LSA, and I’m telling you if you cross our borders, you’ll be invading a
sovereign
nation. I will declare war on the US.”

Ted Cruize can’t control himself, “Mr. Acting President, you and what army is going to declare war on us?”

“Ah, Mr. Cruize I knew you’d be hiding there someplace. I’ll have you know that tomorrow I’m going to announce the LSA has signed mutual defense treaties with Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia and Argentina. Invading the LSA is the same as attacking any or all of our new friends.”

President Brownstone stands staring at the monitors, “Mr. Acting President, your people, are suffering, you are going to lose thousands who can be saved, don’t you think we should put their needs first?”

“President Brownstone, cross our border and be attacked by our friends. I should also inform you that Russia has armed Cuba and Venezuela with medium-range ballistic missiles.”

Acting President Reid hangs up the phone.

President of Brownstone looks around the room, “Well that didn’t go very well. Get John over here, I’d like to know why we’re hearing about missiles from Reid and not from our intelligence services.”

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Violence grows across both the LSA and the USA; people both pro and con the decision to allow America to split aren’t happy. Many thought additional states should have left to join the LSA; some thought no one should have left because the issue of states leaving was settled in the civil war. Police officers do their best to keep a lid on a boiling pot. Billboards and signs appear across the country demanding the reunification of the country. A few talk show hosts ask what’s going on in New York City. Many ask why the USA isn’t doing more to help their friends and family across the border.

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Acting President Reid asks Nanny what she thought of the call. “Harold, we both know the US is going to save our people no matter what. We’ll get the free assistance and also get to blame them for invading. It's win-win for us and a lose-lose for them. They’re such do-gooders they can’t stand to see people suffer. What did cause the blackout?”

“Nanny, I really don’t know. One moment hands of the clock reached midnight, the ball dropped down the pole announcing the new year when in the next moment the lights went out, and all hell broke lose. I can’t get a call through to the Mayor. Governor Cuma has gone missing ever since the mid state voted to stay in the USA. I’ve tried calling everyone I know to find out what happened, I can’t find anyone who has any idea.”

“What are we going to do? We have to restore power before the city explodes. If the city explodes, it’s going to flow into our other states in the area. If we don’t figure out what caused it how will we avoid it happening in LA or anywhere else? Can you image if the lights went out in Chicago and then other cities? We’d be voted out of office.”

Laughing Reid replies, “Nanny, we can’t be voted out of office. We never announced dates or how we’d hold elections. I’m more concerned about the loss of the tax revenue. The expansion of the social programs Obsma announced kicked off on New Years is going to cost us more than we have in the treasury. If many people are injured, our healthcare cost is going to go through the roof.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Why Nanny I thought you’d never ask. I’m sending you to New York City to see if you can find our long lost leader, don’t look too close and get the power turned back on. I’m going to make a national announcement as soon as you’re plane is wheels up.”

“Harold, what do I know about turning the power on? All I know is you flip the switch.”

“Nanny, start there.”

Chapter 26

Even with President Obsma missing, the work of the LSA government continues. On January 4
th,
the LSA announces a new income tax structure with a top personal rate of 75% on all income over $1 million a year. Acting President Reid announces, “Why does anyone need more than $1 million a year? People have to pay their fair share in order to equalize income. It’s the fair thing to do. The LSA has to start now preparing for our children’s children future.”

People in the LSA are initially overjoyed, the LSA provides free health care, a guaranteed minimum income, free preschool and free upper education. Weekly working hours are capped at 35 hours a week. Any work over 35 hours is classified as overtime, even for those paid salaries. Overtime is paid at two times their base pay. LSA national law mandates every worker is entitled to four weeks of vacation a year so they can “recharge,” returning to their jobs fresh with new vigor.  People are happy to have more time off, and more take-home pay in their pocket. A small issue that most havened seen yet is these policies have caused prices to increase quicker than the new pay scales.

Other rules in the LSA don’t go over as well with most of the population, for example, no oil drilling or fracking is allowed on LSA land. The cost of a gallon is gasoline has increased to $20.00 a gallon. Natural gas prices triple, all of it has to be imported from the USA. The LSA government imposes a 15% fuel usage tax on all new gasoline powered cars. The government takes over run-down real estate that is rebuilt at taxpayer expense and given to the homeless. The best-laid plans always fall apart, the homeless end up destroying the free homes within months. Trash piles up, toilets overflow and broken windows aren’t repaired. Local real estate values jump when the run down locations are rebuilt; they quickly reverse and crash when the homeless destroys the free homes. Neighbors are upset watching their home values crash.

Healthcare, while free is also subpar. Anyone over the age of 55 in the LSA learns the amount and type of care provided is reduced every year. Within 30 says of reaching their 55
th
birthday every person in the LSA gets a letter explaining the amount and care which will be provided. Each year the amount of covered care is reduced. In order to provide the best coverage for the most-productive people in the LSA, those over 55 aren’t even allowed to pay for increased care, the thought being even if seniors paid for their health care they would take resources away from the young. Doctors in the LSA are paid a yearly salary equal to five times the minimum wage. They have no incentive to build a practice or see additional patients. It typically takes five weeks advance notice to see a doctor, and even then most people only get to see a nurse practitioner, only if the NP thinks a doctor visit is required is an appointment set, which takes another 4~5 weeks. Appointments with specialists require two doctors to approve the visit, plus a six-month waiting period, all done to manage the rising cost of the LSAs health care.

By the time most get to see a specialist their condition has advanced to the point where they are moved into a hospice. Many drugs aren’t covered under the LSA health care program. Many doctors refuse to operate under these conditions; they pack up and leave the LSA. Everything is done so that the political leaders can claim to have provided free healthcare without increasing healthcare costs. The elite in the LSA travel to the USA for critical health care; everyone else is left with the subpar system that’s worse than it was before the LSA split away from the USA.

The LSA is proudest of its education system. Children enter the educational programs at five years old and exit at 22. In between, they spend five days a week, (except for vacations) at one of the government-run schools. Homeschooling, private and charter schools are outlawed because they’re not available to everyone.