Permits are Childs’ Play, Fear Parents
DESCRIPTION: A significant laxing of government oversight, regulation, and enforcement of codes has led to an astonishing sight: children attempting to build immense and unfathombly dangerous structures in their backyards. A large lobbying group of terrified parents are pleading for restrictions to be placed on construction.
VALIDITY: For governments with high economic freedoms and/or civil rights, or for weak governments. Not valid for nations with large police forces. Also valid for very small governments and anarchies. Not valid for nations that banned child labor. Valid for nations that subsidize child labor and valid for nations that allow it.
THE CHOICES:
[option]“You wouldn’t believe what my son and my step-son are doing RIGHT NOW.” says @@RANDOMNAME@@, a stressed parent. “I come home, and they’re using MY credit card to purchase power tools, tons of steel, and cheap labor! They’re going to fall off and hurt themselves, and bankrupt me in the process! The government needs to step up its regulations. You should be an adult to operate things like that, by Joe, and they shouldn’t just let anyone build anything! I don’t care what it’d do to the existing industries. I want my kids, and my wallet, safe! NOW! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!”
[effect]industry is crippled by expensive, straitjacketing regulations and permits
[stats]economy slashed, safety way up, rebellious youth slashed, government size up, industries begin to move away, taxes up
[option]“Hey @@LEADER@@, what’cha doin’?” asks @@RANDOMNAME@@, a successful business person at the age of fourteen, entering the room. Looking at the debate at hand, the child gasps. “Hold on! Now that’s not fair! Why should adults be given the right to do stuff, but we have to lounge around all day and waste time on stupid things? Listen, we’re doing the economy a great favor by working like this, and it’s a WHOLE LOT more fun than school. Let us keep doing our thing, and we’ll keep pouring money into your nation. I don’t need any adult breathing down my ultra-productive, industrious neck. I say that you let us do what we want and build what we want. Youth empowerment forever!”
[effect]large corporations have hired children onto their board of directors
[stats]economy way up, industrial safety slashed, rebellious youth skyrockets immensely, Child Labor Issue becomes very common, civil rights way up, death-by-working percentage way up, life expectancy slashed, nation becomes more dangerous, extremism up, corruption up (kids are exploitable), economic freedoms up, death rate up
[option]“Curse you, @@LEADER@@ the head of state, CURSE YOU and your liberal empowerment of our nations’ youth!” screams @@RANDOMNAME@@, a staunch, hard-nosed neo-Victorian moralist. “Children are to be SEEN, not HEARD. When I was a youth, I had no rights. I couldn’t even swim in public pools without my mother’s blessing, and I turned out just fine! Giving all these kids manufactured ‘rights’ and all these corrupting ideas are destroying our nation. Imagination is an adults’ game, and it should be the DUTY of the government to drive that home… for their sakes.”
[effect]the government condemns imagination as “morally wrong”
[stats]civil rights slashed, safety way up, rebellious youth factor eliminated, education becomes more of indoctrination, happiness down, nation swings to far-right scale, extremism up, Most Avoided up, “devout” added to nation description, and you could add “-and remarkable for its hatred of imaginative children” to nation description, nation becomes more ordered and structured, stability up
