HazzN - CP Manifesto Pt1: Plugging the Financial Hole

Day 469, 08:34 • Published in United Kingdom Philippines • by HazzN

I'm HazzN, and I am running for Country President in the month of March. For those who don't know me, I would like to direct you toward my previous article.

An Announcement and a Little Introduction

That's pretty much my life story.

I would also like to announce that Hassan Pesearn will be my running mate this election. There are some concerns about my lack of experience, and I feel a Vice President such as Hassan will provide me with a great foundation and wealth of knowledge. I am very much a team player, and will be looking to him and my cabinet to move this country forward.

This brings me to my next point: It may seem some Ministries have been overlooked in this manifesto. This is not the case. I firmly believe that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I am not one to put forward hundreds of pieces of legislation simply because I am in a position to do so. Some of our Ministries, for example MoIE, have been reformed by previous Presidents, and I would like to see them continue on the path already set for them.

Onto the manifesto...

Finance

It is no secret that eUK is suffering from financial issues currently. Drastic action has been taken by our current Prime Minister, freezing the NHS and MoD. Though this action is both brave and commendable, it is not a long term solution to our problems. The current proposals to fix the MoH, in my opinion, are not viable options. Severely cutting the amount of gifts a citizen can be given, simply defies the point of the NHS. Taking away this crutch that so many people rely on to continue working, to me defeats the point of the MoH and NHS. Of course, we need to find money elsewhere to pay for such projects.

We have two ways of dealing with this issue; increasing taxation to pay for public sectors, or privatising these sectors. As a Socialist, I would never wish to hand over the NHS or MoD to Private buyers, and will therefore be opting for increased taxation. Though this may be an unsavoury solution, I believe it is the best long term plan that we have, and will ensure that you, the public, continue to receive aid from the state. I shall be working with MoF and MoT, to ensure the maths is done right, and the taxation will cover our losses without crippling our country.

It is unfair to ask eUK businesses to tighten their belts if we are not willing to do the same. I therefore pledge that government spending will be reduced. Unnecessary out goings will be cut, and I will be working closely with the Minister of Finance to ensure that we tighten the purse strings. This will include continuing MoH reforms, and demanding that each Ministry provides detailed budget requests. This will allow for the luxuries to be cut out, getting us through these difficult times. More power will be given to the MoF, to say “No” to request he deems unnecessary. Using estimated product prices and quantities, it would require little more than a new spreadsheet to make a more accurate budget request. There will be no more spending until we run out of cash, instead a rough value will be allocated per Ministry over a period of time. This is something I intend to be quite strict about, and hope that Ministers will agree that a little extra work may save us from serious downfall in the future. Those who do not wish to make the effort can easily be replaced by those who do. Good planning, and organisation is the key to good financial control.

Our current Ministry of Trade is doing an incredible job, and I hope will continue as they have been. I am hoping to increase MoT funding, allowing the Ministry to play the market and increase revenue. If done right, we can make a considerable amount of money.

MoH Reforms

Already there is some discussion on the Private Discussion forum as to what to do about the hole in our budget that is the NHS. I know that some reforms have gone through already and will lower costs. However, I feel they no longer provide for the citizens of eUK. It is these sorts of social reforms that make our nation great and individual, and so I hope to add to what we have, improving the system.

GP’s
NHS Directors will be renamed GP’s. They will not carry out massive gifting sprees. Instead it will be the responsibility of the citizen to visit the GP when they are ill. No more house calls, we can’t afford it. Citizens will need to send messages to the GP explaining why they have low wellness and requesting a pick me up. The GP will then offer advice and wellness based on a case by case analysis. This will weed out the inactive citizens that put a strain on our treasury, and allow those who feel they can make it on their own to do so. It also acts as a preventative measure. If inexperienced citizens learn how to self remedy, then they will eventually no longer need the help of the NHS.

Field Medics
Military personnel often have fluxuating wellness, which adds a strain to the NHS. As a former NHS Director, I am well aware of the difficulties that can be caused by sudden drops of wellness after the weekly budget has been requested. I therefore propose that military personnel be placed on a different list. During times of war, Field Medics will be responsible for the health of the soldiers, in a similar fashion to the GP. Advice will be provided on how best to manipulate the War Hospital to ensure leaving a battle with 90 wellness. During war time, our fighters must take a priority, or our nation will fall.

Private Health Care
The Communists amongst you may raise an eyebrow, but the more who can pay for themselves, the better it will be for those who can't. It is inevitable that some people will want higher wellness than the State is willing to provide, because of this, I suggest that GP’s also take on Private patients. This will mean citizens can donate either money or gifts to their local clinic, and request extra gifting. Not everyone has access to personal orgs, or active friends that will gift them in their time of need.

National Insurance
Of course, not everyone has the cash floating around to make lump donations to their Clinic. I’m sure if they did, they would be purchasing higher quality food to keep their wellness high. Because of this I propose a National Insurance Contribution. Citizens will pay small donations to the National Insurance Org, as and when they have the cash. Records of their payments will be kept. When they are in need of wellness, citizens can message the National Insurance Org to gift them to the value that they have entered into the account. This will be voluntary, but perhaps a good idea for slightly lower level citizens who often live hand to mouth.

If we can safely tie this into the MoT, it may even be possible to make an income from the money donated. This could be used for extra gifting, or to fill gaps in the treasury.

Conclusion
This concludes part one of my manifesto. By saving money we can then look at how we wish to spend this money. I wish you to consider part two of my manifesto to be a staggered plan, carried only if/when we have the correct funds to proceed.