California could REBEL against Obama AND Trump and build its own single payer system, but who will pay for it?

California may develop its own single payer system.

California is a large, wealthy state dominated by Democrats. Its economy, even if a bad year, is among the top ten in the world. The state has Hollywood, Disneyland, tourism, and vast natural resources including oil and agriculture. It grows a quarter to half of the nation's produce. Therefore, California is unique among states, it is prepared to launch its own universal healthcare system.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- California is practically its own country. It's isolated by the Mojave Desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the north and east. It's also large and wealthy, and politically it is exceptionally liberal.

These factors have led some to call for California's secession from the union. While such a move is highly unlikely, there is also a call to build a single-payer healthcare system. The system would be based on Medicare and would cover all Californians.

On Friday, just before the deadline, Ricardo Lara (D), introduced a bill that would implement single payer benefits for all Californians.

Under the proposal, every citizen would pay into a state fund that would compensate healthcare providers when they perform treatment. Previous versions of the idea have taxed workers 4 percent of their paycheck and employers 7 percent of their payroll.

Bills have been passed in California before, both in 2006 and 2008 but they were vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger, a Republican. Now that California has a Democrat for a governor, the odds of passage are much better.

It remains to be seen what Trump's Obamacare replacement will look like, or if his administration will even attempt to repeal Obamacare. Trump promised to repeal Obamacare as part of this election platform. He has also pledged no repeal without replacement, but it remains a mystery what the replacement would entail.

While Americans have balked at Obamacare, they like several of its provisions including the fact that insurers cannot deny patients most coverage or care.

Still, the proposal in California may be expensive. Some have predicted shortfalls of up to $40 billion in the first year of a state-run single payer system.

There are other proposals, including a public option that people can choose instead of private insurance. That public option could be subsidized by the state and would cover illegal immigrants, who cannot get health insurance under the federal law.

Of course, the question of who will pay for all of these free and low-cost benefits eludes all description. Americans are unaccustomed to paying the taxes that are typical in socialist countries. Americans balk when sales tax goes up by a percent. In some countries, the cost of free healthcare and generous welfare benefits is high taxes which can sometimes exceed fifty percent.

Californians seem to want universal health care. But it's doubtful they want the price.