Anybody have a recipe for a crisis that will reduce jobs and fortunes both in Washington and on Wall St.? Oh, to dream.

Right on. apx on both their houses.

We could, but they are like the houseguest that never leaves.

Massive earthquake along an undiscovered fault which causes the entire east coast to slide into the sea?

Hey, it could happen.

And don't think the country wouldn't be just fine without it. All the really core stuff we need is west of the thirteen colonies. Our food comes from the great plains. Our energy comes from Tejas. Our technology base is heavily centered on Cali and even our national defense is heavily-concentrated in the desert southwest.

Do we need NYC and DC? At all?

well, I'm not so anti- the original 13. =/ Boston, NY, Philadelphia and Washington are very nice in themselves. I'm just frustrated with the continual accretion of bureaucracy, lawyers and financiers... though the last might see a diminution for a while.

You're right, there's a lot of cool stuff out there. Let's take it!

Relo the Empire State Building to Los Angeles to give its bland skyline some art-deco style. Put the Chrysler building in Phoenix.

Reinstall the DC Metro in Houston (we could use a subway) and reassemble the historic buildings of Philly, Boston, and DC into one giant American-history theme park complete with civil war-themed roller coasters like The Shermanator or Underground Railroad: THE RIDE

It's a glorious future if you just stop to think about it.