President Barack Hussein Obama is not the first president to be faced with secession. The most famous secession that resulted in the Civil War was, first and foremost, about economics. Today we are witnessing the same reason cited for the various secession petitions -- economics. Derrick Belcher, who started the Alabama secession petition, said, "It's economics -- just that simple."

Many (such as Daily Kos readers) will want to dismiss Belcher as a racist crackpot, but consider all the company he has. There are currently 50 petitions, one from each state, that have been registered at U.S. Government's petition site. And over 675,000 people have signed the various petitions.

While the MSM has prominently reported on what is happening, it has thus far failed to address why the secession petitions have become so numerous and popular.

The first part of the why can be found in the American Declaration of Independence:

"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." "...Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and institute new Government..." [emphasis mine]

The second part of the why can be found in various actions that Obama, his administration, and Democrats have and continue to initiate. Below are just two of the many actions Obama, et al, have initiated:

• Broke States: California and Illinois (and other states) are in deep financial trouble.

• California: The eighth largest economy in the world is in dire shape, and its financial condition may affect the entire U.S. economy. Simply put, "California can't pay its bills." The state's debt is over $16 billion. What was the public's response? On Tuesday, November 6, 2012, California voters approved Proposition 30 ("temporarily" increasing the state sales tax and income tax on individuals making over $250,000), while rejecting Proposition 31 (allow the governor to cut the budget in fiscal emergencies) and Proposition 32 (prevent unions from making campaign donations via members dues). They also elected a liberal super-majority, insuring no spending reform. The California economy will collapse. Will a federal government bailout follow the collapse? Is California "too big" to fail?

• Illinois: State Rep. John Bradley (a Democrat, no less) said, "As we fight to keep facilities open and we fight to fund the pension systems, the state is at the point where any and all additional financial pressures have to be looked at very seriously. There is not a magic pot of money that can be found to pay for all the things we want." But regarding the "magic pot of money," Rep. Bradley may be wrong. The Illinois state public pension fund has unfunded liabilities of over $200 billion and a state budget deficit of $44 billion. What is Illinois governor Pat Quinn's response? He has asked for a bailout of the pension fund from the federal government!

• Welfare Increase: Despite over $15 trillion spent since 1964 on welfare, the U.S. "poverty" rate has hardly changed. As Michael Tanner reported:

"We should focus less on making poverty more comfortable and more on creating the prosperity that will get people out of poverty."

And what has Obama done? Three specific actions: (1) increased welfare rolls; (2) increased welfare spending by 19 percent; and (3) gutted Clinton's work requirement in order to receive welfare.

It is true that none of these secession petitions have any official backing. It is also true that no actual secession will result from them -- for now. But the fact that 50 secession petitions have been offered speaks volumes. Many again may want to dismiss them, but they are there, and a growing number of working Americans are getting quite tired of paying for a social safety net that former Texas senator Phil Gramm said has become a hammock. (bottom of page 132)

Yes, Democrats, via Obama, bought enough votes to win the 2012 election. There is just one problem with the vote buying scenario: sooner or later the bill for all the vote buying will come due. The secession petitions are just the first manifestations of the bill coming due, and people who favor secession don't want to pay for the profligate and unnecessary spending of others when the bill is sent.

Dr. Beatty earned a Ph.D. in quantitative management and statistics from Florida State University. He was a (very conservative) professor of quantitative management specializing in using statistics to assist/support decision-making. He has been a consultant to many small businesses and is now retired. Dr. Beatty is a veteran who served in the U.S. Army for 22 years. He blogs at rwno.limewebs.com.