Factbook of the Unified City-States of Tsvarchi + Q&A

[Youvtha]

How does Maraque view Youth-Ruled nations?

[Star Trek Enthusiasts]

What are the Twelve Truths you speak of?

[Maraque]

The monarchy has had several children governors in its storied 4191 year history, so it views youth-ruled nations as positive and enlightening.

What are the Twelve Truths you speak of?

The Twelve Truths is a list of proverbs by quite possibly the most influential person in Maraquean history. Philosopher Xanthaiyan is the founder of the Xanthai philosophy and the Twelve Truths are a very important set of rules that Xanthaiists are encouraged to follow.

1.All living creatures are of equal value to humankind.
2.Material possessions only bring temporary happiness.
3.A person should only ever be judged on character alone.
4.There is always someone in need.
5.Living beyond one's means is equal to living a lie.
6.One good deed is only the starting point to a string of good deeds.
7.Assisting those in need is not an option, but an obligation.
8.Arrogance and egomania is thinly veiled low self-esteem.
9.Volunteering once a week not only cleanses your mind, body, and spirit, but lifts someone else's in the process.
10.Children's opinions should not be dismissed. Learn to listen, and you may be surprised.
11.Fear is irrational.
12.Charity is the fastest way to reach the suffering masses.

[Kalakda]

Maraque's opinions on various things has been noted and buried under huge piles of paperwork, because the Republic could care less about some nation far, far away.

[Maraque]

Cool beans.

[Kalakda]

In all seriousness, what is Maraque's opinion on insects, arachnids, and other creepy crawlies? Considering that the City-State consider animals equals to Humans, what is its opinion on someone stepping on an ant or killing a spider?

[Maraque]

The Xanthai philsophy, which the law establishing animals as equals comes from, does not make a statement about insects and their like. I can say, however, that most people consider them inferior and will step on them.

[Sungai Pusat]

Goodness me, 16% of the population unemployed. That's crippling! How does your nation even get throught this?

[Maraque]

Underemployed not unemployed.

[Sungai Pusat]

Underemployed not unemployed.

Oh. What does it mean really?

[Maraque]

In economics, the term underemployment has three different distinct meanings and applications. All meanings involve a situation in which a person is working, unlike unemployment, where a person who is searching for work cannot find a job. All meanings involve under-utilization of labor which is missed by most official (governmental agency) definitions and measurements of unemployment.
Underemployment can mean:
The employment of workers with high skill levels in low-wage jobs that do not require such abilities, for example a trained medical doctor who works as a taxi driver.
"Involuntary part-time" workers—workers who could (and would like to) be working for a full work-week but can only find part-time work. By extension, the term is also used in regional planning to describe regions where economic activity rates are unusually low, due to a lack of job opportunities, training opportunities, or due to a lack of services such as childcare and public transportation.
"Overstaffing" or "hidden unemployment", the practice in which businesses or entire economies employ workers who are not fully occupied---for example, workers currently not being used to produce goods or services due to legal or social restrictions or because the work is highly seasonal.

[Sungai Pusat]

In economics, the term underemployment has three different distinct meanings and applications. All meanings involve a situation in which a person is working, unlike unemployment, where a person who is searching for work cannot find a job. All meanings involve under-utilization of labor which is missed by most official (governmental agency) definitions and measurements of unemployment.
Underemployment can mean:
The employment of workers with high skill levels in low-wage jobs that do not require such abilities, for example a trained medical doctor who works as a taxi driver.
"Involuntary part-time" workers—workers who could (and would like to) be working for a full work-week but can only find part-time work. By extension, the term is also used in regional planning to describe regions where economic activity rates are unusually low, due to a lack of job opportunities, training opportunities, or due to a lack of services such as childcare and public transportation.
"Overstaffing" or "hidden unemployment", the practice in which businesses or entire economies employ workers who are not fully occupied---for example, workers currently not being used to produce goods or services due to legal or social restrictions or because the work is highly seasonal.

Got it.

[Seperate Vermont]

In the "things outlawed in your nation" thread, you posted this:

Firearms.
Firecrackers.
Fireworks.
Zoos.
Pet stores.
etc

Just had a question about what the enforcement was for things like Firecrackers,Fireworks,Pyrotechnics,Etc. which was inferred in this post, or if it just isn't something popular in Maraque to begin with, so its pretty lax?

[Maraque]

Enforcement is strict. Fireworks & firecrackers are strictly forbidden from being possessed, purchased or imported in the City-State. They were banned on the grounds that there is no room for such devices in the City-State - no wide open fields, no backyards, etc. The public simply cannot use these devices without great potential for disaster. Every Unification Day there would be countless injuries and sometimes even deaths from irresponsible people detonating them in the middle of the street - in a densely populated City-State.

The people ultimately decided that they weren't safe, and in 1999 banned them. Anyone caught smuggling, possessing, or purchasing them will be stuck with a fine and community service. They are now only used by government authorities in the official Unification Day festivities in Tsvarchi Square Park, and the people are fine with that.

[Sungai Pusat]

So, is your economy a mixed one or a capitalist one?

[Maraque]

Mixed. Our economy is entirely privatized but the government competes in the private sector in industries such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and so on. The private sector is regulated - corporations can not just run amok and do whatever they want, although the government doesn't strictly enforce it, instead relying on quarterly reports from independent watchdog groups, and then acts accordingly.

The Royal Corporations (as government owned entities are called) usually have the highest market share in their given industry because the people are very suspicious of corporations and the people that run them, and find the government offers better services for lower prices.

[Sungai Pusat]

Mixed. Our economy is entirely privatized but the government competes in the private sector in industries such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and so on. The private sector is regulated - corporations can not just run amok and do whatever they want, although the government doesn't strictly enforce it, instead relying on quarterly reports from independent watchdog groups, and then acts accordingly.

The Royal Corporations (as government owned entities are called) usually have the highest market share in their given industry because the people are very suspicious of corporations and the people that run them, and find the government offers better services for lower prices.

So is the nation really free? If that is so, most of the private companies would leave since the Royal Corporations win everyone's hearts for their prices and then, your nation will be overrun by corruption and then, your government can just make laws to prevent people from buying from private corporations, then make the prices skyrocket. The End.

[Maraque]

Mixed. Our economy is entirely privatized but the government competes in the private sector in industries such as energy, transportation, telecommunications, and so on. The private sector is regulated - corporations can not just run amok and do whatever they want, although the government doesn't strictly enforce it, instead relying on quarterly reports from independent watchdog groups, and then acts accordingly.

The Royal Corporations (as government owned entities are called) usually have the highest market share in their given industry because the people are very suspicious of corporations and the people that run them, and find the government offers better services for lower prices.

So is the nation really free? If that is so, most of the private companies would leave since the Royal Corporations win everyone's hearts for their prices and then, your nation will be overrun by corruption and then, your government can just make laws to prevent people from buying from private corporations, then make the prices skyrocket. The End.

Of course they're free, they can choose between a multitude of private corporations, one of which happens to be government owned, because a plurality (not a majority) chooses the government corporation doesn't mean that the other 10 will leave the country.

If a Royal Corporation has 14% market share in an industry with 10 competing corporations, the average of the other nine is 9.6%. That is not anything to worry about. Private corporations still have 86.4% of the market...

The government can't prevent people from buying from private companies. That'd be against the law. And the government does not have the authority to do so - only the people do, and they wouldn't ban themselves from being able to buy from private companies.

[Sungai Pusat]

I'm lucky your government thought of that. Your nation, I'm sure, is part republic, right?

[Maraque]

Partially yes. The Royal Legislature is comprised of two chambers - one is elected by the people via popular vote and the upper house is comprised of randomly selected citizens. The lower chamber writes laws, debates, and votes, then passes it on to the upper chamber where they debate, vote, and (eventually) pass it on to the president, who then in cooperation with the king and the leaders of all the coalitions in the Royal Legislature debate with one another the law and either sign or send it back down with recommendations.

Once passed by both chambers and the council of seven, the law must be ratified by the people with a 3/4 majority and at least 2/3 participation. So it all rests with the people in the end.

[Sungai Pusat]

Partially yes. The Royal Legislature is comprised of two chambers - one is elected by the people via popular vote and the upper house is comprised of randomly selected citizens. The lower chamber writes laws, debates, and votes, then passes it on to the upper chamber where they debate, vote, and (eventually) pass it on to the president, who then in cooperation with the king and the leaders of all the coalitions in the Royal Legislature debate with one another the law and either sign or send it back down with recommendations.

Once passed by both chambers and the council of seven, the law must be ratified by the people with a 3/4 majority and at least 2/3 participation. So it all rests with the people in the end.

You mean a direct democracy? Oh no, I think I smell trouble.

[Maraque]

It has caused... some controversy. But it works most of the time. And there are safeguards against certain kinds of legislation (civil rights, for example, can't be put up for vote because it's not the people's right to decide another groups rights or lack thereof).

And it's not direct democracy if it has to pass the Royal Legislature first...

[Sungai Pusat]

It has caused... some controversy. But it works most of the time. And there are safeguards against certain kinds of legislation (civil rights, for example, can't be put up for vote because it's not the people's right to decide another groups rights or lack thereof).

And it's not direct democracy if it has to pass the Royal Legislature first...

Most of the time. Sometimes, ya system screw up. Sungai Pusat has built a different system. Government system information is open to all neutral and friendly nations, and since you're nation is neutral, we will give out the following information:
The government system is this:
In laws, we have to pass through the current two-lined constitution:
The protection of civil rights, force and fraud from individuals and businesses alike and the right to political freedoms is protected by law. No law can violate this.

So, if we want to destroy elections, that is not possible to make it go through in the first place. Same for destruction of antitrust laws and creation of civil rights legislation that turns out to be taking away civil rights.

[Maraque]

We have very similar protections guaranteed by our Bill of Rights, via the "Protections" clause amendment.

[Maryginia]

what if immigrants have their passport and medical records burned in an attempt to show that they never existed