Some of the elite are on a quest to create two, three, many Californias. At least that’s at the heart of a proposal sponsored by billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper to abolish California and replace it with six smaller states. Draper claims this breakup would reduce waste and inefficiency. Barring any procedural or legal challenges that may come its way, the proposal will appear on the ballot in California in 2016.

Six Californias has steadily attracted media attention that mixes bemusement with amusement. Stephen Colbert, whose celebrity is founded on his liberal fans’ enthusiasm for chortling at conservatism, recently lampooned the proposal before confronting Draper in front of his studio audience.

It’s easy to mock someone like Draper, but any laughter aimed at Six Californias is ultimately misplaced. In reality, Americans have been living under a variant of Draper plan’s for over two centuries: a federal system that distributes political power between a national government and regional governments claiming the status of “states.”