State Budget Deficits

What you are proposing can only be done by the individual states themselves and by the concent of the people with in those states. It is doubtfull any of them would go for it and I don't know that it would help. You would have a larger revenue pool, but you would also have a larger population it would need to support. Look at larger states like California, they aren't doing any better than the smaller ones like mine. I think what needs to happen is for the federal government to step out of the way, allow the staes the control they once had and stop extracting so much from them. Allow them control over federal land held with in those states. Allow states with revenue producung resources more controll over some of it, Like the states that have oil reserves in areas the federal government has current control over and forbids drilling on. I think also states should start becomming more self sufficient and stop relying on federal programs and funding. Centralization is eroding the ability of the state to support it self.

I get what you're trying to say and you get mega props for creative thinking for this idea...but even if they merged and downsized that way, they'd have the additional problem of seeing if all the laws matched up, the money behind figuring all that out...and having more to look after under basically one size staff...and maybe two leaders instead of one, which could be somewhat problematic -- depending. The odds for success would only be slight. NOW, on the flipside...if my states were to work together and discuss things they could do to benefit eachother perhaps because they recognize that what happens to them could affect those around them (while each doing their individual things to tighten their belts, of course), maybe THAT would help. A little unity never hurt anything, but it needs to be practical.

On theoutside it might sound ok, but what about your state? I think states just need to tighten the belt. Government has gotten way too big.

I honestly don't think that would change anything. I also think it borders on impossible because it would require that the states involved would actually have to agree to it and that would mean politicians acknowledging that some of them would be unemployed after the merge. Those New England states may be small in area, but they are large in population. State lines are drawn based on both area and population. Alaska for example could be cut up into about 15 to 20 states, but the population is so low that such an act would be pointless. Either way I agree with Xfahctor's point that California is quite large and their budget situation is horrible. Michigan is significantly smaller, yet their economy blows as well. I don't think redrawing state lines would help anything.