Reflections on this past Congressional term

Day 554, 11:53 • Published in Japan Japan • by Sophia Forrester

The past term of Congress was my first representing the people of Kyushu. I'm thankful for the opportunity to have actively represented the people of eJapan in Congress. The past term was something of a tumultuous one, as many issues were hotly contested. Throughout my time in Congress, I have proposed solutions which are in the broad public interest, and I have opposed proposals which serve only the interests of a narrow few. Despite the controversy, I am very thankful for the change to speak up against these injustices, and I am grateful for the confidence the people of Kyushu have given me in electing me to a second term.

The term opened with a small surprise -- six proposals were made by foreigners who had won election to Congress. Although only one of these, a corrupt donation proposal, was dangerous, it was still an odd way to start the term. But it would only become stranger.

In the last days of his administration, our previous President, Akki Hermitson, proposed a series of protectionist tax hikes meant to give our companies an advantage over foreign imports. President Hermitson said that our companies were overproducing, and that in order for them to sell their products we needed to screen foreign goods out. In order to do this, he proposed across-the-board taxe hikes on imported manufactured goods.

I strongly opposed the claim that our workers' productivity was somehow harmful to our nation. In the US, it was a constant effort of government and business alike to educate workers on how to raise their Wellness so that they could produce more. It was a shock when that same behavior was portrayed by our President as "overproduction."

The natural solution to the alleged "overproduction" is to either put more money into consumers' hands so that they can purchase more, or to lower the price of goods. The latter would be the market's natural solution to the problem, and it was to prevent this that our President proposed his protectionist measures. The former would be a more equitable solution, but this was never even discussed. Instead the worker was demonized, along with foreign importers simply seeking to provide us with quality goods.

While a tax hike on food passed, opposed only by myself and Congressman Gabriel Lavanche, the two of us were able ot successfully argue against the next phase of the proposal, a tax hike on moving tickets, and the remainder of the plan was scrapped. I am grateful to the Congress for doing the right thing, if a bit late. Even if one agreed that more goods in our markets would be a bad thing, eliminating imports would only be a temporary measure, since there were few foreign goods in our markets even before Akki's proposals. Even without these, what Akki called "overproduction" would have still been a problem. The only true solutions are to stimlate demand or to let ther market take its course.

Aside from the beginning of the war games two days later, there were no further proposals until the completion of the new forums. President Kakawayoshi Makoto, who had replaced Akki with the unanimous support of all of eJapan's parties, changed the New Citizen Message to reflect the new forum site. The same day, I proposed a donation of GRD to the National Bank of Japan. This would be the first of several donations, first proposed on the old forums before I entered Congress, which would transfer foreign funds to the National Bank where they could more easily used on the monetary market for the benefit of eJapan.

I also proposed to lower the income tax on the housing industry, as the prior Congress had raised to 5% when a majority of voting Congressmen mistook Income Tax for Import Tax in the proposal. Like the donations, this passed with broad support.

The next day, however, Sweden proposed its invasion of Germany, which we even now fight to repel. In protest, eJapan joined dozens of nations around the New World in cutting off trade to Sweden. I supported this embargo in order to send a stern message to Sweden. However, when this message was ignored I joined the vast majority of the eJapanese Congress in approving a Mutual Defense Part with Germany, offering our aid against the aggressors.

Last but not least, the decision of South Korea to merge with us activated the Mutual Defense Pact of our ally Iran. This led to a short period when Iran and eJapan were technically at war. Along with a unanimous majority of the Congress, I voted to sign a peace with eIran and resume our friendly relations as common members of the PEACE Global Community.

At the start of my second term, our country continues to face great challenges. A long deflation continues, and President Kokawayoshi has so far done nothing to slow or stop it. Despite the valiant efforts of our troops, Sweden has gained a good deal of ground within Germany, and it is unclear when our coalition will have the ability to take this territory back. In such times, all of eJapan must remain resolute.

However, there are encouraging signs. In my bid for reelection, I ran against the former President, Akki Hermitson, whose protectionist proposal had threatened to harm our country. I am grateful to the people of Kyushu for supporting me in greater numbers, proving that democracy does indeed work. While Akki has returned to Congress due to the wildcard system, I was glad to be designated one of two official winners by the people of Kyushu, and will continue to represent Kyushu and eJapan as best I know how. Yet I bear Congressman Hermitson no malice, and hope that he refrains from further harmful proposals.

The times call for decisive action to rescue or economy and bolster our military, and I cannot do it alone, but with the people behind me I will do my best.