[DRAFT] The Price of the Rose

[Seenvorland]

Hello! This is my second attempt at an issue. I drew inspiration for this from a scandal that recently rocked the Japanese government where the Prime Minister was accused to use an annual cherry blossom party in Tokyo that is funded with taxpayer money as a way to reward his donors and supporters. I modified it quite a bit though of course.

I didn't have the chance to get this proofread. Since English is not my native language, I'd be glad for anyone who points out grammatical and orthographical mistakes in addition to general suggestions about this proposal.

The Annual Flower Viewing Festival is a beloved @@DEMONYM@@ tradition, celebrating the contributions of the nation's workers. In recent years, however, the government has come under intense scrutiny due to the exploding costs of the event and a growing number of political donors on the guest list.

Validity: Some corruption

1. "Have you forgotten that this is supposed to be a celebration for the simple worker?" asks trade union representative Lily Flowers. "We fight against these fat cats day in and day out and now they want to they make this festival an edifice of greed? You shouldn't allow them to participate at all. In fact, you should ban political donors from all government-financed activities!"
Effect: lobbyists slip their business cards through door gaps

2. "Now, now. I think you are forgetting something important here," interjects Floral Industry lobbyist @@RANDOMMALENAME@@ Rose while putting a fresh bouquet in the vase on your desk. "The people that are actually contributing to this country the most are the ones who create the jobs. You should invite even more of them to your events to show your gratitude!"
Effect: @@LEADER@@'s town hall events are packed with lobbyists

3. "Forget about all of that," interrupts noted Libertarian Mary Johnston. "The REAL issue here is that I have to pay so that you can look at some daisies while drinking champagne. How about you just give us regular folks a generous tax cut and slash all government-funded events instead?"
Effect: public places are no longer illuminated during christmas season

Draft One

The Annual Flower Viewing Festival held in the city park of @@CAPITAL@@ is a beloved tradition in @@NAME@@, celebrating the contributions of the nation's workers. In recent years, however, the government has come under intense scrutiny due to the exploding costs of the event and a growing number of political donors on the guest list.

1. "Have you forgotten that this is supposed to be a celebration for the simple worker?" asks trade union representative Lily Flowers. "We fight against these fat cats day after day and now they want to abuse this festival for their greed? You shouldn't allow them to participate and in fact, you should ban political donors from all government-financed activities!"
Effect: lobbyists slip their business cards through door gaps

2. "Forget about those lobbyists," interrupts noted Libertarian Mary Johnston. "The REAL issue here is that I have to pay so that you can look at some daisies while drinking champagne. How about you just give us regular folks a generous tax cut and slash all government-funded events instead?"
Effect: public places are no longer illuminated during christmas season

3. "Now, now. I think you are forgetting something important here," interjects Floral Industry lobbyist @@RANDOMMALENAME@@ Rose while putting a fresh bouquet in the vase on your desk. "The people that are actually contributing to this country the most are the ones who create the jobs. You should invite even more of them to your events to show your gratitude!"
Effect: @@LEADER@@'s town hall events are packed with lobbyists

Maybe a final note: I called it "Annual Flower Viewing Festival" because in Japanese the act of watching cherry blossom is called "Hanami" (花見) which can be translated as "Flower viewing". The actual event in the real world for which the Japanese Prime Minister was criticized is called "Sakura o miru kai" (桜を見る会) but that would translate to something along the lines of "Cherry blossom viewing party/group".

[Klorgia1]

The Annual Flower Viewing Festival held in the city park of @@CAPITAL@@ is a beloved @@Denonym@@ tradition, celebrating the contributions of the nation's workers. In recent years, however, the government has come under intense scrutiny due to the exploding costs of the event and a growing number of political donors on the guest list.

1. "Have you forgotten that this is supposed to be a celebration for the simple worker?" asks trade union representative Lily Flowers. "We fight against these fat cats day in and day out, and they make this festival an edifice of greed! You shouldn't allow political donors to participate at all. In fact, you should ban political donors from all government-financed events!"
Effect: lobbyists slip their business cards through door gaps

2. "Forget about those lobbyists," interrupts noted Libertarian Mary Johnston. "The REAL issue here is that I have to pay so that you can look at some daisies while drinking champagne. How about you just give us regular folks a generous tax cut and slash all government-funded events instead?"
Effect: public places are no longer illuminated during christmas season

3. "Now, now. I think you are forgetting something important here," interjects Floral Industry lobbyist @@RANDOMMALENAME@@ Rose while putting a fresh bouquet in a vase on your desk. "The people that are actually contributing to this country the most are the ones who create the jobs. You should invite even more of us to your events to show your gratitude!"
Effect: @@LEADER@@'s town hall events are packed with lobbyists

Heres my own changes. As advice, I question why option 1 bans donors from public when their not invited in particular.

[Australian rePublic]

Why is this different to any other event?

[Seenvorland]

Heres my own changes. As advice, I question why option 1 bans donors from public when their not invited in particular.

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm not entirely sure what you mean with "when they're not invited in particular". They *are* invited. It says specifically in the text of the issue that the rising numbers of them being invited to the event is being criticized.

Why is this different to any other event?

I'm sorry but could you clarify for me what exactly you mean? The event described in the issue or what do you mean?

[Apabeossie]

Perhaps there could be an option where @@LEADER@@ is punished, and perhaps switch option 2 with option 3(so siding with lobbyists becomes option 2), the libertarian option looks more like a 3rd option.

[Seenvorland]

Perhaps there could be an option where @@LEADER@@ is punished, and perhaps switch option 2 with option 3(so siding with lobbyists becomes option 2), the libertarian option looks more like a 3rd option.

Thank you for your comment.

I can see what you mean with switching them. The third option does seem like the more natural follow-up to the first one. I shall do that later after more feedback.

An option where @@LEADER@@ is punished? Did you think of anything in particular? Spontaenously maybe something along the lines of excluding leader from the event would come to my mind.

[Baggieland]

The Annual Flower Viewing Festival held in the city park of @@CAPITAL@@ is a beloved @@Denonym@@ tradition, celebrating the contributions of the nation's workers.

This is a bit mashed together. I would shorten it to something like: The annual Flower Festival is a beloved tradition that celebrates the contributions of the nation's workers.

I would also add the validity of "some corruption".

[Australian rePublic]

How in the fudge did a gardening event become so popular?

[Seenvorland]

The Annual Flower Viewing Festival held in the city park of @@CAPITAL@@ is a beloved @@Denonym@@ tradition, celebrating the contributions of the nation's workers.

This is a bit mashed together. I would shorten it to something like: The annual Flower Festival is a beloved tradition that celebrates the contributions of the nation's workers.

I would also add the validity of "some corruption".

I added the validity and changed the text a bit, thank you.

I updated my original draft to reflect some of the suggestions so far.

How in the fudge did a gardening event become so popular?

The cherry blossom as cultural icon and symbol for Japanese identity is deeply rooted in Japan's society. It has been a frequently utilized symbol in classic Japanese literature, poetry and art. The business around "cherry blossoms" (Sakura) is a multi-billion dollar industry in Japan. The national news air predictions for when the cherry blossoms bloom in the different parts of the country each year weeks in advance and private individuals as well as clubs or entire companies plan special events for sitting in parks with cherry trees to celebrate there while watching the cherry blossoms. It is so popular that people have to be present in the most popular parks for hours in advance to reserve a spot. Cherry blossom flavored products (which I personally do not recommend for what it's worth) are omnipresent throughout February, March and April in Japan. The time in March/April when they bloom, is one of the busiest tourist seasons in Japan as well.

The real life "Sakura o miru kai" (which this based on) has been held since 1952 when it was first introduced in Japan by then-Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. It is annually held in Shinjuku Gyo-en which is one of Tokyo's largest and most famous parks.

I draw these experiences from having lived in Japan for an extended period of time, speaking Japanese and having Japanese friends. ^^

[Apabeossie]

(Natural bump, kind of)

Perhaps there could be an option where @@LEADER@@ is punished, and perhaps switch option 2 with option 3(so siding with lobbyists becomes option 2), the libertarian option looks more like a 3rd option.

Thank you for your comment.

I can see what you mean with switching them. The third option does seem like the more natural follow-up to the first one. I shall do that later after more feedback.

An option where @@LEADER@@ is punished? Did you think of anything in particular? Spontaenously maybe something along the lines of excluding leader from the event would come to my mind.

Maybe the option can say that leader should be held responsible for the scandal, but I can't think of any actions for that options so sorry :/

[Chan Island]

How in the fudge did a gardening event become so popular?

*Britain has joined the chat*

Gardening can be extremely popular. A gardening event being the crux of this is far more realistic than what I would have chosen.

[Seenvorland]

How in the fudge did a gardening event become so popular?

*Britain has joined the chat*

Gardening can be extremely popular. A gardening event being the crux of this is far more realistic than what I would have chosen.

Thanks. I can very well imagine that this might also work in Britain which I'm glad about honestly because I don't want this to be too specific for one region of the world only.

I think for now I'll stick to three options so that the issue doesn't get too long.

Hoping for some more comments.