Netherlands is Dead

Day 2,473, 13:35 Published in Netherlands Canada by Aries Prime


The latest immigration article got me thinking about our country and how it has changed from something I believe was fun with plenty of war and activity to something that is now dull, unwilling to take action, and dead. Below I will do my best to outline the areas I feel we are too conservative in, unwilling to take any action, are overregulated, and what steps we can take to improve our situation.



Immigration

Immigration seems to be the hot topic, and I do have a few short points to make.

1. We are in no danger of a PTO.

Simply put we have 0 PTO threat at the moment. The only reason it would be viable to clench down on immigration is when there is a PTO threat. There isn’t one at all.

2. Losing any divisions in the competition is our fault

Seriously, our largest and most coordinated MU, DAF, is losing in two divisions because of our lack of activity. In both divisions we are being beat out by one or two players in the entire division. We cannot blame them for this, but only ourselves.

3. The MU in question fights for Netherlands

This MU has fought for us heavily in the past and continues to fight for us when we ask, so why are we going to punish them for winning a few divisions in the competition? They are fighting hard for their own battles and it appears we are being sore losers because of it. We need to shake it off and grow up.



Congress

Our congress is in the business of overregulation and extreme oversight. Nothing is passed without multiple checks and balances and significant debate. Normally this would be a good sign, but unfortunately it has drained all progress to a slow drip. We are now so invested in triple checking our plans and refusing to pass laws and programs that nothing actually gets done.

Since May 31st we have had 20 votes. Of those 20 votes, 6 have been duplicate votes because of wording or other minor errors. Effectively this leaves us with 14 real votes since June.

When we break down those 14 votes based on content, we find that 6 of those were voting on a Chairman of Congress or Deputy Chairman of Congress. Another 1 vote was on a medal ceremony. When we remove those we are left with 7 actual votes of content.

Out of those 7 votes we find that 2 were on oversight, Mr. Wonka as MoFA and Training Contracts, 2 were law changes, deputy keykeeper law and blacklisting law, and 3 were on treaties or alliance membership.

Of the actual 2 laws congress voted on, neither was passed. On the 2 oversight issues, Training Contracts were blocked until a better solution was proposed. Of the three alliance membership and treaty votes, all three passed.

Here are the facts: Congress has passed 0 new laws since the end of May. Congress has blocked 1 program and passed 1 oversight allowing a foreigner as MoFA. Congress has approved 3 bills on alliances and treaties.

My opinion at this point should be clear, not only do we not allow anything, but we hardly seem to generate new ideas either. If you look at the debate section you will find that many new ideas are posted and debated but few are actually voted on because A. they are to inform congress of a new program or plan so it isn’t blocked through oversight or B. they are flat out rejected and never revisited or improved upon. Your congress simply refuses to act and overregulates everything it does act upon.



War & Country Goals

War is a critical part of this game, arguably the most important aspect a country can partake in. Our country actively refuses to be a part of the war community.

Personally, I am bored of our country because we never act. We haven’t had a war in months, we refuse to sign MPPs, we don’t use our AS options, and we don’t spend money. What’s worse is that it is painfully obvious that our country lacks a common goal to keep us active.

My solution is very simple. We need to come up with a war or create another substantial country goal that will stimulate everyone. The war approach leaves us with three options. 1. We can war Poland. 2. We can war Norway. 3. We can AS an enemy country.

Our first option is fairly unpopular and most agree that they will not do it. Although I don’t particularly like the option myself, I would be interested in any kind of stimulation at this point.

Our second option is the most feasible, but the most predictable and boring. We have warred Norway before and it eventually boils down to us getting bored and giving up. It is a ping-pong war that cannot be won by us but will give us a certain about of enjoyment and pride for a long period of time. The other issue is our Asteria sympathetic crowd or Pro-Norway crowd. They make it more difficult for us to sustain a war with Norway, but it is still probably our most effective route for war.

Our third option is to AS an enemy country. This is our most exciting option and our riskiest. The benefits of this option are very high. We will throw ourselves up on the international board, we will garner a huge boost in activity, we could manage to hold certain regions for a substantial amount of time, and we will strengthen our ties with allies if coordinated properly. The downside is the possibility of failure and loss of our funds. It is a move that will take a very strong leader and a coordinated effort, but it is very possible and our most exciting route.

At this point I feel the need to express my preference for option three. I am losing interest in this country and I know I am not alone. From my perspective we need to make a big play to keep things going or I simply won’t be interested in sticking around anymore. The benefits of pulling off an AS will be huge for our tiny community and it is something we have never done before. I strongly suggest we give it a go. I also would like to point out that funding is not an issue. We have the funds and a huge reserve of funds for moments exactly like this. Our unwillingness to act has made us quite possibly the richest country per capita, and I am not exaggerating.



Why not run for CP?

Normally I would run for CP because I believe, just like Gandhi did, that you must be the change you want to see. I desperately want to see us get some action because I love this eCountry. I have dedicated almost my entire eLife to it. I want it to grow and prosper and I feel very strongly that we need to follow the war path to make this happen.

Unfortunately I cannot run for CP because I do not have time. I am a masters student now and my full focus will be on my degree. The only way I would consider running is if I had a very effective vCP and team that could run the government without me. This is quite possible considering it is how I ran things in the past, but it would require some preparation and solid commitments from friends.

Because of this I am asking for someone to step up in the upcoming election and to incorporate the changes I have outlined. We need to see some real change in this country before it goes dry. We need to see congress stop overregulating and actually pass laws. We need to see more programs and ideas being voted on and implemented. We need to see a real war. Most importantly, we need a national goal to keep us going.

Your loyal patriot,

Aries Prime