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Citizens of Maryland, it’s that time of the month again, and no I don’t mean what you’re thinking, I'm talking about Congressional Elections. On the 25th of January, the citizens of the United States of America will again head to the polls to elect who represents them in Congress. As your current representative, you can be assured that I have not missed a single vote in Congress, and, if elected for a second term, will not miss any other vote. I’ve spent the first month of my congressional career testing the waters and learning the ropes (add whatever other experiential metaphor you like), and this next term, should I be allowed to accept it, will be one of even greater resilience and opportunity for me to serve you, the citizens of Maryland.

Over the past few weeks, I have been periodically updating Summa Res Publica, my newspaper, with voting records to provide you with a greater clarity and express a greater transparency, so you will know where I stand. Out of all of these votes, two have come up that are of more discussion than the others have: my ‘no’ vote on the Mutual Protection Pact (MPP) with Romania and my present support of the Comprehensive Tax Plan Act (CTPA). I would like to, before espousing my platform of sorts, why I voted the way that I did on these issues.

For the explanation regarding Romania, one must look at the timing. The United States was coming out of a period of bitter division that resulted from a war in France. Only a short time before the nation proposed an MPP with us, Romania had declared war on Russia (in which it succeeded in removing Russia from the map). Having seen what the last war had done to our country, and having not yet seen us heal from these wounds, I deemed it unwise to involve ourselves in another war. I did not vote ‘no’ to an MPP with Romania for all time, but in that moment, the United States had enough on its plate, that it would have been imprudent, in my opinion. However, the notion passed and nothing came of it. I was overly cautious.

Regarding the CTPA, I voted for this act for a conceptual reason rather than one of timing. In the time that the economy in erepublik has existed, we have not fully tested what effects, and their extent, the modification of tariffs/VAT/income taxes have directly on the prices of goods. We have all had theories and well-reasoned predictions as to how things would work out, but with the constant changing of the guard, the effects of any changes were left unseen. By leveling all of the tax rates for a while, we can modify these rates and see what effect they have on each industry. It may be painful for a little while, but it will provide a long-term benefit that may prove invaluable.

Now, with that out of the way and the air cleared, the platform:

DOMESTIC ISSUES
SUPPORT Workers – we need a higher minimum wage. The highest wage offer for new players, at the time of writing, is 2.01 USD. The cheapest Q1 food is, at the time of writing, 1.50 USD. Any player needs more than Q1 food to keep their wellness up so they can remain productive. We need a minimum wage that allows new players a decent standard of living, so that they can grow as players and our nation can grow in turn.
SUPPORT Small Businesses – we need small companies to train up the new erepublik players so that our nation can grow. These businesses must be supported so they can fulfill the demands of a higher minimum wage.
SUPPORT American Businesses – we want our businesses operating at highest productivity and producing the best goods for the best workers.
SUPPORT International Competition – while we want American goods to be the best, to be the best priced, we need competition, something that is sometimes lacking in the American economy.
SUPPORT CTPA – I support this so we can have a starting point, I still believe in an attitude of flexibility in taxation, but this allows us a vantage point to better track economic developments for the time being.

LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
SUPPORT The USWP – I am proud of my party and support it in Congress, but they take the backseat to the needs of the people of Maryland.
SUPPORT Committees in Congress – our current Congress has become better about voting transparency and we now need greater organization.
SUPPORT Active Congressmen – we need active Congressmen. Every proposal should be voted on by every Congressman. Those who are failing to remain active should be voted from office.
SUPPORT The President of the United States – I did not vote or campaign for our current President, but he is proving that he is worthy of our support during his terms, despite his narrow victory.

Foreign Policy
SUPPORT Atlantis – but make sure that the United States maintains its rightful place within it, and reorganize it if necessary to fit better the needs of the United States and member nations. Also, keep Romania in line.
SUPPORT Reprimanding Romania and other Atlantis Imperialists – we cannot let anyone, even our ally, so blatantly infringe upon the sovereignty of other nations. We are not PEACE and need to act like it.

Military
SUPPORT War – it allows the advancement of our citizens and stimulates growth. It is permissible and advisable as long as it is not imperialistic.
SUPPORT Military Reform – we don't need to pay our soldiers in this game. Those funds can be more useful in other endeavors, however, it may be useful for the government to stockpile weapons during peacetime.

Thanks,
John Wycliffe
-Congressman-
-USWP PAC Organizer-
-GOTV Campaigner-
-Summa Res Publica Editor-
-Active eRepublik Citizen-

EDIT: Sorry, something wasn't working. Everything is visible now.

Any questions about any of the above can be directed to me via Private Message, and I will respond as quickly as possible. Vote and Subscribe. 🙂