Moneybox: Citizenship for Sale

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Politics Citizenship for Sale St. Kitts and Nevis will let you buy citizenship. The United States should do the same. By Matthew Yglesias Posted Thursday, Feb 16, 2012, at 04:31 PM ET St. Kitts and Nevis, the Caribbean location of the world's first machete attack on a U.S. Supreme Court justice, also sporadically attracts the world's attention for its unusual citizenship practices. That's because you too can be a Kittitian and Nevisian for the not-so-low price of $250,000. All you have to do is hand over the cash. Why would you want such a thing? Well, for residents of developing countries gaining access to a potential exit strategy in case of political instability is valuable. Some members of the old Egyptian elite, for example, might wish they had a nice island to flee to. For the rest, the islands' lack of income taxation may be all the inducement needed. As for the islands themselves, every bit of export earnings helps, especially since this particular form involves virtually no sacrifice on the part of the native-born. Indeed, the fact that the rather meager benefits the islands offer command such a high price naturally raises the question of whether a country that people actually want to move to—the United States of America, say—should get in on the game. After all, lots of people want to come here. They want to come so badly that we spend more than $5 billion a year trying to keep them out. They want to come so badly that they pay thousands of dollars to coyotes to help them sneak past Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol. Having made ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Apple's Stock Price Just Topped $500. That's a Bargain. How Can You Get Mormons To Put You on Their Do-Not-Baptize List? You Know Who Had Good Ideas for Fighting Income Inequality? President Taft.	Advertisement
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