Should some US states be merged?

It's not likely to happen, but I understand how it might improve some inefficiencies. States such as many in New England and states like Maryland and Delaware are awfully small. The farther West you go, the larger the states tend to be geographically. At a more local level, I would like for it to be easier for cities and metropolitan areas to merge functions and services across current boundaries for the same reasons.

In some of the largest states, there are groups who periodically want to secede from the rest of the state because they believe other parts of the state don't reflect local values. California and Texas seem to always have these groups. (I live in Texas and few years ago a small group in the Texas Panhandle wanted to have the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma joined into a new state with Amarillo as the capital. Didn't like being told what to do by all those big city transplants from outside the state in DFW, Houston, and Austin, blah, blah..) That's not likely to happen either.

How stupid.

Canada is not interested in buying upstate Michigan. If we were to buy any part of the USA, we want Washington State.

In reality the state lines are what they are and they are not going to change.

The BEST way to make government more efficient is to make it less ubiquitous. If the government actually does LESS it will be more efficient. At every level.

Yeah, keep dreaming. You aren't taking my statehood away.

Merging states isn't going to happen either. Most of the people in those states like things the way they are and don't want their votes diluted by people from a neighboring state.

and California wants to split in half

Never! Each has its own proud history

Sure. Get yourself crowned emperor and you can decree it. Otherwise, it's not going to happen. No state government is going to give up power by merging with another state.

It does not matter what we think; the local politicians are going to do whatever it takes to keep their jobs.

Actually Texas had the option of dividing into 5 states but we chose not to; part of the original nation of Texas went to New Mexico and very small parts to Oklahoma and Colorado.