Texas is one of the few states that could secede without impoverishing itself. The others would be fucked.

However, Texas would then find itself at the mercy of a modern problem. i.e. In a global economy only very large nations get any say in what happens in their economy. One the size of Texas would bring in legislation that would make the business community unhappy and the business community would leave until Texas ‘comes to its senses’. Taxes? Environmental standards? Health care? Financial regulation? Texas would get no say at all.

America can make laws that stick. It’s too big a market and labour pool to ignore. Texas? Not so much.