Worldbuilding Realism Consultation Thread Mk. 4

[Gallia-]

TSA would be useful if it could actually stop terrorist bombings.

ATM it's being carried by terrorists' own incompetence rather than any capability of catching would-be hijackers and bombers if the FBI has anything to say on the subject.

But the TSA has killed more Americans by itself than any terrorist organization could hope to so maybe that was the plan all along.

I miss hognose's rants about the TSA and its short history of endless failings and outright corruption.

Now I'm wondering if anyone has legit suggested that the TSA was Bush II's attempt to lowkey implement Ehrlichian population control measures.

[Kazarogkai]

Something Ive touched on but have decided to come back is in relation to the nature of public education systems and the like. The question in particular is not technically about the aforementioned subject but is in part related so it bears mentioning. Never the less my overall inquiry is in relation to as such: Do you guys have any good sources or knowledge on the subject of literacy rates during the early modern period(14-18th centuries) in various parts of the world namely Europe and East Asia. Just a bit of curiosity picked me honestly.

As of now Kazarogkai, atleast among its main ethnic group, due to the education system I have as of now which is more or less based on the monastic school system present in Pre colonial Burma alongside with some minor influences from the spartan agoge has been able to achieve a male literacy rate of around 80%(female literacy in contrast stands at a diminutive 0-5%) around this time period with subject groups within the empire being far less presumably. This is due heavily in part to the general requirement/expectation that children from 8 up until they are around 14 are required to at least in part and later in full be at service to the Monasteries which form the center of Kaza worship. During this time they will basically work for the attending monks but simultaneously will be given an education focusing heavily on religion alongside some more practical skills. Boys are taught among other things how to read and count but also martial arts with girls being focused especially on home economics, rhetoric, and child rearing and the like. This is until they reach the age of 14 when about 70-80% will be allowed to go home and on with thier lives. Those who remain will continue their education in various subjects to become skilled craftsmen, soldiers, Fate binders(judges), clerics, and so so on.

The reason boys are taught to read, mostly to read and learn scripture, is principally as you may guess because of religion. Father, the male half of the holy couple which form the center of reverence, was a scholarly sort associated with things like ritual and writing while mother, the female half of the holy couple, was more free spirit associated with things like money and domestic life. Hence the nature of teaching being based on societal expectations and associations with their principle gods. What I was going for was atleast a semi realistic variant of the fantasy religion/society from Dragon age known as the Qun which inspired me quite a bit.

So that is basically just background. I just wanted to compare and see because my sources on this specific area is a bit lacking. The best I can get is from what I read around the time of Independence British America atleast among free whites boasted something like 50% of the population being "functionally" literate and China being around 20% that I do not know what era that was in. Plus I know Prussia and the Aztecs both had functional public education systems with the former establishing theirs sometime around the early 18th century alongside the aforementioned Burmese. Also wanted to know how would you think such a strange society would be viewed from the outside, a strange curiosity perhaps or something to maybe be reckoned with?

If your wondering Kazarogkai Writing system in it's current form is a Syllabery with partial logographic elements. Unlike the Japanese Syllabery we all know and love though said later portions are nowhere near as important and are primarily meant for grammar and the like having only a total of 204 Characters of which about 156 are devoted towards actual Syllabic and the rare phonetic characters within it.

[Ainin]

If your bus fleet doesn't consist entirely of Novas what are you doing with your life

New Flyer Xcelsiors are superior in every way.

except a e s t h e t i c s

manitoba = bad so new flyer = bad

vive le quebexico libre

[Kedri]

What makes a country attractive to businesses? Kedri is a confederation with each “haven” pr member state practicing direct democracy, and the country is borderlines anarcho -capitalist. The country emphasizes tourism, arms manufacturing, ship building, and timber exports. The tourism industry often emphasizes the country’s pirate heritage.

Would a country this decentralized be eternally behind, or could a hi-tech society develop in this kind of society?

[Republic of Penguinian Astronautia]

Is apersonal rapid transit system actually logical and could it be a usful addition to public transport in an urban area?

[The Akasha Colony]

What makes a country attractive to businesses?

A stable government that fairly enforces the laws in a country that has a sufficiently large and skilled labor force for the industries in question. Back in the day, geographic location mattered too, but with the advent of the internet this is not as critical as it used to be, depending of course on the industry in question.

Kedri is a confederation with each “haven” pr member state practicing direct democracy, and the country is borderlines anarcho -capitalist. The country emphasizes tourism, arms manufacturing, ship building, and timber exports. The tourism industry often emphasizes the country’s pirate heritage.

Would a country this decentralized be eternally behind, or could a hi-tech society develop in this kind of society?

It is unlikely to be a technological leader, but presuming everything remains reasonably stable it could maintain similar living standards to other developed nations. In the same way that Switzerland is not known as a technological or industrial powerhouse but has ready access to modern goods and services from neighboring nations that it can import at will.

A large shipbuilding and logging sector is unlikely to be part of a modern service-based economy though. Shipbuilding industries tend to die out as labor costs rise, which is why the global centers of shipbuilding have migrated over the last century whenever labor costs became too high as developing countries became more prosperous. First from the West (USA, UK, Germany) to Japan during the Cold War, to South Korea in the post-Cold War era, and now to China. After China, it may well end up moving to India. Only a handful of niche shipbuilding enterprises remain in the West, and the vast majority of these are defense-related. The few that are not are usually focused on luxury ships like cruise liners and yachts, but these are not big industries. If you are determined to keep the nautical theme though it may be worth noting that while shipbuilding may have moved to Asia, the West still dominates the market for naval equipment, such as engines, navigation systems, propulsion systems, etc. Those ships coming out of Chinese and Korean yards are still being fitted with Wärtsilä diesels and Raytheon navigation radars.

The same is true of lumber; the US is the world's largest producer of lumber but the total workforce throughout the entire supply chain from logging, sawing, and finishing is about 0.3% of the total US workforce. In most developed countries it'll just end up stagnating as other industries grow, to the point that it no longer makes up a significant part of the economy. It's not a high-income industry and there isn't much room for economic growth. US lumber production has been pretty much flat for decades.

[Bears Armed]

The same is true of lumber; the US is the world's largest producer of lumber but the total workforce throughout the entire supply chain from logging, sawing, and finishing is about 0.3% of the total US workforce. In most developed countries it'll just end up stagnating as other industries grow, to the point that it no longer makes up a significant part of the economy. It's not a high-income industry and there isn't much room for economic growth. US lumber production has been pretty much flat for decades.

Also, in some countries (such as the RL UK), a significant part of the logging industry's output historically went into making 'pit props' for those countries' coal mines... and that part of the demand would obviously drop if & when the country switched to other sources of energy.

[Costa Fierro]

What makes a country attractive to businesses?

Low corporate taxes.

[Ainin]

Is apersonal rapid transit system actually logical and could it be a usful addition to public transport in an urban area?

The fact that PRT has been around since at least the 1960s and that the number of operational systems today can be counted on one hand is a clear hint already that it isn't a particularly useful or cost-effective option. Note that it's only ever used for fairly niche applications, like car parks and hospital/university campuses, because it lacks the capacity to actually be useful as actual mass transit.

See this article for why PRT sucks.

[New Anderia]

What would be the effects and consequences of an 18% tax rate on Land, Value-Added Consumption, and to income greater than $95,000 annually? Is such a setup functional?

[The Akasha Colony]

What would be the effects and consequences of an 18% tax rate on Land, Value-Added Consumption, and to income greater than $95,000 annually? Is such a setup functional?

Functional for what?

It would not be anywhere near sufficient to fund a modern Western government, if that's the question.

A relatively normal Western state with moderate welfare policies and generally good public services will need to bring in roughly 30-40% of total GDP to support these measures. This proposed tax scheme falls rather short of that mark. This is the primary reason why "simple" tax schemes that try to cut taxes down to just a handful of categories (or even worse, a single category) fail: a single tax to support all government services would need to be outrageously high, and it is extremely difficult (basically impossible, really) to make such a scheme "fair."

It would suffice in a poorer nation without as much development or public services, but in such circumstances the tax rates are often of dubious value given the high rates of tax evasion.

[Sick Jumps]

What would be the effects and consequences of an 18% tax rate on Land, Value-Added Consumption, and to income greater than $95,000 annually? Is such a setup functional?

Functional for what?

It would not be anywhere near sufficient to fund a modern Western government, if that's the question.

A relatively normal Western state with moderate welfare policies and generally good public services will need to bring in roughly 30-40% of total GDP to support these measures. This proposed tax scheme falls rather short of that mark. This is the primary reason why "simple" tax schemes that try to cut taxes down to just a handful of categories (or even worse, a single category) fail: a single tax to support all government services would need to be outrageously high, and it is extremely difficult (basically impossible, really) to make such a scheme "fair."

It would suffice in a poorer nation without as much development or public services, but in such circumstances the tax rates are often of dubious value given the high rates of tax evasion.

This is on the mark.

If you want something simple, you should have a VAT/GST, personal income tax, corporate profit tax, and a system of social insurance contributions (paid partly by employee and partly by employer). Those 4 main components should be sufficient to mostly fund the central government.

Add in some Pigovian/excise taxes (taxes on stuff like alcohol, cigarettes, fuel, industrial emissions, etc.), and you're good to go.

Some countries also have a separate capital gains tax, but this isn't strictly necessary (you can fold it into the personal income tax). The US gets away with not having a federal VAT or GST, but that's not typical of most Western countries.

For local government, you can probably fund everything with a property or land value tax.

[Gallia-]

Georgism is the best meme.

[Ainin]

i drew a bus

[Dostanuot Loj]

(Image)

i drew a bus

Nooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvaaaaaaaaaaa.

With an Xcelsior front end.

[New Chilokver]

where's the love for alexander dennis

e200 just makes me want to s m u s h

[Gallia-]

This is fairly professional for "outside vest" TBF.

The fact that the officer looks like Bryan Dechart has nothing to do with this I'm sure.

[Kazarogkai]

Functional for what?

It would not be anywhere near sufficient to fund a modern Western government, if that's the question.

A relatively normal Western state with moderate welfare policies and generally good public services will need to bring in roughly 30-40% of total GDP to support these measures. This proposed tax scheme falls rather short of that mark. This is the primary reason why "simple" tax schemes that try to cut taxes down to just a handful of categories (or even worse, a single category) fail: a single tax to support all government services would need to be outrageously high, and it is extremely difficult (basically impossible, really) to make such a scheme "fair."

It would suffice in a poorer nation without as much development or public services, but in such circumstances the tax rates are often of dubious value given the high rates of tax evasion.

It appears based on NS Stats my spending seems to equal around 70% of my national GDP so I guess by that measure I'm pretty good. Though A thing to keep in mind is it appears I only spend about 4.5% on direct welfare in terms of the budget with vast majority of the remainder going towards Education)nearly a third and secondarily the Military and the Environment. It kinda goes nicely with my own personal beliefs on the matter I guess, better to teach a man to fish than to give him one. In the real world though I probably wouldn't go above 50%, it just seems excessive otherwise.

Just a question related towards that how much would you say a national retirement rewards scheme would cost overall in terms of national GDP? To explain unlike a normal pension scheme which involves continuous annual or monthly payments starting at a set time(say age 65) and continuing until death this "national rewards scheme" instead would function very similarly to the roman legionary rewards whereby upon retirement they would receive a lump sum of cash. In this case it won't correspond with technical retirement but a certain age, 72 more specifically. The general thinking is that it is meant to function more or less like insurance. Similar to health insurance which you pay premiums into until it kicks in when you get injured this kicks in due to you being unable to work anymore. It will work similarly with all workers age 20 and up required to pay roughly 5% of their annual income if married with kids or 10% if not in payroll taxes and upon turning 72 or via doctor recommendation forced to retire due to age related causes. The actual amount received will roughly correlated with the average income one received throughout their life based on their tax returns up to a maximum of 50,000 and a minimum of 10,000 multiplied by the number of years left in expected life expectancy . Example:

You retire at the age of 72
you made on average 25,000 throughout your working life
and the average life expectancy for a person is 80
your rewards amount will equal 25 x 8 = 200,000

On one end the front end costs of this system are kinda high but the advantage comes in the form of being long term arguably less expensive than a regular pension system due to lowered administration and technically smaller overall payments that are not subject to inflation sorta. I was hoping for something in general that would be a bit cheaper and easier to administer and in general less taxing on the national coffers while still helping people out.

What are your thoughts?

[The Akasha Colony]

Just a question related towards that how much would you say a national retirement rewards scheme would cost overall in terms of national GDP? To explain unlike a normal pension scheme which involves continuous annual or monthly payments starting at a set time(say age 65) and continuing until death this "national rewards scheme" instead would function very similarly to the roman legionary rewards whereby upon retirement they would receive a lump sum of cash. In this case it won't correspond with technical retirement but a certain age, 72 more specifically. The general thinking is that it is meant to function more or less like insurance. Similar to health insurance which you pay premiums into until it kicks in when you get injured this kicks in due to you being unable to work anymore. It will work similarly with all workers age 20 and up required to pay roughly 5% of their annual income if married with kids or 10% if not in payroll taxes and upon turning 72 or via doctor recommendation forced to retire due to age related causes. The actual amount received will roughly correlated with the average income one received throughout their life based on their tax returns up to a maximum of 50,000 and a minimum of 10,000 multiplied by the number of years left in expected life expectancy . Example:

You retire at the age of 72
you made on average 25,000 throughout your working life
and the average life expectancy for a person is 80
your rewards amount will equal 25 x 8 = 200,000

On one end the front end costs of this system are kinda high but the advantage comes in the form of being long term arguably less expensive than a regular pension system due to lowered administration and technically smaller overall payments that are not subject to inflation sorta. I was hoping for something in general that would be a bit cheaper and easier to administer and in general less taxing on the national coffers while still helping people out.

What are your thoughts?

The problem is that this will leave roughly half of your population short of cash, and will give roughly half the population too much cash. Because people don't magically die when they hit their average life expectancy. Some will live longer, and some will never reach that age.

Which means that ultimately, while direct upfront costs as outlined in the budget for social security might appear lower, indirect societal costs will likely be higher. Because the people that live longer than their lump sum will support will still have to get money from somewhere, be that relatives or by showing up in hospitals dirt broke and homeless. Which in turn means that either the state has to pay for them or the hospital has to build these costs into the fees they charge to all other patients, raising the cost of healthcare. Or you could just kick them out and leave them to die, I guess.

Meanwhile, the people who die early presumably get to pocket the remaining balance when it gets passed on to their heirs. So you're losing money on both ends of the scale: paying too much to those who die early, and still having those who live longer still relying on local services, but without being able to pay for them directly.

Not making the formula subject to projected inflation or cost-of-living rises is really just penny pinching, and just means that more people will run out of money and become dependent on local services or family because their lump sum didn't give them enough money to live.

This is why pensions exist in their current form: they pay everyone exactly what they need (in theory, at least) as long as they are alive. They transfer the burden of caring for the elderly from either families or local services to the nation as a whole, which can more efficiently pool resources to care for an aging population in the same way that universal healthcare systems seek to spread the burden of healthcare costs across the nation.

[Costa Fierro]

(Image)

This is fairly professional for "outside vest" TBF.

The fact that the officer looks like Bryan Dechart has nothing to do with this I'm sure.

Dude on the right looks like a goon from some dystopian Hollywood action movie. And not a good one.

[The Pacifican Islands]

Hi everyone,

What are the merits of rubber-tyres trams (like the Translohr or the Bombardier GLT) over regular trams? Why would a city choose a rubber tyre tram over a standard one? Thanks!

[Gallia-]

(Image)

This is fairly professional for "outside vest" TBF.

The fact that the officer looks like Bryan Dechart has nothing to do with this I'm sure.

Dude on the right looks like a goon from some dystopian Hollywood action movie. And not a good one.

He is a good 'un by virtue of being American, which are the goodest 'uns.

[Costa Fierro]

Hi everyone,

What are the merits of rubber-tyres trams (like the Translohr or the Bombardier GLT) over regular trams? Why would a city choose a rubber tyre tram over a standard one? Thanks!

From a basic observation it's basically less costs in terms of infrastructure and less intrusive. Presumably better ride quality too.

[The Akasha Colony]

Hi everyone,

What are the merits of rubber-tyres trams (like the Translohr or the Bombardier GLT) over regular trams? Why would a city choose a rubber tyre tram over a standard one? Thanks!

Rubber tires on concrete are generally cheaper to build than steel wheels on steel rail systems, but suffer from higher rolling resistance and tire wear, which means generally higher maintenance costs. They are also generally a bit louder than a well-maintained steel rail system because the tires make noise (just like a car's tires) whereas a smooth steel rail is very quiet. The lower rolling resistance also generally means that steel wheel systems are faster than rubber tire systems, but this isn't too relevant since most smaller tram systems don't go anywhere near their design limits,

This makes them suitable for lower-traffic lines that cannot justify the higher construction costs of a steel rail system. But if the line is expected to handle large volumes of passengers on a regular basis, a steel rail system is better over the longer term, which is why the vast majority of public mass transit systems are heavy rail. There are a few exceptions; the French were keen on trying to develop a rubber tire system which they used for several lines of the Paris Metro and exported to a few clients, but these were not superior to heavy rail systems and the technology has not gone any further.

[New Chilokver]

Is there a physical limit for the GDPPC of a nation? As in, a hard cap above which it's not possible for a nation to generate any higher income? (based on the amount of resources a piece of land could conceivably have etc.)