Join the new world

G'day Australia

I've had to do a few things manually here. I no longer have access to the RBA org it appears the password has been changed from the one I had which is why the article is going here. If the President can get it back, I can copy the paper code over to there for future article record. I've been toying with Office software because eRepublik book-keeping is too simple and using QuickBooks was overkill, so I had to downscale. No issue, only that it took a bit of cutting and pasting to get the display I wanted. It would have been helpful to have the coding support though.

Back to business. Here is my first Budget in graphic form.

Here is the lengthy report I cooked prepared earlier, so if you're not into the long winded details now's the time to tune out.

Budget Report

When I was handed the RBA account (originally) I started by calculating all Australian Government cash on hand.

The organisation accounts and Treasury game account currently stand at 3,750.12 Gold and $111,914.16 Australian Dollars. There is a banned Australian organisation account with some gold and RON$ 7,038.19 but these figures aren't reflected for access and reconciliation purposes.

Converting Gold to Currency at 196 currency/gold exchange rate we have a combined cash and gold holding valued at $846,937.68

The projected expenses this term include:

Defence Ministry $100,000

Foreign Affairs Ministry $90,000

Australian Defence Force $24,000

Education and Entertainment Ministry $5,000

LETO Organisation Obligations $TBA. I have budgeted $11,000 for LETO actions if needed. This can be governed up for End of Term Report or written down in next month's Budget.

NEW CITIZEN FEES

I approximate this to be based on two new citizens per day over 30 days @ $500 AUD per new citizen to be $30,000. I am not sure how we pay this so I can only assume it comes from the Treasury account.

(If I have not reached this conclusion accurately it will have Budget ramifications being such a large amount of money. I stand to be corrected and will amend in my End of Term report).



Allotments dispersed.

$10,000 has been spent from Treasury on an Mutual Protection Pact (MPP) "Ally" renewal, this is subtracted already and on-track with the Budget, $80,000 remains to spend on MPPs.

The entire ADF Budget has been remitted to the Marshal. If further funds are required, this will have Budget implications.

$20,000 has been expended from the Defence Ministry Budget for Combat Orders (COs) in the New South Wales battle. This leaves their department on track with $80,000 remaining.


Will ministries need additional funds?

A modest top-up wouldn't be detrimental to our overall standing, just to say that we will need to budget additional funds which will affect the balance presented.


Projected Government revenue for the term.

TAX

I average this to be $100 AUD per day. There was a slight peak 5 days ago where that figure doubled, but even so it's evidently weak. This is subject to change if we hold a region at some point between now and at the end of the term and we earn from it.

Over a 30-day month our total tax income will be $3,000 at current levels.

ORGANISATION RENTALS

We have 1 tenant who pays a figure of $1,000 per month to rent a national organisation account. In this report I recommend the Government open up secure rentals (obviously subject to suitability and approval) as a way of making more income.

At this point there is a projected $1,000 in the bank for the month.



Financial note on income

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when judging this performance.

The first is we are wiped of all Australian regions. That has a whopping impact on how much revenue Government receives through the game system. All Marketplace and economic actions by citizens that accrue Work Tax, Import Tax and Value Added Tax (GST) all contribute to the amount of money Government is able to raise. The system doesn't provide free money.

Another thing to think about in judging our performance is the absence of a Plato competition so far this term. I'm advised that there is a predetermined cycle the game bosses use to run tournaments, with national governments the beneficiary of a gold reward for the participation of their citizens.

While there are peak moments of demand in the market, they are few and far between. Evidence suggests suppliers are selling offshore to take advantage of stronger economies, or even privately trading outside of the Marketplace. This can also be a defensive economic strategy that benefits us as well as hurts us, as it deprives the invading countries of the profits.


State of the national economy.

The current minimum wage is $ 5.00 AUD per day. The national average wage paid is currently $ 23.93 AUD per day.


Budget position

Opening Balance = $846,937.68
LESS Projected Expenditure = $260,000.00
PLUS Projected Income = $4,000.00

Cash on Hand (Equivalent) Balance = $590,937.68


Finance Minister's Budget note and recommendations

Thanks to Former Finance Minister Venja for his spreadsheet. It has been helpful to get a picture of how we've been travelling. The last ledger line was May 2014 based on actual returns.

It shows a definite increase in spending over the period of February to May in most areas, certainly the hot areas of Defence and ADF spending. The only comparable expense is Foreign Affairs (MPP renewals) which matches this month's budgeted figure. If Governments have been judging their MPP list based on the alliance membership only, this could explain why.

The revenue is comparable ($116 per day in May) give or take a few bucks it's not a staggering difference to our current lot.

I do note a major difference in the Cash on Hand value in May of $1.51 million ($1.97 mill. if you include private fund holdings) vs $846k to-date. The only conclusion that can be drawn is a slightly higher spending pattern between June and September when we were wiped.

What I am pleased to see from Venja's last budget is a deficit returned of $269,201 and at $260k down in this Budget and the expectation some ministries won't spend their entire allocation, there is a good chance we will be on par with May.

The projected expenditure from this Budget amounts to 44% of our total Cash on Hand. In value terms the rate of expenditure compared to our ability to earn is far too high in today's reality. While some expenses may not materialise by the end of the term creating a surplus delivered in next month's budget, it's still a ghost figure.

Australia would not be able to deliver a successive Budget based on these figures if today's market trends continue to be this bleak. In truth, the amounts provided for in this Budget are comparatively small when compared to other nations.

If the presidents of present and future wish to continue the current rate, the task is clear for the current and future Finance Ministry to source additional income streams.

While I can't rule out that governments in the period could have done more to amortise, there is a reasonable pattern of trending overall between May and now. Amortisation is good but if you can't do anything but hold spending at a steady rate, that's the best that can be achieved.

Despite the obvious gloom with the bank balance and our overall financial position, not bad for par.

I will harp on again that we do need to find more income or cut in next month's Budget. Not a case of wanting to, we have to because 12% over Budget next month and our entire reserves are depleted. Worst case scenario, the current Budget could not be handed down next month in the event of a rate decrease which our Gold equivalent is based on.

I hope this Budget meets with everyone's approval and thanks to the President and Cabinet for their help.

Cheers

Nathan
Finance Minister

Vasilis888
Deputy Finance Minister

Molly Jo Government Finance Ministry
Handed down Day 2,491 (16 September 2014)