CHINA OFFERS TO BUY HALF OF UNITED STATES IN WAKE OF ECONOMIC TURMOIL
September 18 2008
Beijing, China – With the continuing deterioration of the American economy more and more companies are looking for bail outs, whether in the form of investment or purchase and more and more foreign companies are taking notice of the opportunity. One investor very intrigued by the prospect of purchase is the Chinese government, which has put up a dramatic offer to purchase half of the continental United States and Hawaii.
“The United States is our partner and our friend and we would like to help our friends whenever possible,” said a spokesperson for the Chinese government. “We feel that while our financial investment in the United States has been significant, we feel we can do more. Our hope is to aid the people of America and try to assuage them of any financial concerns they may have.”
While financial figures have not been released, some information regarding the division of states has been released.
One priority in the Chinese proposal is a takeover of Hawaii and California. Other states mentioned are Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Washington. The intent is to divide up the states based on geography rather than on economic standing. It should be noted that Oregon was not a part of the proposal but that China “would take the state if needed” should the deal go through.
While the Federal Treasury has done much to bail out failing financial institutions, the government is starting to realize that their ability to manage the ongoing crisis is limited without external investment. It should be noted that no member of the Treasury Department of President’s office would admit to soliciting the deal with China, but that some members were intrigued by the idea.
“It’s too bad this didn’t come before the election campaign began, that would have cut down on a lot of travel for the candidates. Of course this gives a whole new meaning to 'Red States',” said one Treasury Department official we spoke to. “It just seems like wasted money now. Anyways, it’ll be a tough deal. I mean Americans are used to taking places over not vice versa and this would be a major shift for them. There would have to be a lot of questions answered, like would the states be independent like Hong Kong, or would they be integrated? Would Chinese be taught in schools? If the deal goes through there’s going to be a lot of adjustments but I think it’s something we should take seriously, it could be good for everyone.”
China is of course the largest growing economy in the world, with some estimates placing them at double the GDP of the current United States by 2050. While some see this as a potential boon to that growth, others see it as a potential disaster.
“It’s a big risk. China’s economy is tied to exploiting the divide in working standards between the West and themselves,” said Scrape TV business analyst Ken Green. “That competitive gap will be lost. It’s the same a reason a company like Paramount doesn’t buy Blockbuster. You need to be able to work with as wide a market as possible to maintain growth. That said, there is a great deal of economic potential in many of the states in the U.S. Some of the one they are talking about taking over may be sympathy purchases, but some, like California and Nevada, have a lot of earning potential. It’s a risky proposition to be sure; it’ll be interesting to see if it goes through. I can’t imagine a lot of Americans would be happy to see Hawaii go though.”
Chinese officials did not mention any timetable for the proposal.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
ScrapeTV is looking for correspondents. if you are interested in writing for us, please drop us a line. 