Gov. Schwarzenegger in his second Inaugural Address said, "I call California a nation-state because of the diversity of our people, the power of our economy and the reach of our dream. Ladies and gentlemen, my dream is that California, the nation-state, the harmonious state, the prosperous state, the cutting-edge state, becomes a model, not just for the 21st century American society, but for the larger world."

Let's explore Gov. Schwarzenegger's dream for California as a nation-state and the implications for us Californians.

Our gross state product of $1.62 trillion ranks us as the seventh largest country worldwide, and constitutes 17% of the United States gross domestic product. Our manufacturers export $95 billion of products. Our fertile agricultural fields generate $35 billion in produce sales. Tourists bring us another $35 billion in revenue. Hollywood's $47 billion dollar movie industry is the icing on our cake.

Our 36 million people have this enormous cornucopia of wealth while we are rich in cultural diversity and dynamic creativity, which does makes us an economic powerhouse beholden to none.

On the other hand, our "fair share" of the national budget between personal and corporate taxes is $300 billion. If we could keep this $300 billion, the economic impact on our manufacturing and agricultural industries would be phenomenal. Furthermore, the billions in venture capital made available for creative entrepreneurs would spawn new industries and create employment.

If our state were to be released from Congressional laws, rules, and regulations and the imposed federal red-tape ridden administrative bureaucracy, we could breathe free. We could do what was best for us—not what Washington dictated for us.

We would be freed from paying for wars of aggression on foreign soil with our taxes and the lives of our young men and women. We wouldn't see our taxes lent by Washington in foreign aid—with much of those aid funds disappearing into private Swiss bank accounts or shaky economic projects.

We could become the leader in enlightened education without the mandates of the Department of Education and its various attempts to force questionable educational programs on our children. These mandated education programs rob our leaders of tomorrow of the knowledge foundation necessary to be able to build a better California for our future generations.

We approved Proposition 215 allowing personal possession of marijuana for medical reasons with a doctor's prescription. Washington still classifies marijuana as a controlled substance. As a result, the Drug Enforcement Agency constantly raids our state-approved medical marijuana dispensaries.

Worse, the War on Drugs skews our law enforcement priorities. Last year, this resulted in 160,000 misdemeanor drug offense and marijuana possession arrests against 125,000 arrests for homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Our California nation-state law enforcement would shift its priorities to pursuing dangerous felons, not pot smokers.

Medicare, Medicaid, and the HMO Act of 1970 caused the costs of medical care to skyrocket. Today a third of health care costs go to administrative red tape and paper processing without any benefit to the patient—just pay for insurance bureaucrats. California without these administrative costs would have less expensive patient medical care.

If California were a nation-state, our personal income and payroll taxes sent to Washington would cease. Our average personal income is $35,000. On this we pay $10,000 a year in federal income and payroll taxes. Think about what keeping this $10,000 for your personal use would be like.

If only Gov. Schwarzenegger's dream of a 21st century world-class model nation-state and economic dynamo could happen. Then self-directed people from around the world, attracted by the opportunities in the Golden Bear nation-state, would flock to California. They would bring their vibrant visions and energetic strength to further build our thriving nation-state of California.

Yes, there are huge obstacles in the way of California becoming a nation-state. However, it never hurts to dream and think of ways to make this dream happen. I'm reminded of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said; "I have a dream . . ." We can have our dream as well, of California as a free nation-state.