Wednesday, October 15 12:00 AM ET

US Plans on Selling States to Stay Solvent

Washington D.C. - Americans face a tough choice this election day as one of the states must be put on the auction block to help secure the future of the country.

A little clause in the rescue plan passed by Congress recently allows Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to auction off one state in the union to raise more funds for the plan.

David Myerson of the Congressional Budget Office said, “We expect to raise billions of dollars no matter what state is chosen by voters except for Oklahoma, that'll bring considerably less. California on the other hand could raise trillions, and boy are we going to need it.”

A list of states determined in a closed session by Paulson and the Senate Finance Committee will be added to ballots around the country. To avoid any conflict of interest, no state on the list will get to vote in the process. “If you don't see the list of states on your ballot that means your state is up for sale,” said Paulson.

Unconfirmed rumors have Florida, Texas, Alaska, New Jersey and South Dakota on the list, but others might be there as well.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale have been set aside to relocate the citizens in those states to different areas of the country. “The new owners might not want all those US citizens there. In that case a forced relocation program will be adopted,” said Paulson. “Just think of it as eminent domain in reverse.”

Several buyers have already expressed interest in certain states. For instance, Disney is considering a purchase of Florida, Mexico could buy Texas and Canada might double its population by scooping up Minnesota.

The Bush administration backs the plan as it appears to be the only viable option left.