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What follows is a fairly complete overview of the future of the Canadian economy and how it can be improved. As a member of the Norsefire Party I hope that my party will see the merit in it and see fit to add some or all of it to their agenda.

A Looming Crisis:

The biggest problem facing Canada’s economy is that of population spikes. What I mean by this is that Canada’s population does not rise steadily; instead, the population goes through periods of normal expansion (i.e. relatively slow expansion that does not tax the economy) and population spikes wherein Canada’s population increases at incredible rates.

This can happen when the admin decide to admit a new batch of players in one go. Additionally, a much less predictable spike may happen through eRepublik taking hold on a fairly large internet forum, where a lot of players are recruited to the game very quickly.

This month, Canada’s population increased by 159% and most of this occurred within a fairly short period of time; in other words, Canada underwent an unprecedented population spike. The pangs of this were apparent to all new players as they struggled and frequently failed to find jobs.

The reason for this is simple: at the current minimum wage, Q1 employers simply cannot make a profit off of players with a production level of 1, or even 2 in many industries. This loss is generally offset by government grants and by profits from players with higher production levels.

However, in the event of a population spike, privately-owned companies are not able to cope with the influx of new employees. Each player they hire costs them money and when the size of the population spike is actually higher than Canada’s prior population it becomes simply impossible for newcomers to find work immediately.

And it is essential for newcomers to be able to quickly find a job and increase their production skills. During times of steady growth, Canada maintains a balance of skills among its workers: a certain proportion of citizens at each production level. When there is a spike, this is thrown out of balance because all new players have a production level of 1. The results of this bottom-heavy skill market include a shortage of Q3 food and other higher-quality goods, as well as a negative overall effect on Canada’s economic strength. This is a vicious cycle because the lack of products to increase wellness means that production will decrease as will profits, making it even harder for jobs to be found.

Additionally, if a new player cannot find a job easily they are less likely to stick with the game and it is definitely in Canada’s interests to prevent this from happening.

The situation is simple: Canada must have jobs available for any number of new players at any time. The private sector has shown itself unable to achieve this under the current minimum wage so the duty falls to the government.


Government trainers and accommodating the new:

How they work: Government trainers would offer any and all new players work at the minimum wage. After they have reached a production level of 2 they will receive a raise of 2 CAD. When they reach a level of 3, they will be fired and pointed towards Q2 or Q3 privately owned companies.

To advertise this: A newspaper could be created to list the trainers and encourage voting so that it is always one of the highest-rated articles (and hence visible to all new citizens). Additionally, party leaders could be called upon to inform any new players joining their party about the trainers.

The costs: If the minimum wage is 2 CAD (which I recommend changing it to below) the company ends up paying a total of 50 CAD for each player it trains to level 3. The corporation receives in return about 77 productivity. In food, this is worth $39.27, in gifts it is $23.10, in weapons it is $36.96, in moving it is $48.79, in housing it is $42.77. This is calculated using the lowest market values from a few days ago and both gifts and weapons were somewhat uncharacteristically low so actual losses may actually be less. Even with these figures, though, the cost is only about $10 to train someone which is incredibly low.

The unseen refun😛 When a player leaves eRepublik, all CAD in their possession is taken out of circulation; essentially, it is refunded to the government because the government can reprint them money without causing inflation. This means that if salaries of players who quit remain unspent the government companies have received free productivity and this means that they can counteract the losses. To increase the money recouped in this way, it should be included in the article introducing government trainers that new players should wait before purchasing weapons and stocking up on food (in a spike, the latter is especially important due to Q3 food shortages).

Why they are necessary: While the main purpose of the trainers is to cope with population spikes, they also serve to relieve the private sector of the training burden during times of normal expansion. They provide assurance that there will always be jobs for the new and a way to relieve a bottom-heavy skill-market. This inspires confidence in Canada’s economy.
Some may also argue that the problem of population spikes has not yet caused serious harm to the economy. The response to this is that we must be prepared to anticipate inevitable problems and must not be scared to solve them before they cause damage: prevention as opposed to treatment.

What about privately owned Q1 companies? The government will offer them 20 gold interest-free loans to help them upgrade to Q2. In the long run this costs us nothing and is good for the economy. If companies opt not to upgrade, the current system of government grants will allow them to stay in business.

Gifting: Gifting programs should remain primarily the domain of local government. They are better-connected to their population that the federal government and need some duties besides saving up for a hospital. Progressive, effective mayors such as jbdivinus have shown that it is well within the abilities of local government to support their population in this way.
However, the federal government should still do its part to help out by offering to link active new citizens up with a partner with whom they can exchange gifts. This costs the government (and hence taxpayers) nothing while still ensuring that wellness increases. Due to the minimum wage, new players will have the funds to participate in this program.

Minimum wage: There are many reasons for advocating a minimum wage. Primarily, it encourages circulation. Older, richer players have houses and full wellness and hence have less that they need to buy while new players are more likely to spend money. A minimum wage ensures that money is given to the segment of population most likely to spend it. Also, players who are able to make a decent salary on their first day of work are more likely to stay around as opposed to those unable to earn more than a single CAD. A higher population is good for Canada.
However, a minimum wage of $3 places too much strain on Q1 business owners (who cannot turn a profit from low production-level players) and will cause the expenses of government-run trainers to greatly increase (by about 150% per player on average). With a rapidly expanding population even in times of normal growth this will deplete the treasury, possibly quite rapidly.
If the minimum wage is cut to $2 government trainers become eminently more affordable and government grants last much longer allowing Q1 businesses to prosper as never before. The benefits of a minimum wage a preserved but the costs of maintaining it plummet.
A lower minimum wage also increases the availability of gold and the relative value of CAD. If it becomes slightly harder to save up money, more people might decide to sell the gold they receive from invites which improves the gold market.

Printing money, the treasury, and inflation:

As much as possible, Canada should refrain from printing money except to recoup losses from trainers as detailed above. If the amount of money in circulation is roughly unchanged and the population increases the value of the currency rises.
However, it is not in our interest as an expanding economy to let this get out of hand. While a very low inflation rate is desirable, but it is also irresponsible to stop issuing money altogether. This being said, inflation is currently much too high so there should be little or no money printed in the near future.

Investments: It is not in our interest to have our gold sit idly in our treasury. If we keep the gold active Canada can fund itself without the use of taxes. By active I mean that the money should be invested in foreign currencies and markets in order to make a profit. I do not know of anyone qualified to handle this and we might have to contract overseas to find someone but it is essential that our gold is doing something beyond lying around. Through investments, we should be able to fund most of our spending without raising taxes.

Supporting commerce: With the above in mind, the government should also be prepared to invest in the Canadian economy by offering interest-free loans to companies that wish to upgrade or sell their excess goods in other countries. Both of these improve the strength of our economy and our dollar.


In summary:

-A too-rapidly increasing population can cause economic problems for Canada

- Government trainers should be created

-The minimum wage should be reduced to 2 CAD

-Funding for gifting programs should be primarily the domain of local government and the private sector, though not without some federal support

-The money in the treasury should be invested in foreign currencies to turn a profit

-The government should avoid printing money except to regain that which is taken out of circulation

-Canadian companies should be able to acquire loans easily