[PCP] Yossi's April Congressional Mega-Article
Yossarian Afudyakno
Dear reader,
I would like to welcome you to the Rudé Právo. The objective of this newspaper is to disseminate information regarding the PCP, its activities and its policies. Whether you are a casual eRep player without political affiliation, a party member and fighter in the PA, or from another eNation, I hope you will enjoy and feel enriched and illuminated by its contents.
My first article is dedicated to explaining and presenting my activities as Congressman representing the party in the eUK Parliament. This seems natural since my term ends tomorrow. The PCP, by virtue of a very fruitful and mutually beneficial arrangement with the New Era party, had two party members sitting in the House of Commons this month: myself, and Jan Svalbard.
The left wing of the House of Commons holds an impromtu 'minor theoretical colloquium' - more consensus ad pugnatorum than ad idem
This month has been a very volatile time for the eUK: we have been assaulted by both Argentina and Ireland, between a rock and a drunk place. These difficult times have been much assuaged and made easier by the valiant defence mounted by, not only the eUKs many militias including the PA, but our foreign allies within and without TWO.
The legislative agenda has oscillated between two things: dealing with MPPs and NEs (Mutual Protection Pacts and Natural Enemy proposals respectively) and proposing minor changes to the tax system. The tax issue has been a point of debate among party members because some hold that reducing government income at this time is unsustainable, and they believe in central direction; on the other hand, reducing taxes on imports of RM and on the sale of weapons will mean that the average eUK citizen has more money in his pocket to live and fight to defend his country and his ideals. Therefore, I have consistently held the position that we ought to experiment with lower taxes and raise them if they prove destructive.
Young players need moar guns - the horror, the horror!
Moving on, the re-engagement of the in-game Congress with the extra-game community has continued on this month. Some months ago, all legislation was abolished and we started from scratch; this being my second consecutive term in office, I saw the Speaker Act come into force, and now the Citizenship Act is being voted on and discussed. The former created a marshall or president for the Congressmen of the eUK, currently Woldy; the latter proposes a comprehensive system of review of citizenship application processes. Both are good developments in my view.
The other major area of re-engagement has been "CongressJobs" (or something). This is a policy whereby all Congressmen get involved with a Ministry and help out with the administration. The theory is that top 5 parties, who elect Congressmen, should encourage their members to help out with government. The PCP has long been a friend to the newbie, and I was happily given a post in the Ministry of Recruitment, where I was tasked with befriending and mentoring new players via in-game messages. These mentoring relationships have varied in their length and significance but it's a great policy and I'm happy to have supported it while being Congressman.
Me and my former mentor, now deceased, got on swimmingly - it's an excellent initative!
Moving onto the future, it is unclear if the PCP has any electoral arrangement established for next term; hopefully we will. If not, as usual party members are encouraged to apply for jobs with the Ministries to get government experience and help out the nation.
This has been my April Congressional Report; I hope you found it informative. All party members are encouraged to sign up to the forums and check out my full voting record, with notes, for great accountability justice. Out of 24 votes, I missed one due to family, and one because the CP ordered us not to vote and I couldn't log-in later.
Thanks for reading.
I bid a polite farewell to my right honourable friends in the House of Commons
Comments
Voted!
Voted for great accountability and justice : D
o7
"Therefore, I have consistently held the position that we ought to experiment with lower taxes and raise them if they prove destructive."
- you are supposed to be a Communist, right?
"I saw the Speaker Act come into force, and now the Citizenship Act is being voted on and discussed. The former created a marshall or president for the Congressmen of the eUK, currently Woldy; the latter proposes a comprehensive system of review of citizenship application processes. Both are good developments in my view."
Both are poorly drafted. The Citizenship Procedure Act is opposed by such diametrically opposed figures as Iain Keers and Goku Jones. And it add insult to injury, it's being pushed through 2 days before a new Congress - so that they can't look at it, nor vote on it.
Woldy as Speaker has utterly failed in what I think, as a eLefty, should be his role - encouraging Congress to hold the Government to account. At the moment, all the Speaker is doing is lobbying Congressmen to follow the Government's lead. And calling them out when they don't do "what is expected" by Government.
It stinks really.
"- you are supposed to be a Communist, right?"
- given that the decrease is unlikely to affect tax receipts and it's an experiment and reversable, how is it anti-communist? Increased taxation is associated with the left for increased spending and activity. If it doesn't affect tax revenue it doesn't affect either, if it increases revenue it increases the govt's ability to bring in good policy
During the eArgentine invasion, I was sat in #MoD listening to why there were no supplies due to a lack of funds. And people wanna cut taxes to "encourage the market" Does this not sound a little Thatcherite to you?
oop's reply below...
In real life, for sure. Due to game mechanics, national policy options for communism is limited (With no National companies etc.). I would argue for maximising tax revenue in order to maximise government social spending/policy and maximising democracy/accountability/transparency. If the experiment increases revenue its worth trying if not I'll be the first to argue for it to be reversed...
It doesn't sit right with me at all.
Tax the rich.
That the tax proposals came from a a multi-Q7 owner, Iain Keers, is hardly surprising is it?
Would a lvl 19 player with a few food farms propose lower taxes, when he's wondering why there aren't enough supplies?
If taxes were taking the profit earned by the food comps then yes, he probably would be asking for lower taxes. In this game you can't tax different sections, to tax the rich you also have to tax the poor at the same rate. A rich government is useless with poor accounts that haven't/can't be upgraded.
Nice article Yossi, voted of course.
Well done Yossi. A very good article, voted and subscribed 🙂