The Economist 12th March Edition
Day 478, 09:35
•
Published in United Kingdom 
•
by
•
by Spite313
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Leaders ~ Editorial
Good afternoon readers and welcome to this new edition of the Economist. This week we welcome Scipio the Great as our new columnist. Scipio is writing the new commentary column, Bagehot. Bagehot (pronounced Bad-je-ho) was a British economic and political writer, most famous for his book 'The English Constitution', and an editor of the Economist in the nineteenth century. Hopefully Scipio can live up to the reputation of the man and deliver a strong new article for our leadership each week. The Economist has every faith in him.
Onto more internationalist things. This week has been a week of wars, and a week of disappointment for Atlantis. Peace has triumphed in the East by taking the West Siberian region, and in the West by taking the Great Southern Plains. It's a hard time for Romania, and Atlantis nations are answering the rallying cry from the great imperialist power to move and fight for the cause. In the Americas the US has finally stopped its advance into Mexico, after Portugal intervened to protect the state. Now the Americans face a true threat, the tables may turn. In Asia Pakistan has been bashing away at Indonesia, in an attempt to reduce the Indonesian forces attacking Romania, with little effect.
So a busy week. In UK politics, Jerry was re-elected as President, in a straight run-off between Hazzn, Oexis and himself. All three put up a good campaign, but right now the United Kingdom voted for stability. We have a new cabinet, with a lot of old familiar faces. With Party President elections in just three days it will be interesting to see how the parties change.
Update: Now including an interview with UK President JerryGFL
Leaders ~ The cost of war
Romania is currently engaged, as you will be aware, in two major wars. The first, against Indonesia, is the biggest threat. Indonesia must be turned back, lest they march into Europe like the Mongols of the medieval period. We need a balanced world, and the Romanians are the balancing force that holds back Indonesia. We have already heard this week encouragement from Minister of Foreign Affairs SaraDroz to go and fight for Romania. However wars are not won or lost purely on the number of soldiers. Supplies are also critical, and the huge amount of damage being done by Romania in every battle is cutting into Romanian weapons supplies and driving up prices. The government has responded to this by ordering the army (and whoever else will listen) to work in the Iron and Arms manufacturing industries. This in itself will have a knock-on effect on business in Romania, pushing down productivity and therefore increasing the value of labour and the cost of finished goods.
The solution? British support for Romania as a nation should be material as well as military. Every weapon or raw material on their markets reduces the huge pressure on the Romanian government. Exporting goods to the Romanian market, one of the busiest in the world, is a good move in any case. But during times of war the benefit both to you as a business owner and Romania as a nation under threat are immense. If you have doubts about selling your goods, or any questions, we recommend that you visit the Romanian Embassy on the forums.
Britain ~ The Second Minister
The Ministry of Finance is a ministry which is of great interest to the Economist. Being in charge of the UK treasury, the Minister of Finance (MoF) is the citizen who holds the purse-strings of the UK. The MoF has to be beyond all doubt the most trustworthy person in the country. Current Minister of Finance, Roadrunnerspeed is a trusted and well-known public figure. But is the MoF becoming too powerful?
This week there is a MoF reform proposal going through parliament. The original proposal was to give the MoF wide-ranging powers over military action and funding. Roughly divided into three sections, the new bill would give the MoF:
1.A vote on the war council.
2.The power to block any motion going through the war council
3.A final say on all Ministerial budgets
Already a powerful position, we believe that this proposal would make the Minister the second most powerful in the eUK after the Prime Minister themselves. In fact, in terms of day to day influence, in some cases the Minister could exert more influence.
Do the British public feel this is the right decision to make? Should a Minister not directly elected control such a vast amount of the British state? It's a difficult decision. On one hand, Roadrunner is completely trustworthy and would only act in the interests of the state. The Ministry under his hands could be the vehicle driving the move towards a more accountable state, and a more planned economy. On the other hand, he will not be MoF forever, and is it wise to have so much responsibility concentrated in a single person? The happiest solution for all is to compromise. Make a temporary bill, with a review every month. The bill may be necessary now, but in two months it could imbalance the government without need. A temporary bill would allow us to tackle the current financial problem and maintain a guarantee against future excess.
Britain ~ Tax Hike
This week there has been a consistent rise in taxes. All income taxes are now currently increasing to 20%, the latest tax hike is on wood. So what's the effect of all this? It keeps money moving in the economy. The government is the biggest buyer of gifts and weapons, as well as defence systems and hospitals. The tax rise will fund the government to restart the NHS. In time it will mean that we will be able to fund participation in wars again.
So for business owners out there- don't worry. Prices will go up to cover the raise in income tax. Congressmen, please vote yes to tax raises.
Britain ~ Interview with Jerry GFL
Hi Jerry. You won the latest Presidential elections by quite a margin. Do you think that your experience as President after the impeachment made you a more attractive candidate?
I think it may have been my avatar change. On a more serious note, yes, having done the job for 10 days already gave me a big experience advantage over the other candidates.
The NHS is your speciality some would say. What do you think about the current reforms being proposed in public discussion?
Well there are many ways etc how we could have approached it and commons has now come up with a solution which now only awaits House of Lords approval. Whether this weill be successful only time will tell, however it does look very promising.
One more question on UK politics. The Liberal Social Democrats founded this month, and one of their major policies was on strengthening the military. Do you think that their policies are practical considering the current financial situation?
Strengthening the military can mean many things, but right now we can’t afford fully blown war. The few troops we got in Romania are fighting on Q1 weapons. However we might have a war soon that every citizen can participate in, without the UK being directly involved due to the MPP we are about to sign with Croatia.
As an advocate of ATLANTIS, what is your position on the current Romania-Indonesia war, and do you see future British involvement?
Well my position shouldn’t be hard to guess, I would like to see a Romanian win as it would be good for them the UK and Atlantis. We will continue some light fighting that is at almost no cost to us but we won’t be able to send in any tanks.
If the UK cannot help militarily, have you considered helping Romania by encouraging UK arms companies to sell cheap guns to Romanian buyers, as weapons shortages are the major limiting factor on Romanian performance in battle?
Well export licenses cost money as well so it will be down to any company owner to make that decision. However there are supply chains in place that get weapons from all over the world to Romanian troops.
A new country was born recently. Will the UK be extending the hand of friendship to Bosnia?
So far little is known about the political stance Bosnia is going to take, but I am always open for talks regarding friendship with other nations.
Finally, do you have a message you would like to deliver to the Economist's readership?
I would like everyone to know that I am always here for questions; so far I don’t think I have left a single PM without a reply. Any ideas you have to help the UK bring them to me or the forums.
Thank you for your time Jerry, and good luck leading the UK through these difficult times.
Bagehot ~ NHS Reform
The past two weeks have seen the complete overhaul of the National Health Service. For those not aware, the NHS was suspended pending reform because of imminent bankruptcy. The knock on effect of this suspension of services was resounding. Alone the NHS almost completely upheld the gift market – prices for Q1 gifts dropped by 100% in the time since the NHS shut-down. To provide these gifts the government has in the past assisted considerably in establishing the supply of diamonds to the gift companies. The shut-down of the service has meant that gifts sales almost ground to a complete halt. Diamond companies lost their sole market in the UK. Not only this, citizens who relied on 10 wellness a day and so only needed to purchase Q1 food suddenly had to fend for themselves, mainly by purchasing higher Q food. Q3 food prices hit an incredible £6 this week. While Q1 food manufacturers and Q1 grain producers saw sales tumble.
The suspension came at an unfortunate time, immediately prior to the presidential elections. As a consequence the reform was shelved inadvertently until the new administration was elected and established. Soon after the election, Anaxima was announced as the new Minister of Health. She very quickly took a firm hold of the now rather daunting reins of the NHS and established a limited temporary gifting allowance for clinic directors while her proposals were discussed in the House of Commons.
Directorship of clinics is an unenviable job reserved for those who have the time and heart to dedicate themselves to a task that gets a considerable amount of criticism. Blame is often placed at their feet for low gifting levels, for missing people out, for gifting inactive citizens and so on. The temporary measures inflamed such criticism to the extent that a number of directors decided to resign their positions. Others felt that the measures put in place and those suggested in the Commons were either ruining the hard work they had put in or were putting further onus and work on them to ensure more efficient gifting procedures. The rest supported the efforts made by the Minister of Health.
Regardless of what is to be made of the proposals, regardless of what is thought as best way forward, Anaxima has admirably continued to make progress to push the reform through and return the NHS to its functioning self. The foremost aim of the reform is to reduce dramatically NHS spending. But it also aims to educate the public in ways to maintain wellness for themselves. In essence it continues the temporary allowance of 10 wellness a week for free for all citizens while establishing some basics to encourage activity and education. Some criticisms of the exam included in the reform has been made; each citizen must complete an exam on wellness before receiving free gifting, but only time will tell whether it is feasible. As of yesterday evening the reform was passed in the House of Commons and will move up to the Lords for their decision
Scipio the Great
Europe ~ The German Empire
Two months ago, the predecessor to this newspaper wrote an article on the German question. At that point, the question was on whether or not we should sign mutual protection pacts with Germany to protect it from a potential Swedish invasion. Now the tables have turned. After a voluntary agreement between the two nations, Germany has invaded Austria and made it part of the same nation. Now the Germanic nation sits astride central Europe, it's population increasing each day.
But the German Empire isn't a military one, it's a diplomatic one. The fact that Germany still exists today is a testament to the German's ability to play off the various European powers. Now Germany is possibly the strongest advocate of the new European Social Alliance, and it is from this starting point that German influence is springing.
The Economist is not going stretch the point out any further than is necessary: Germany is now a player in Europe. In a continent of mighty powers, Germany and France are possibly the weakest. However, they occupy strategic positions between the Great Powers. Our message is simple: don't let Germany become the enemy.
United States ~ Ambushed
Uncle Sam's war in Mexico crossed a line a week ago. It stopped being about removing Peace agents and started being a war of conquest. When Uncle Sam crossed that point he opened the USA up to a response from Peace. Finally, that has come. Portugal has invaded the central American territories to retake the region for America. The Portuguese are a far greater military power, and they will face little resistance from the United States. The only question here is whether the Portuguese will stop before they reach the American original regions, or whether Atlantis troops will have to fight, and lose money, to protect a country which has repeatedly acted against Atlantis interests.
The USA attempted to cause a resistance war to cut off Portuguese access to their territories, but they failed even there. Portugal and Mexico fought for the USA to force them to face the Portuguese army. Now the USA is fighting in the very region it tried to return to Mexico, and at the moment of writing it looks bad for the Americans.
**The Economist**
Top ten British Newspapers by subscription
1. The Voice of Atlantis
:- Atlantis Central Treasury
2. The Reformer's Chronicle
:- Kaleb
3. MoD News
:- Ministry of Defence
4. UK Prime Minister News
:- JerryGFL
5. Ministry of Truth
:- Hassan Pesaran
6. The Economist
:- Iain Keers
7. Vlaams Onafhankelijk Dagblad-:- Creve Roeland
8. Newcastle Matters
:- Frufru
9. FIFA News
:- eFIFA
10. The Destiny Chronicle
:- Final Destiny
Leaders ~ Editorial
Good afternoon readers and welcome to this new edition of the Economist. This week we welcome Scipio the Great as our new columnist. Scipio is writing the new commentary column, Bagehot. Bagehot (pronounced Bad-je-ho) was a British economic and political writer, most famous for his book 'The English Constitution', and an editor of the Economist in the nineteenth century. Hopefully Scipio can live up to the reputation of the man and deliver a strong new article for our leadership each week. The Economist has every faith in him.
Onto more internationalist things. This week has been a week of wars, and a week of disappointment for Atlantis. Peace has triumphed in the East by taking the West Siberian region, and in the West by taking the Great Southern Plains. It's a hard time for Romania, and Atlantis nations are answering the rallying cry from the great imperialist power to move and fight for the cause. In the Americas the US has finally stopped its advance into Mexico, after Portugal intervened to protect the state. Now the Americans face a true threat, the tables may turn. In Asia Pakistan has been bashing away at Indonesia, in an attempt to reduce the Indonesian forces attacking Romania, with little effect.
So a busy week. In UK politics, Jerry was re-elected as President, in a straight run-off between Hazzn, Oexis and himself. All three put up a good campaign, but right now the United Kingdom voted for stability. We have a new cabinet, with a lot of old familiar faces. With Party President elections in just three days it will be interesting to see how the parties change.
Update: Now including an interview with UK President JerryGFL
Leaders ~ The cost of war
Romania is currently engaged, as you will be aware, in two major wars. The first, against Indonesia, is the biggest threat. Indonesia must be turned back, lest they march into Europe like the Mongols of the medieval period. We need a balanced world, and the Romanians are the balancing force that holds back Indonesia. We have already heard this week encouragement from Minister of Foreign Affairs SaraDroz to go and fight for Romania. However wars are not won or lost purely on the number of soldiers. Supplies are also critical, and the huge amount of damage being done by Romania in every battle is cutting into Romanian weapons supplies and driving up prices. The government has responded to this by ordering the army (and whoever else will listen) to work in the Iron and Arms manufacturing industries. This in itself will have a knock-on effect on business in Romania, pushing down productivity and therefore increasing the value of labour and the cost of finished goods.
The solution? British support for Romania as a nation should be material as well as military. Every weapon or raw material on their markets reduces the huge pressure on the Romanian government. Exporting goods to the Romanian market, one of the busiest in the world, is a good move in any case. But during times of war the benefit both to you as a business owner and Romania as a nation under threat are immense. If you have doubts about selling your goods, or any questions, we recommend that you visit the Romanian Embassy on the forums.
Britain ~ The Second Minister
The Ministry of Finance is a ministry which is of great interest to the Economist. Being in charge of the UK treasury, the Minister of Finance (MoF) is the citizen who holds the purse-strings of the UK. The MoF has to be beyond all doubt the most trustworthy person in the country. Current Minister of Finance, Roadrunnerspeed is a trusted and well-known public figure. But is the MoF becoming too powerful?
This week there is a MoF reform proposal going through parliament. The original proposal was to give the MoF wide-ranging powers over military action and funding. Roughly divided into three sections, the new bill would give the MoF:
1.A vote on the war council.
2.The power to block any motion going through the war council
3.A final say on all Ministerial budgets
Already a powerful position, we believe that this proposal would make the Minister the second most powerful in the eUK after the Prime Minister themselves. In fact, in terms of day to day influence, in some cases the Minister could exert more influence.
Do the British public feel this is the right decision to make? Should a Minister not directly elected control such a vast amount of the British state? It's a difficult decision. On one hand, Roadrunner is completely trustworthy and would only act in the interests of the state. The Ministry under his hands could be the vehicle driving the move towards a more accountable state, and a more planned economy. On the other hand, he will not be MoF forever, and is it wise to have so much responsibility concentrated in a single person? The happiest solution for all is to compromise. Make a temporary bill, with a review every month. The bill may be necessary now, but in two months it could imbalance the government without need. A temporary bill would allow us to tackle the current financial problem and maintain a guarantee against future excess.
Britain ~ Tax Hike
This week there has been a consistent rise in taxes. All income taxes are now currently increasing to 20%, the latest tax hike is on wood. So what's the effect of all this? It keeps money moving in the economy. The government is the biggest buyer of gifts and weapons, as well as defence systems and hospitals. The tax rise will fund the government to restart the NHS. In time it will mean that we will be able to fund participation in wars again.
So for business owners out there- don't worry. Prices will go up to cover the raise in income tax. Congressmen, please vote yes to tax raises.
Britain ~ Interview with Jerry GFL
Hi Jerry. You won the latest Presidential elections by quite a margin. Do you think that your experience as President after the impeachment made you a more attractive candidate?
I think it may have been my avatar change. On a more serious note, yes, having done the job for 10 days already gave me a big experience advantage over the other candidates.
The NHS is your speciality some would say. What do you think about the current reforms being proposed in public discussion?
Well there are many ways etc how we could have approached it and commons has now come up with a solution which now only awaits House of Lords approval. Whether this weill be successful only time will tell, however it does look very promising.
One more question on UK politics. The Liberal Social Democrats founded this month, and one of their major policies was on strengthening the military. Do you think that their policies are practical considering the current financial situation?
Strengthening the military can mean many things, but right now we can’t afford fully blown war. The few troops we got in Romania are fighting on Q1 weapons. However we might have a war soon that every citizen can participate in, without the UK being directly involved due to the MPP we are about to sign with Croatia.
As an advocate of ATLANTIS, what is your position on the current Romania-Indonesia war, and do you see future British involvement?
Well my position shouldn’t be hard to guess, I would like to see a Romanian win as it would be good for them the UK and Atlantis. We will continue some light fighting that is at almost no cost to us but we won’t be able to send in any tanks.
If the UK cannot help militarily, have you considered helping Romania by encouraging UK arms companies to sell cheap guns to Romanian buyers, as weapons shortages are the major limiting factor on Romanian performance in battle?
Well export licenses cost money as well so it will be down to any company owner to make that decision. However there are supply chains in place that get weapons from all over the world to Romanian troops.
A new country was born recently. Will the UK be extending the hand of friendship to Bosnia?
So far little is known about the political stance Bosnia is going to take, but I am always open for talks regarding friendship with other nations.
Finally, do you have a message you would like to deliver to the Economist's readership?
I would like everyone to know that I am always here for questions; so far I don’t think I have left a single PM without a reply. Any ideas you have to help the UK bring them to me or the forums.
Thank you for your time Jerry, and good luck leading the UK through these difficult times.
Bagehot ~ NHS Reform
The past two weeks have seen the complete overhaul of the National Health Service. For those not aware, the NHS was suspended pending reform because of imminent bankruptcy. The knock on effect of this suspension of services was resounding. Alone the NHS almost completely upheld the gift market – prices for Q1 gifts dropped by 100% in the time since the NHS shut-down. To provide these gifts the government has in the past assisted considerably in establishing the supply of diamonds to the gift companies. The shut-down of the service has meant that gifts sales almost ground to a complete halt. Diamond companies lost their sole market in the UK. Not only this, citizens who relied on 10 wellness a day and so only needed to purchase Q1 food suddenly had to fend for themselves, mainly by purchasing higher Q food. Q3 food prices hit an incredible £6 this week. While Q1 food manufacturers and Q1 grain producers saw sales tumble.
The suspension came at an unfortunate time, immediately prior to the presidential elections. As a consequence the reform was shelved inadvertently until the new administration was elected and established. Soon after the election, Anaxima was announced as the new Minister of Health. She very quickly took a firm hold of the now rather daunting reins of the NHS and established a limited temporary gifting allowance for clinic directors while her proposals were discussed in the House of Commons.
Directorship of clinics is an unenviable job reserved for those who have the time and heart to dedicate themselves to a task that gets a considerable amount of criticism. Blame is often placed at their feet for low gifting levels, for missing people out, for gifting inactive citizens and so on. The temporary measures inflamed such criticism to the extent that a number of directors decided to resign their positions. Others felt that the measures put in place and those suggested in the Commons were either ruining the hard work they had put in or were putting further onus and work on them to ensure more efficient gifting procedures. The rest supported the efforts made by the Minister of Health.
Regardless of what is to be made of the proposals, regardless of what is thought as best way forward, Anaxima has admirably continued to make progress to push the reform through and return the NHS to its functioning self. The foremost aim of the reform is to reduce dramatically NHS spending. But it also aims to educate the public in ways to maintain wellness for themselves. In essence it continues the temporary allowance of 10 wellness a week for free for all citizens while establishing some basics to encourage activity and education. Some criticisms of the exam included in the reform has been made; each citizen must complete an exam on wellness before receiving free gifting, but only time will tell whether it is feasible. As of yesterday evening the reform was passed in the House of Commons and will move up to the Lords for their decision
Scipio the Great
Europe ~ The German Empire
Two months ago, the predecessor to this newspaper wrote an article on the German question. At that point, the question was on whether or not we should sign mutual protection pacts with Germany to protect it from a potential Swedish invasion. Now the tables have turned. After a voluntary agreement between the two nations, Germany has invaded Austria and made it part of the same nation. Now the Germanic nation sits astride central Europe, it's population increasing each day.
But the German Empire isn't a military one, it's a diplomatic one. The fact that Germany still exists today is a testament to the German's ability to play off the various European powers. Now Germany is possibly the strongest advocate of the new European Social Alliance, and it is from this starting point that German influence is springing.
The Economist is not going stretch the point out any further than is necessary: Germany is now a player in Europe. In a continent of mighty powers, Germany and France are possibly the weakest. However, they occupy strategic positions between the Great Powers. Our message is simple: don't let Germany become the enemy.
United States ~ Ambushed
Uncle Sam's war in Mexico crossed a line a week ago. It stopped being about removing Peace agents and started being a war of conquest. When Uncle Sam crossed that point he opened the USA up to a response from Peace. Finally, that has come. Portugal has invaded the central American territories to retake the region for America. The Portuguese are a far greater military power, and they will face little resistance from the United States. The only question here is whether the Portuguese will stop before they reach the American original regions, or whether Atlantis troops will have to fight, and lose money, to protect a country which has repeatedly acted against Atlantis interests.
The USA attempted to cause a resistance war to cut off Portuguese access to their territories, but they failed even there. Portugal and Mexico fought for the USA to force them to face the Portuguese army. Now the USA is fighting in the very region it tried to return to Mexico, and at the moment of writing it looks bad for the Americans.
**The Economist**
Top ten British Newspapers by subscription
1. The Voice of Atlantis
:- Atlantis Central Treasury
2. The Reformer's Chronicle
:- Kaleb
3. MoD News
:- Ministry of Defence
4. UK Prime Minister News
:- JerryGFL
5. Ministry of Truth
:- Hassan Pesaran
6. The Economist
:- Iain Keers
7. Vlaams Onafhankelijk Dagblad-:- Creve Roeland
8. Newcastle Matters
:- Frufru
9. FIFA News
:- eFIFA
10. The Destiny Chronicle
:- Final Destiny
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Comments
"2.The power to block any motion going through the war council"
Honestly I am not fully aware how the War Council works. Isn’t a vote in the Council enough for the MoF? Shouldn’t the power of veto be of exclusive use by the PM?
I understand that the MoF plays a big part in a War campaign as it has to be financed. The advise of the MoF is very important, but surely the PM has the ultimate decision to go to war or not.
Can the PM overrule the block from the MoF at the War council?
Apologies if this information is public as I could not find it.
Good Article.
nice article as always!
Mammoth article! 😃
Voted and subscribed
Exellent as always
Get us involved in the fight asap with an MPP or whatever. We can't help if we need a moving ticket to get there, and it doesn't help the economy if we are all in a different country.
1. PM has veto over everything done by a Minister.
2. MPPs don't work unless it's the original regions of Romania under attack.
I think I'm royal Navy. I'd like to be deployed to Romania with guns and tickets. As it is I work fro the Weapons buisness.
the U.S deserves all of this. Is it just me or does PEACE seem like the stronger bigger player in Erepublik....
Good article!
Great article as usual Iain.
The MoF Bill actually only grants the MoF the ability to postpone any motion for 24 hours while he/she consults with the PM about whether to continue or veto the motion. The bill is designed to ensure that the MoF actually has a say rather than just being an advisor. However it has proper provision to stop members abusing the powers.
Also congratulations on having the 6th most subscribed newspaper 🙂 Hopefully be in the top 3 soon!
Nice unbiased stab at the LSD there Iain 😉 keep up the impartiality 😁
One more question on UK politics. The Liberal Social Democrats founded this month, and one of their major policies was on strengthening the military. Do you think that their policies are practical considering the current financial situation?
Strengthening the military can mean many things, but right now we can’t afford fully blown war. The few troops we got in Romania are fighting on Q1 weapons. However we might have a war soon that every citizen can participate in, without the UK being directly involved due to the MPP we are about to sign with Croatia.
It's a reasonable question for the PM. Don't get me wrong, I think many of your policies regarding the military are good ones. I was just wondering whether the Pres thought any of them were likely to happen.
How we will start working. Because there are no job offers in the human recourses for the low skill (especially for my skill "zero").
Can somebody do something for this subject.
check again... there is.