German Autobahn for sale, US consider similar plan

Berlin (October 16, 2005) – In an attempt to resolve the severe budget deficit, the German Federal government is considering an ambitious plan to sell the autobahn network, as the designate German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck disclosed today. The 12,000 km autobahn network (about 8,000 miles) is valued at 127 billion Euros (about 150 billion dollars). Sources close to the White House indicated that the Bush administration has also considered a similar plan, although at a more limited scope. At this time, only the I-495 Washington Beltway would be up for sale within this 2005 fiscal year. Mr. George Soros, the left-wing billionaire, was reportedly leading a gigantic consortium of East-Coast investors and Hollywood moguls to buy this 64 mile long circumferential highway. They planned to turn it into a "moat" to protect the federal bureaucrats and to control the negative influx from mainstream America.