[Non-Sequitur]

What would the energy poor states of the midwest, the west and the east do?

Buy the energy, of course. What do you think they do now?

[Former Proud Canadian]

Umm, it's not quite that simple. Right now they are buying it with US dollars. The US dollar is supported by the productivity of the taxpayers and the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the US government. So, what do the eastern states in particular produce that contributes to the value of the dollar? How much real wealth does Wall Street produce? Do they have mines and mills that produce wealth? Factories producing consumer goods? Or, are they net users of the wealth producing abilities of the other states.

Think what would happen if those energy rich, agriculturally rich, non-union states that I mentioned left the union and took their tax money with them. These are states that produce real wealth in the form of energy and food. They produce lots of it and they produce it cheaply. What happens to the other areas of the country if they have to, in essence, barter for that energy. What do they have of value to trade? Just asking.