What if Long Island was it's own state? Let's make the change! I believe Long Island can, and should be it's own state for many reasons and here's a few.    In 2014, the population of Long Island was recorded at 7.75 MILLION. I've done a little research, and I learned that Long Island is the most populated island in The United States of America. Not only that, if Long Island was it's own state, it would be the 13th most populated state in this country. So look at it like this....We have more than enough people, so that means we have more than enough money to live on our own, as our own. According to Newsday, there are 28 different towns on Long Island alone, that are among the most expensive places to be in the entire COUNTRY. When people ask me where I'm from, I don't even say New York, I say LONG ISLAND!    It definitely would be beneficial to Long Island economically. Long Island sends the State of New York about $8 billion in taxes yearly, but only receives about $5 billion back. So what does that mean for Long Island? It means we're taking a loss. Maybe Long Island is so expensive because New York as a state is very expensive. If you think about it, Long Island is doing more for the State of New York than the State of New York is doing for Long Island.  Next, take a look at the state of Rhode Island. Most of the time I even forget Rhode Island exists in this country! Last year (2014), the population in Rhode Island was said to be a little over 1 million. Why isn't Rhode Island connected to Connecticut or Massachusetts? Why is it that, Long Island has to be connected to the state of New York, and we have more people living here than most of the states in this country?    Also, Long Island is a very legendary & historical place. We have so many celebrities who were either born here, or raised here! Just to name a few artists, we have Ashanti (Glen Cove), Mariah Carey (Huntington), LL Cool J (Bayshore), Method Man (Hempstead), Rakim (Wyandanch), Busta Rhymes (Uniondale), EPMD (Brentwood), Flavor Flav (Freeport).....Even Eddie & Charlie Murphy are from LONG ISLAND (Roosevelt)...you guys get the point. Here's a list of all the celebrities born/raised on Long Island.    We can make a difference in this world, if we were our own entity. We don't need to be a part of another state. Why? Because we are LONG ISLAND.