The first thing I want to make clear is that I am not, nor have I ever been, a resident of California. I would not want to live there, even were it not plagued by natural and man-made disaster. Being from Maine, California moves too quickly for my humble tastes.

Just the same, I am startled by the fact that there are actually politicians in this country suggesting that California should not receive aid from the federal government to pay for the estimated $250 billion in damage caused by the LA fires.

California contributes $83 billion more to the federal government than it receives in benefits. New York, the state that contributes the second most, contributes $180 billion less than California.

California’s economy is the fifth largest in the world, outshone only by the U.S., China, Germany and Japan. In fact, its per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) is greater than that of any country, which must surprise Republicans, given that it is the state with the most immigrants, as well as the highest percentage of immigrants. Its contribution comprises 14% of the total U.S. GNP, five percentage points ahead of Texas, its closest rival.

President Donald J. Trump has been suggesting that there should be conditions on federal aid to California for the recent fires; however, being a many-headed hydra, his cronies in Congress have been spreading his gospel. Clearly if the U.S. does not help pay for this catastrophe, everyone in the country will pay more in insurance bills, not only for homes, but for cars and everything else that is insurable.

The fact is, insurance companies do not suffer losses gladly. In effect, added insurance costs would be a tax on us all, and we all know how the Republicans hate taxes.

Come to think of it, tax day is fast approaching. I wonder what the U.S. government would do if all Californians — or more likely, if the residents of Los Angeles County — were to set up an escrow account into which they deposited their federal income taxes.

The GDP of Los Angeles County alone is higher than that of 31 states. In 2021, the most recent records I could find, individual taxpayers from LA County paid $80.1 billion in federal income taxes. Not only was it more than any other county in the U.S., it was 4% of all federal income taxes, a higher percentage than was paid by all but 15 states. Setting up an escrow account of that sort would enable the residents of LA County to pay for the damage in a little over three years, and they could do it on their own.

The fact is, the U.S. needs California more than California needs the U.S. On its own, it would do just fine. More than any other state, it is the engine that drives the U.S. economy. No state, large or small, Republican or Democrat, has ever been forced to accept conditions for receiving federal disaster aid for its citizens. If California were to accept that sort of treatment, it would create a new set of conditions that every state experiencing a disaster would have to meet. Or more likely, every state from the party that is not in power.

But there is hope for a bailout. Elon Musk is now at the helm of DOGE. With an intellect like his, I suspect he could easily carve away enough fat from the federal government’s budget to pay for some of the damage.

And even if that proved to be a mere $80 billion, it would be helpful. After all, since Election Day, Musk has earned $170 billion. For him, that’s mere cigarette money. If he were to chip that in, LA County would be sitting pretty. He wants to be the first man to die on Mars. I support that decision 100%. But he can’t take all of that money to the Red Planet. Where would he spend it?