Join the new world

Thank you, first of all for taking the time to read my policy manifestos over the last few days. I know it has been a while since there have been legitimate proposals around about this time of the month, and I respect and admire the patience that many of you have had! Today we get onto the juicy bits, FINANCES.



Finances

The Bank of England has been run competently, as far as we know. Transparency and reporting around finances, and the regularity of those reports and availability of information, have fallen well below standards over the past year.

I have worked with TRS Congressmen to map out some simple changes to the culture of finance in the eUK to create an approach to financing Government which is more transparent, and transparent in a way where all members of the public and Government alike can see money moving in and out of orgs.

Money Flow Transparency Program

The eUK has a large number of Government Orgs, and has seen a rise in proposals to ring-fence funds for specific functions. The transparency recommendations relate to the creation of funding streams, paid directly by congress into specific orgs specified for specific, limited activities.

Some funding streams have already been conceived of by congress, they are:
A Community Rewards fund
An Energy Distribution fund
An Epics fund
An airstrike kitty

Others could be made as the Government or Congress saw fit. The BoE would continue to be used as the main store of GBP and for the running of any other projects and schemes that may fall outside these streams.

This will achieve a large leap forward in transparency. Sending the money needed for these funds directly to a dedicated org will allow for the public and congress to see money moved into those funds (via the Country Admin page) and the current balance on the org - effectively meaning anyone could see how much had been spent from the fund at any time without any reliance on reporting or updates. It would also invite Congress to discuss budgets for each fund.

The minister and team responsible for administering the fund would be the only person who required access, meaning the money was more secure.

This addresses the issue that visibility and info on the eUK’s cash flow and state of our finances is very low, and tends to take the form of a message to Congress, even after calls for finance reports to be published in the media. It also ensures GBP is held on a need-to-access basis, whilst creating a basic framework around which Congress can put serious consideration into budgets.



Org Security Principles

The eUK is sitting on a large Cash Surplus. For various reasons we adopted a habit of keeping our Country Accounts empty. Most of these reasons are now moot (orgs are not safe from coups, for example). However having large surpluses sat around does create a risk that the funds, due to AWOL cabinet ministers, mystery accessors, or pinching of pennies, become inaccessible. As such we suggest a target/threshold of funds to complement the Moneyflow Transparency program. This will mean working with Congress to create recommended parameters for the amount of GBP in the Country Accounts and in specified Orgs that Congress can play a more active part in maintaining (as they can make Donate laws and the CP cannot). This also gives more responsibility back to elected officials in moving money around.

We will also work cross-Government to establish Org security recommendations, and continue to follow best practices and implement further steps.This is because the eUK is not a stranger to people taking money in grandiose protests or grubby larceny. As we move away from an age of perma-Gov to healthy democracy we need to be confident that steps are being taken to limit access to orgs, not keep too much in one place, and to ensure funds can be accessed when needed from the country accounts.

That being said the following principles should be followed wherever practical to ensure funds are distributed across orgs and country accounts, and to limit the ability of any individual to access and take Tax Revenues.

As a general rule of thumb money held by the Government should be split across as many orgs as is practical.
No one should have access to all of these orgs. Access should be on a needs basis.
Likewise the Country Accounts should not be maintained at 0 but at a slightly higher baseline. Currently the eUK does not earn over the donation limit (400K) a day, and so can reduce the money in its accounts over time if Congress sees fit. As such the Country Accounts should hold at least a baseline of back-up capital to cover expenditure in the event Org money cannot be accessed. We will work with Congress to determine an appropriate baseline.

This effectively means establishing thresholds that can be used to determine target levels of CC in the country accounts and across the org funds.



Personal Infrastructure Subsidies & Loans

The Minister of Finance will agree with Congress a budget for Personal Infrastructure support. This will be targeted predominantly at new players, but will be administered by the MoF and considered on a case-by-case basis.

The fund will be used to:

Fully subside the costs of the first energy centre for new Div 1 players.

Pay out loans to eUK citizens* for energy centres, factories, storage etc.

Congress will be asked to set a cap for both activities.

*Those with min 6 months of continuous citizenship to date.

Citizens over level 30 will qualify for loans (extra financial support is available via the Community Rewards Framework prior to this level) and repayments will be monitored by the MoF. Individuals may only have one loan at a time, capped at 100k (and depending on the Congress-set budget). The government will pay only 4 loans a month and will consider applications on a first come first served basis.

Failing to make progress repaying a loan will lead to disqualification from further Government support and subsidy programs. Loans will not be given indiscriminately and will be considered on their merits and the history of the person applying for them.



Thank you for those of you for have, for reading my manifestos and the active engagement we have had in the comments over the last couple days. Whatever happens tomorrow, I think we have definitely reached a new point in our countries history, a new age of activity and comradery!

If you like the look of what I am saying, please consider lending me your vote tomorrow! As always, comments and questions are welcomed below, and the offer is still there for anyone wishing to help out in government.

I would like to take this time to announce that Mr Gavin C Mister has graciously accepted a role as my Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs. I am sure he will be keeping Sambo busy! Thank you Gavin o7

Thank you for taking the time friends,
As always, your loyal servant,
AMD.

Domestic Policy Military Policy Cabinet Financial Policy