The irony is that in 2028, a state with the same population as Canada might hold a referendum about leaving America. This trade dispute just might push California over the edge, and I am not talking about earthquakes.
and more recently
https://theharvardpoliticalreview.com/calexit-california-independence/
If America is so out of control and beyond the reach of the Rule of Law and the Constitution that it can elect Trump (recall that he is considered to be potentially a traitor to the Constitution by the Supreme Court), then it is definitely within the realm of possibility that California could separate.
There are benefits to being American?
Only if you are rich, entitled, and non-Hispanic white.
Ironically the richest people in the US have the same life expectancy at the poorest in the UK.
The benefits from being those things have nothing to do with being American.