Meet Mr Moneybags

Day 1,512, 14:12 • Published in United Kingdom United Kingdom • by eUK Home Office


Today, we're interviewing Mr Moneybags or as he's less commonly known, Talon Karrde, resident Minister of Finance and former Minister of Home Affairs. We'll be looking at the adverse effect that having no Congress could have on our nation and what programs he's running to help the eUK during these difficult times.

1. You first came to prominence as the Minister of Home Affairs. Why did you make the transition from Home Affairs to Finance?

I was dragooned into this position actually. Emergy Maxfell (who is a top, top bloke) was the MoF before me, and was retiring after six months in the hot seat. His deputy Octavian had a difficult patch so couldn't take over, so that left the CP candidate, Thomas765 with a bit of a problem. To which I was the solution :3

As to why I didn't apply for MoHA again, it's mostly a time thing. To do it well, MoHA requires a lot of your time. Not because the actual tasks take a long time, but rather they're ruddy frustrating and thankless so there's a lot of procrastonation before stuff gets done. I don't have the time to go through that process at the moment :3

MoF is really interesting and the work is totally different, more fun. There's not less than MoHA, but it's of a different nature. It's a transition I've enjoyed.

2. It’s quite the marked difference between the two. What do you require as a person to be considered for the Minister of Finance?

Essentially, to be old and have a spotless record these days. It's 90% trust and 10% competence. You have to have basic maths skills, be fine with spreadsheets, be active, but you need to be trusted not to steal the million + GBP we have in our reserves. That kind of trust takes a long time to gain. I had my 1000th day in the game this week!

3. This is your second term as Minister of Finance. What would you say you’ve learned from your first term coming into your second?

Money talks. MoF is both a redundant and an important position, in that the same tasks can be performed by someone else, but at the same time my views tend to be given a hearing more than when I was MoHA or MoLA. The kind of experience I've gained in this role is unlike that of any other.

I've also learned that Master Hofkens is a great guy! He's been my deputy for both months, and has been both dilligent and timely in processing all the grants etc we have going, he's a top bloke. I always find that if I'm not sure on something, need some advice or someone to run something past, he's always willing to help and is able to do so. He makes my life much easier!

4. Most people will be aware that we don’t have a Congress but might not know that this limits the financial transactions we can make. Can you explain to the public the seriousness of this limit?

With a congress, we can transfer any tax money in our accounts to our reserve orgs every day, allowing us to access and use it. Without a congress, any tax money we get remains in the accounts, untouchable and thus unusable by us. If we want to spend, we need to be able to access the money! So if we don't have a congress, we end up having to eat into our reserves, which, while substantial, are not inexhaustible.

5. As a result of this limitation, some programs will be suspended or cut short due to financial constraints. Which programs are running and which programs aren’t?

As it stands, most of our schemes are still operational. Check out the land grants, town centre grants, iron / oil grants and BoE loans on the forums:
http://forums.erepublik.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=588&t=77097 (Free Oil/Iron Companies)
http://forums.erepublik.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=77098 (Town Hall Upgrades)
http://forums.erepublik.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=77096 (Land Grants)
http://forums.erepublik.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7709 (Bank of England Loans)

All of these are still going.

There'll also be a call to arms of some description, in which we give away good Q weapons for free on the forums.

A couple that are no longer running are the active members scheme, and the money exchanges in which we were swapping GBP for foreign currency in order for it to be used to build saltpeter mines, thus getting rid of that GBP from circulation.

6. If you had freedom of finance to do what you will with unlimited funds, what programs would you like to implement as Minister of Finance?

Oooh, the possibilities!

First, I'd buy a lot more Q6 factories for the military when the opportunity presented itself, thus securing our financial and military future.

Second, I'd give away free saltpeter mines on the forums

Third, I'd tank like crazy to level the playing field a little

Fourth, I'd send 0.001 GBP to anyone that fights against us, that would be funny.

Fifth, a heck of a lot of stuff to new players.

7. The threat of having no Congress exists even now. How severe to the nation’s development would it be if we did not have a Congress for a second term in a row?

Not severe at all. As I said our reserves are not inexhaustible, but they are robust. Not having congress would mean we had to be careful with spending, but we'd be fine.

8. Finally, what would you say to those people who might be considered becoming Minister of Finance in the future?

Be active and stick around for a year or so 😛

Seriously though, be dilligent and hard working, show some intelligence, make sure your maths skills are up to scratch.

PS I'll personally send any TEDENites that vote and comment this article 0.001 GBP as a thank you for bringing attention to our government articles- it's appreciated!