Stock Exchange for Governments? What an Idea!

"I propose the creation of a new stock market in the United States. It would include 50 individual securities, each representing one of the 50 states. People would be able to "bet" or "invest" in states on an exchange.

Such a visual, quantified representation would surely put some pressure on our elected officials to act more fiscally responsible.

If they didn't, they'd risk being ousted, just like a CEO of any major company. Or just like any one of the now "ex" European heads of state.

Doing so would allow us to invest in the performance of a state's internal and external representatives. These stocks would not represent the underlying value of a state, but rather, they would be "Sentiment Tracking Stocks," tied to the financial performance of each state."

Better Add An “F” to Europe’s Debt Contagion, published Tue, Nov 29th, 2011 by Karim Rahemtulla