Citizenship is not an asset
Why do I find the idea of selling citizenship unreasonable? The reasons will be listed below:
- Citizenship isn't something everyone will be willing to sell. Depending on how much a person put into a particular country, and how much they have to lose by selling citizenship, it could very well be priceless to some people. For example, a person who built a career in a particular country, has friends in that country, a family in that country, owns property in that country, how much could citizenship be worth to them? This is excluding any shared history, or politics which of course likely has an influence as well. So from a social exchange perspective in order for a person to sell their citizenship they must believe there is something to gain on the other end which is equal to or superior to what they already put in or have earned over time in their country.
- Citizenship is not an asset. Citizenship is a responsibility. To be a "good citizen" requires effort, work, sacrifice. A citizen must pay taxes to their government. A citizen must abide by the laws of their government (even when they disagree). A citizen must do stuff like jury duty. In exchange for this, a citizen is given access to the opportunities that only a citizen can get. Really good citizens who are putting in the most effort are often the citizens who receive the least harassment (at a minimum) and at a maximum favorable treatment. The definition of good citizen varies from country to country but we do know every country which has taxes will expect it's citizens to pay the taxes. Every country which has laws will expect it's citizens to follow the laws. Every country which requires service (whether in the form of jury duty or military) will expect it's citizens to serve. These expectations place responsibilities on the citizen and while a citizen can renounce citizenship there is often no where else to go as any other country will have the same responsibilities.
So from a responsibility perspective, what does a citizen of one country gain by selling citizenship to another from another country? Absolutely nothing that I can see as it's hard to put a price on how much it is worth to the person who has it. The person who doesn't have it can very easily put a price on it because it's something they want to have rather than something they'll have to lose. The cost of maintaining citizenship in the form of taxes, duties, sacrifices (required military or other service), can be extremely high and it's not possible to know this in the beginning.
Conclusion
When someone is a citizen (such as of the United States), they can only know the value of US citizenship in comparison to something else. Most US citizens do not travel so they never learn the value of US citizenship. For example, if you are a US citizen who does travel then you quickly learn that the US passport is one of the best in the world. This means just by being a US citizen you get one of the top passports. What people who desire to be US citizens may not understand though is that the US citizen pays one of the highest tax rates in the world with one of the most aggressive tax agencies (taxes are owed even for expats living outside the US). In essence, to be a US citizen has it's pros and it's cons which have to be weighed against being a citizen of somewhere else. An offer of cash in exchange for being a citizen of nowhere would offer no passport which is an immediate con (one of the biggest), and also no taxes (which could be a pro).
If there are no taxes then you have to hire security from the private sector and there is no guarantee this will be any cheaper than paying taxes. If you're ex military or can protect yourself it may be cheaper for you but for the mother of five it is probably cheaper to pay taxes to the government. Do I see people selling their citizenship for dollars? I don't see it happening and consider it unrealistic. I do see people renouncing citizenship in exchange for citizenship somewhere else they deem to offer more favorable treatment but this will depend on each person and what each has to gain or lose from the decision.
The United States in terms of opportunities is one of the best places to be if not the best (depending on your industry). The United States is also one of the riskier places to be. So if you're someone willing to take high risk approaches you can become rich in the United States. This ability to take risks and get rich is not available in every country. The United States also has a very large economy, very unlikely to ever be invaded, very unlikely to ever have a civil war or revolution, compared to many other places. As far as corruption goes, the United States is not one of the most corrupt countries and while the United States could do better it could also be much worse.
Anarchists will say: "taxation is theft", "The United States is a Corporation", "Required service is coercive", "the law is unjust". I don't really argue against these statements philosophically. On a practical basis it is smarter to pay taxes than to evade taxes. If the US is a corporation or not, it requires taxes and it's against the law not to pay them. It's smart to either become a conscientious objector or renounce rather than confront and agitate if faced with required service. I base the "smart" on likely consequences and nothing else.
To avoid harassment, jail, lawsuits, drone strikes or whatever else could be the consequence; it makes sense to abide where necessary. If there is a nation which does offer tax free living, with no required service, and which does have just laws? I would like to learn about such a nation.