I understand Trump has floated the idea of selling Alaska back to Russia. Russia has hinted that it would like to get it back.

this is not as ridiculous as it sounds. Sure, Alaska is a much more valuable piece of real estate now than when we bought it from the Czar, the Russians would probably be willing to pay a premium price for it now. An American government could use the cash to pay off the national debt, the trade deficit and abolish all taxes. The Saudis and Chinese have the cash on hand to provide the financing. Everybody wins! The US economy would boom, and the residents of Alaska could be easily bought off (there aren't that many of them anyway). The residents of America would not care, they'd have no taxes and plenty of social welfare benefits to last them...well, a few years, anyway. Plenty of cash available for infrastructure, jobs and Defense spending. Just think, no taxes, National Health and full backing for Social Security. No doubt the MAGA spin machine could get the Deplorables to co-sign on the deal. The population of Alaska is tiny, easily bribed to go along with it, and in the lower 48 we still have the tar sands (they're in Canada but we own them!), gas would still be cheap. Who needs the North Slope?

Russia would not only have access to Alaska'a vast resources and strategic location, it would offer them full control of the Bering Strait. As the ice melts, the Arctic Ocean is destined to become one of the world's major trade routes and they would own both sides of it. And remember, it's getting warmer up there every year!

Stranger things have happened.