Opportunity Cost
Validity: Capitalist and at least moderate corruption.
Description
Your Treasury Minister has just returned from a taxpayer-funded trip to a @@MAJORINDUSTRY@@ conference in Manamana with a new idea for lining the nation's coffers: selling government property as advertising space for interested parties.
Option 1
"I've already received... several interesting offers," grunts your beachwear-clad Treasury Minister, struggling to lift a nondescript briefcase onto your desk. "Here's the gist: we allow my- sorry, our- corporate friends to buy advertising space from us. We can sell wall space in the capitol, advertisements on official vehicles, maybe even a few lines in official statements. It'll bring in plenty of business without interfering in government business. Clever wordplay, huh?"
Effect: @@LEADER@@ pauses statements denying corruption allegations to personally thank today's sponsors
Validity: No sortition.
Option 2a
"Some wall space, a few lines, and that's it? You've got to have more vision, @@LEADER@@!" exclaims regulatory advisor @@RANDOMNAME@@, entering your office tangled in strings after stumbling into one of your niece's art projects. "We should start selling government positions to the highest bidder. It's not as crazy as it sounds- it's hard to get a government job without connections anyway, and it's not like it really matters who's in a certain midlevel spot. High-level positions like mine should be exempt, of course."
Effect: government officials appointed on merit are accused of collusion
Validity: Sortition.
Option 2b
"Some wall space, a few lines, and that's it? You've got to have more vision, @@LEADER@@!" exclaims regulatory advisor @@RANDOMNAME@@, entering your office tangled in strings after stumbling into one of your niece's art projects. "We should get rid of this silly lottery system and start selling government positions to the highest bidder. It's not as crazy as it sounds- it takes competence to have that kind of money in the first place, and people who pay a lot for something are more likely to be invested in it. High-level positions like mine should be exempt, of course."
Effect: government officials appointed on merit are accused of collusion
Option 3
"Are you people nuts? I think it's important we avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest," says your Minister of Parade Precipitation, phoning in from a penthouse in Blackacre. "The public won't trust our government unless we act to maintain its integrity. I say we decline these offers, ban all advertising on government premises, and force every official to take a course on corruption. If we really need the money, how about cutting down on all those taxpayer-funded trips?"
Effect: government officials are strongly discouraged from bringing sacks with @@CURRENCY@@ signs to corporate events
I initially had "I've already got a buyer lined up for your speech announcing the new program. Don't worry: he also wrote the speech." to close off option 1, but decided it would be too extreme. For option 2's effect line, I initially had "the government offers a tiered subscription service for access to classified information."
