Feed the Children, Not the Moguls (An Unpopular and Correct Argument for Even Higher Taxes)
Day 2,834, 13:37
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Published in USA 
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by
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by Dio Soryu
Firstly, I would like to direct your attention to this Top 5 Article, written by an ultra-wealthy citizen who is defecting to Serbia because he objects to having to pay for the military infrastructure that protects our borders.
It is more than a little ironic, to my mind, that the cause of this mogul is being championed by members of the Socialist Freedom Party and Black Sheep Party; the self-proclaimed 'protectors of the little guy'.
Personally, I have a difficult time taking up the financial woes of people such as this, as if they were my own. I work in a commune. I own no companies and I depend on what little gold I am able to scrape together to work towards upgrading my Training Facilities so that eventually I will have enough strength to make my influence in battles great enough to be worth more than a drop in any given bucket.
Many of the people who supported this bill, and those who do support this bill, I know and I happen to know are among this class of 'elites' and these are the people who will really feel the pinch of tax hikes. I and most people will hardly notice and a loud and ignorant minority may complain about their comparatively small marginal losses on the few companies they own.
It is their right to make their voices heard and I would, in no way, wish to silence their protest. But it is, by the same token, my right to call them foolish.
Although many seem to be eager to fight against this, claiming to be looking out for the 'little guy' and point to declining population as evidence, as if population trends leading up to a tax hike can somehow be attributed to a tax hike that hadn't even happened.
Well, as a little guy, let me tell you my experience.
My instinct here is, above all else, to fight. When I can't think of an article to write or a cause to champion, the only thing to do with this game are to hang out with the friends I have made here and to lay my damage down in battles to support our strategic allies.
Unfortunately, the incentive created by the game (no doubt in order to encourage me to purchase Gold Packs) is that I should fight as little as possible and train as much as possible. This is because the division I fight within (and therefore those to whom my damage is compared), is determined by how many times I have fought and not how much strength I have. Were I to blindly fight, without significantly investing in increasing my strength, I would find my damage becoming (counter-intuitively) less and less relevant as I advanced the divisions.
And that is the mountain we ask every player that shows up here with dreams of leading this nation to glory to climb.
"Don't fight yet. Fight in, maybe like, two years."
If you want to know why people leave, that's why. Because people come here to do something and the best thing they can do, if they want to do something, is to do nothing but faff about writing articles and engaging in a stagnant political structure. That could, perhaps, be understood for a few months but the structure created by the game demands quite a lot.
Most players will eventually gauge the depth of the ocean until they decide it is simply too deep to be even worth gauging further and their interest will fall off, sooner or later.
My complaint is that the taxes are not high enough and not enough of that money is finding its way towards Gold subsidies for active, engaged new players to dump into their strength so they can become part of our fighting force.
It is by engaging with military units that most people come to know the game and it is those avenues which lead them to deciding to stick around and become our writers, politicians, generals and thinkers.
The fools among us can advocate for freedom of the rich and the right of the ultra-wealthy to the sweat of their own brow and in some realities they may have a point. However, this reality is a game and in that game, the economy is an easily understood structure that lacks the unclear and nebulous social ramifications that economics dictates in the reality we know in our real lives.
In this reality, we need new players and we need them to enjoy their time here and I can tell you this, for certain. They know nothing little about how they are being taxed, but they know quite a lot about how insignificant the efforts of their little dude with a pea-shooter is in the face of tanks rolling over them with hundreds of thousands of damage per hit.
FEED THE CHILDREN, NOT THE MOGULS
WE NEED THE CHILDREN
THEY NEED US LOOKING OUT FOR THEM
WE DO NOT NEED THE MOGULS
THEY ARE ADEPT AT LOOKING OUT FOR THEMSELVES, ALREADY
WE NEED THE CHILDREN
THEY NEED US LOOKING OUT FOR THEM
WE DO NOT NEED THE MOGULS
THEY ARE ADEPT AT LOOKING OUT FOR THEMSELVES, ALREADY
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tl;dr
1. A financial transparency exists in many countries (UK, Serbia, China for example), financial sheets are published and every citizen can have an insight how high the reserves are, how much has been spent and on what. Why isn't this the case in the eUSA? Do you know who's in charge of this org http://www.erepublik.com/en/economy/citizen-accounts/1368765 and what these funds are used for? Neither do 99% of your fellow citizens. Why? Because they are ''dependent'' like you are, they don't want to risk to fall from grace!
2. The work-tax rate in every other top country of the eWorld is 5% or lower, and many of these countries don't sit on full bonuses! Do you seriously think that all of them are wrong, have no grasp how to develop their economies and don't know how to set a tax level that is beneficial for the whole community? The eUS is right and everyone else is dead wrong? And why have all these countries that produce well and have over 100k tax income per day with a 4% work-tax, an import tax for all good of 99% and the eUSA has it sat to 1%? Why are they protecting their national markets and the eUSA isn't?
3. How was Chile able to build up a low divisional fighting force with supertanks despite having much less tax revenue then the eUSA? Why has Iran managed to accomplish that as well to a certain extent? And why is your country failing to create anything like it? Is it better to throw around with high COs that benefit anyone fighting for you or to build up programs that help develop your own high-damage fighting force? How much of those 80k per week the USAF gets are accounted for and besides a few tank and food, how does it benefit players like you? Did it help you upgrade your training grounds and sign a training contract?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - to be continued
1) A problem which is not the subject of my article and of debatable merit. The person who operates it is, I believe, the head of the Congressional Budget Office, if I am not mistaken. However, I do not fear a 'fall from grace'. In fact, I served a term in congress not long ago in which I got in quite a heated argument with both Gnilraps and Kemal over repealing a piece of legislation that I felt unfairly targeted SFP and BSP members. I have never been in any way threatened nor have I lost access to anything as a result. Nor am I aware of anyone who has been denied services they are entitled to without just cause. You are far off-base, here and this has nothing to do with my article.
2) I do not believe that simply because they are doing it, we should do it also and you've provided no compelling reason for me to believe that we should. Your argument is literally 'Well, everyone else is doing it!'
3) I would wager those nations invested heavily in developing their D1 and D2 fighting forces strength, which is exactly what I am advocating. I cannot answer your criticism of USAF, since we are in the process of restructuring. Senryaku took over as SoD and found it a shambles and we have been working to correct the problems. Suffice to say that I have no doubt that what he is working out will work out to greatly improve the lot of low strength players.
Here's the thing: the eUSA was never an empire and if it will stay on the same course, never will be. There's a small group of elite oldfags that think they have the answer to all question and with the help of puppet figure CP and executives they rule, make laws, control the metagame and are in power for a long long time. Now I don't say that they don't have the best interest of their country in mind, but the result this kind of system is becoming more obvious every day. What they created is a divide in the nation: there are those that 'know', belong to the inner circle or are drawn close to it and there are 2nd grade citizens who should be quiet and refrain from even having their own opinion, not to mention to let it be publicly know. The plan of the elite is to keep up with the wealthiest nations like Poland or Serbia, to have their level of daily income around 120k. But this can't be done in a long run! People will be leaving for other countries or leaving the game.
But don't be foole😛 some of those company owners. like the one you are working for minimum wage are getting tax-returns or compensation. That's the benefit of playing the game 'the right way', good soldiers of the oligarch system.
Some among you, on the other hand want to change the system. They will have a hard time because they have been kept in the dark for very long.
So I ask: what will you do?
What I will do is recognize that there is actually no inner circle and the only real division is the perception that some shadowy cabal is puppeting everyone and silencing dissent.
I know those people and many of them are my friends. I am not among the ranks of the 'influential', yet I have no fear of making my voice heard. In some cases that is dissent and rabble rousing and in other cases it is telling the masses they are dead wrong.
In this case, I believe the masses are dead wrong and I won't be silenced by paranoid delusions, because entertaining those disillusions is ultimately an expression of ones own self-serving persecution complex, rather than an expression of any kind of useful or creative force.
1. A financial transparency exists in many countries (UK, Serbia, China for example), financial sheets are published and every citizen can have an insight how high the reserves are, how much has been spent and on what. Why isn't this the case in the eUSA?
2. The work-tax rate in every other top country of the eWorld is 5% or lower, and many of these countries don't sit on full bonuses! Do you seriously think that all of them are wrong, have no grasp how to develop their economies and don't know how to set a tax level that is beneficial for the whole community?
And why have all these countries that produce well and have over 100k tax income per day with a 4% work-tax, an import tax for all good of 99% and the eUSA has it sat to 1%? Why are they protecting their national markets and the eUSA isn't?
3. How was Chile able to build up a low divisional fighting force with supertanks despite having much less tax revenue then the eUSA? Why has Iran managed to accomplish that as well to a certain extent? And why is your country failing to create anything like it? Is it better to throw around with high COs that benefit anyone fighting for you or to build up programs that help develop your own high-damage fighting force?
DON'T ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T !!!!!!!
JUST CONTEMPLATE AND DEEPER INSIGHTS WILL ARISE!!
1. Because there is an inherent advantage to our enemies not knowing what our strategic reserves are.
2. I do not believe that simply because they are doing it, we should do it also and you've provided no compelling reason for me to believe that we should. Your argument is literally 'Well, everyone else is doing it!'
3. I would wager those nations invested heavily in developing their D1 and D2 fighting forces strength, which is exactly what I am advocating. I cannot answer your criticism of USAF, since we are in the process of restructuring. Senryaku took over as SoD and found it a shambles and we have been working to correct the problems. Suffice to say that I have no doubt that what he is working out will work out to greatly improve the lot of low strength players.
I have already answered those questions, twice now. I will not sit here and pretend that some deeper insight will be formed by pretending not to understand basic reasoning. Nor will I pretend the weight of your questions is heavier than it is.
1. Yeah, and those that have financial transparent countries are stupid to not go for that advantage. TRY AGAIN!
2. Them maybe you should abolish setting COs in crucial battles like everybody else. Maybe not even to set Daily Orders - doesn't mean it's the right thing to do just because everyone else is doing it. ILL LOGIC!
3. If your national MU was in shambles then someone was responsible for it. Wonder who that was? I know, I know: those damn enemies are everywhere!
It's opportunistic to advocate sky-high taxes when they don't affect you, as you have no companies. You are missing the broader picture and the correlations and dependencies between the variables of this equation.
1. I don't think they're smart or stupid, although I have yet to see you reason why we should. I see a reason why we shouldn't and your only reply to anything seems to be 'Well, everyone else, though!'
2. Okay, but WHY is the question? I am asking you to support your own argument with reason and you are apparently allergic to the concept.
3. I've no idea but the most likely culprit was probably general apathy and burned out players not being held to high enough standards. It's unfortunate, but these things tend to happen over time. Standards slip until, oopsie, the ball is dropped and then everyone realizes shit needs to get fixed. If you want to hunt for someone to blame, feel free, but I tend to think it's more productive to simply try to get things back into order.
1. Financial transparency is a principle. It shows how you treat the members of your community. Either you have nothing to hide and can be held accountable for your management of the funds or you don't want to display your actions and investments, so you hide it from the public.
That's how you build trust or create doubts and speculation.
2. Don't twist this around! You're the loudmouth that claims to make an ''Entirely Correct Argument for Even Higher Taxes'' without providing any argument! Your reasoning is: higher taxes create higher income for the country that can be used to benefit new players.
Well, the income before the tax raise wasn't a low one, there are huge reserves waiting to be burned on COs. What you fail to see is the governments unwillingness to invest in young players as you would wish and this won't be solved with more income.
This 15% WT is an experiment where long term effects are uncertain. There's only one certainty: those that do business on a large scale and don't care about patriotism will try to find a way to make more profit in another environment by changing their CS.
Another false argument is that a huge reserve of cc will protect you; that's what China was thinking until they were gangbanged and wiped just recently.
3. Your premise is that things were ''in order''. Hard to believe. And even if there would be a change in the mindsets of the elite: it takes at least 2 years to create strong lower division hitters. Not sure the game will last that long.
1. http://eusaforums.com/forum/index.php/topic,90.msg220065.html#msg220065
Done and done.
2. Again, you fail to support your argument with even the most basic level of reasoning. "Well, we don't know though!" isn't an argument. (And we do know, revenues are up. Sorry.) The argument you have made is that 'tax revenue should be spent differently', which I have already pointed out. You've made no argument as to why a higher tax rate is bad, however.
3. My premise was in no way that things were "in order', and Senryaku asked me to join USAF to help him re-organize. The length of time it takes for lower divisions to train up to respectable strength is what I have said we should be investing in. You should probably have read my article.
1. I don't have to go there, because there are no spreadsheets documenting the reserves that were gathered in the past, the amounts transferred onto private accounts and there sure isn't a record of 200 gold and over 62K cc that are kept on this Org http://www.erepublik.com/en/economy/citizen-accounts/1368765 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. For the last time: IT'S YOU WHO DIDN'T PROVIDE ANY ARGUMENTS HOW A 15% WORK-TAX WILL BE BENEFICIAL TO YOUR COUNTRY OR TO THE BUSINESSES OR TO THE TAXPAYERS AS YOU CLAIM IN YOUR HEADLINE OR HOW HUGE RESERVES WILL MAKE YOU MORE SAFE (CHINA, CHINA, CHINA)!!!!!!!
3. Get back to me when you increase damage output or efficiency!
You are an excellent demagogue and you write nice pieces of elitist propaganda!
1. "I don't use that so it doesn't count!"
2. Yes, I did. It's beneficial if we use it to invest in new players strength training. Again, you should have read my article or you'd know that.
3. We have been unfortunately delayed in our implementation due to a family matter of one of the key people working on this. Unfortunage, but these things happen and it's fair that their real life should come first. That said, I don't think I'll get back to you, but feel free to hold your breath.
4. Ah, yes. The age-old final argument of the lunatic. "Well, if you can respond rational to all my arguments, then you are just a propaganda machine and a tool of the Illuminati lizardmen!"
1. I've just proven to you with a real example how over 62K cc and 200 gold don't show up in any financial report, ergo: there is no financial transparency in the eUSA!! Period. Your poor attempts to spin it don't stick.
2. You made NO argument, it boils down to: we could invest cc into new players. No correlation between that and a 93% work-tax increase.
Would then a 25% WT be even more beneficial then a 15% one?
Would then a 25% WT be even more beneficial then a 15% one?
Would then a 25% WT be even more beneficial then a 15% one?
The n question is written 3 times to get your attention. You don't have to answer it three time thou!
1. If I were interested, I've no doubt I could find the answers and learn how the treasury functions in relation to the CBO. The reality is, I don't actually care and neither do you. Your only interest is appearing to be right, not finding any actual answers to your questions.
2. If you think I haven't make an argument, you literally do not even understand what the word means.
3. I'm not sure, but it's possible. I believe the best tax rate is the one that generates the most revenue, with the understanding that most of that increase should be geared towards Strength Training programs for young players.
I'm not sure why you felt the urge to repeat it three times, it's hardly like I've been ignoring your arguments. In fact, you're quite lucky that I've condescended to my own intelligence such to bother even responding to this tinfoil hattary.
Discussion with you is pointless. I rest my case.
You're right. I am more stubborn than you and I am not swayed by fallacious arguments, so it is indeed pointless attempt dazzling me with bullshit or wear down my patience.
Although you currently dislike me (for the wrong reasons), I loved reading this.
I agree with you that investing in young players is one of the best uses of money conditional on them continuing to play the game. The latter part is the tricky one. The game sucks so much that keeping them in the game is problematic. So the return you get is actually multiplied by the retention rate. If the retention rate is sufficiently low, then investing too much into young players can be a thing. I wish the game were better, so that we could count on, say, half of the new players remaining in the game. Then I would support dumping everything we have on new players. However, looking at current retention rates, I am more skeptical.
>Kemal thinks I'm mad at him
ohu
If I am understanding your argument correctly, the crux of it is a critique on the spending side more so than on the taxation rate per se, is that right? The heart of it is that government should mainly be funding efforts to increase strength, yes, rather than paying for tanks/whales?
The crux of this argument is both.
We need those tanks to keep secure our nation for those young players to develop within. We also need those young players to have a chance to develop.
It is not an 'either/or' proposition.
So instead of those wealthy tanks 'volunteering' to defend their Homeland they should be paid to do so? Also, as Chile demonstrated, there are tanks in D1; which seldom if ever sees COs set.
[removed]
I believe that makes a lot more sense than, effectively, paying the rich to stay here and... just be rich.
I'm sorry, but you cannot simultaneously expect 'patriotism' to be a motivator for people to fight and defend a wealthy defector because he is upset that he is not being made 'more wealthy enough'.
Why do you not criticism his lack of 'patriotism'?
Marcel the Great came to America because of the 8% WAM we had, the 'meta government' granted him citizenship; then they raised the taxes to 15%. He didn't defect, they drove him out.
You're not explaining why I should care or why 'well but patriotism!' shouldn't count. Where he came from is irrelevant and you are only explaining that he came here out of his own interests and is leaving out of those same said interests.
Why is he more important than the Children, Franklin?
So the 'meta government' can serve its own best, but a citizen may not? Marcel would still be here paying an 8% taxes to 'feed the children' had the 'meta government' not acted in its own self interest.
Why is the 'meta government' more important than the Children, Soryu?
I am not criticizing Marcel for leaving, Franklin. I am saying I don't care that he left and asking why you think I should.
I was explaining the inherent contradiction of your 'but patriotism!' argument, not suggesting he should stay out of a sense of patriotism.
You are applying a double standard; specifically that soldiers should supply themselves or they aren't patriots, but Marcel leaving for Serbia is justified because he is just looking out for his own interests.
It is an inherently contradictory argument, and that is all I am trying to explain to you. Honestly, I'm not sure what you find so complicated about it.
Franklin, ur defending one rich dude again all us poor folk. U understand this, correct?
Marcel was a foreign investor who come here for the low taxes, he was a 'new citizen' to America; but instead of helping him like any other new citizen the 'meta government' decided to act selfishly and enact a draconian tax rate. With any 'new citizen' -foreign immigrant or newly born- any government must earn a citizen's loyalty, you don't do that by taxing them into oblivion. You want loyalty, you must first give it.
You have made this argument about one vocal citizen -Marcel- who spoke out against a 93% tax raise prior to leaving, you have also made it about loyalty that the 'meta government' had yet to earn; what I wonder is how many others like him also left and said nothing -including long time American Citizens who may have left. Yet you are unconcerned about how much CC was lost that could have fed the Children; it is not just Marcel I am defending, it is all those who silently left taking their CC with them.
@screwdriverbot, a rich dude who may have in the future privately funded a program to 'Feed the Children'. Also, just so you know; I am poor as a church mouse.
No, Franklin.
You made the argument about Loyalty and Patriotism.
I'm trying to explain to you why that's stupid and contradictory and you are only understanding the half of that logic that supports your own argument.
I don't expect Marcel do to anything but serve his own interests. That said, I'm not going to feel bad for him because he does nor am I going to be scolded for thinking of my own interests ahead of his.
But, no, Franklin. I am not concerned about your nebulous claims of potential future philanthropy because that's what I call 'Grasping at some Fucking Straws'. But it's ironic that you should say that, given all your ranting about the 'meta-government forum elitists', when you know how much philanthropic work they've done.
Yet, here you are attempting to crucify people who have and do regularly give back without asking in return and who are disproportionately directing extra taxes upon themselves, over your niggling worries of the maybe philanthropy of a guy who changes countries like I change my socks.
Truly, sometimes you are unreal.
>@screwdriverbot, a rich dude who may have in the future privately funded a program to 'Feed the Children'. Also, just so you know; I am poor as a church mouse
I figures u were, which makes u at the caliber of WalMart employees who vote Republican, or worse, tea party. As socialists we should be banding against the wealthy, pooling our resources, creating workers communes or co-ops, to strengthen the weak, not looking up to the rich and HOPING that some day they'll find it in their hearts to give a little back. That's totally against our interests and mildly suicidal.
Name one of these philanthropic works they've done?
I will name one, Whalfare. Oblige runs this philanthropic program, however IMO the program is self serving in that it is solely for those citizens in a T5 party and is also used to attract citizens to the WTP for more free stuff.
To me a philanthropic program is one like the SFPs RDT&F program which supplies ALL American Citizen Soldiers simply for fill out a form.
Our government encourages strength training. A lot of our PMUs encourage strength training. Moguls encourage and help 'the little guy' to achieve this. Take a look at Easy Company's ranks as an example.
I don't think your argument is helping itself or you are failing to see the positive of what moguls CAN contribute to our 'children' THAT ARE NOT THE HUNDREDS OF MULTIS I REPORT EVERY DAY AND GET AT LEAST 10% BANNED.
You mischaracterize my argument.
I have not anywhere said that moguls are incapable of positive influence. What I have said is that we would be foolish to forsake what is in our collective interest in order to serve their specific interest, in the hopes of wooing that nebulous gain.
I appreciate that programs exist to 'encourage' strength training. I am simply stating that it isn't nearly enough. Not. Even. Nearly.
Neither am I advocating blindly throwing money at 'lolwhoever'.
I would like to see a system in which MU's cooperate with the Government in order to help fund the progress of recruits they believe to be active and engaged.
But, if we're talking about things that don't help each others arguments, I don't think it helps your argument to expect me to pity this mogul under the blind hope that he might do something helpful, eventually, let alone to do so under and absurdly backwards guise of 'Socialism'.
@screwdriverbot
Figures you would go to insulting me rather than arguing the point. Learned that over on the MoT did ya?
When did I insult u, I gave my perspective. And what is MoT
'I figures u were, which makes u at the caliber of WalMart employees who vote Republican, or worse, tea party.'
MoT = Ministry of Truth or as you know it 'eUSA Forums', you know 'Troll Central'....
Well u decided that its insulting. I mean, I would too, but I was making a point, no mindlessly throwing around insults.
You could argue any philanthropic program is, in some way, self-serving. However, it is ultimately childish to complain that a persons gesture of goodwill is somehow misguided because it 'makes them look good'.
None the less, you have, yourself, thanked Gnilraps for helping you personally. When I attempted to run my Sunday Mass program a couple months ago, those same people donated like crazy. Like. Fucking. Crazy.
If you want to sit here and feign ignorance, I'm not going to argue the point with you. We are already well above and beyond the *literally nothing* given by this billionaire that you are asking me to pity.
Why is he more important than the Children, Franklin?
Why can't you answer that?
Okay once again, Marcel alone is not important; but how many others -including long time Americans- left for the same reason? How does driving away tax paying companies feed your children?
Don't say 'once again', like you've been saying Marcel's case isn't important this whole time and I'm just not listening. 😕
But, to answer the question, by increasing net revenues.
What does not serve that cause is you blindly raging at the "meta-government". There are ways I think money could be better spent and ways in which I think we could better serve the people's interests, but that requires a more nuanced approach than just advocating whatever the opposite of 'the establishment' says.
The government has made an attempt at helping its education programs in the last couple months. But I could argue that they raised the taxes to supplant that hit that is now being taken by financing the DoCA...which hasn't said a peep this term after Tyler lost the election.
Oh man, I can't wait to see who gets riled up on this one
rabble rabble rabble
So what you wish is MAX TAXES so that a 'meta government' program may pay out gold to aid new citizens upgrade their Training Centers and maintain Training Contracts. Right now America funds Arm America with 25,000 CC p/w to arm soldiers, yet it is never open. We fund a NMU with 80,000 CC p/w which got it's ass handed to it. As for gold for new citizens Bank Up 2 Strength Up, does just that, also every PMU worth it's salt has such a program. BC has Build a Bear, EZC has the Military Fitness Academy; both of them aid new citizens. There was no need for 93% increase for that.
I'm aware.
And I'm telling you that is far short of 'enough'.
Also, 'Arm America' is appears to be irrelevant to my argument, perhaps you could explain how that is logically related to upgrading training facilities?
Actually, all of it appears to be completely irrelevant and seems to fail to explain why you believe this persons 112 companies making not making enough bank for him should be something I worry about?
You do nothing but evade the point, Franklin.
I say, 'Feed the Children, Not the Moguls'
You say, 'Feed the Moguls, Not the Children'. Why?
So a tax funded 'meta government' program whose purpose is to arm Americans and is never open is irrelevant to a tax discussion? No it is not related to upgrading TCs, but funding BU2SU is not the only program that 93% raise is funding; it also funds a 3rd rate NMU.
Marcel the Great was more than willing to pay his fair share at 8%, it was the 'meta government's' greed for more that drove him out; plus the whole purpose of owning companies is to make CC -just ask any of your wealth benefactors who own 100+ companies.