NewLakotah wrote:Nationstates Name: NewLakotah
Nation Name: United States of America; the United States; America; US(A)
Capital: Washington D.C.
Territory: United States of America
Population: 331,449,281
Official Language: De jure: none. De facto: English
Recognized Languages: There are a number of regional and state level recognized languages. The most notable of which are the variety of indigenous languages. Spanish and French also hold status in some states and other localities recognize Mandarin. However, the most commonly spoken languages in the United States are English and Spanish
Flag:
National Anthem (optional): Star Spangled Banner
Head of State: President Gavin Newsom
HoS Picture:
Head of Government: President Gavin Newsom
HoG Picture (If different from HoS):
Legislature Name: United States Congress; United States Senate (Upper), United States House of Representatives (lower)
Party in Power (If bicameral note who controls each):
Senate:
Democrats - 51
Republicans - 49
House of Representatives:
Republicans - 222
Democrats - 213
GDP Nominal: $25.035 Trillion
GDP Nominal Per Capita: $75,179
GDP (PPP): $25.035 Trillion
GDP (PPP) Per Capita: $75,179
Currency: dollar
Domestic and Foreign Policy Overview/Challenges:
- The United States faces a divided congress and divided political parties. The 2024 election proved to be one of the closest and most controversial elections in modern American history and the after effects are still being felt as President Newsom is inaugurated. Newsom is progressive, but still largely moderate and is able to work well with the Republican moderates. This upsets the House minority leadership under Representative Alexandra Ocaiso-Cortez who is markedly more progressive. Much of the House Democratic Party is likewise dominated by the progressive movement sparked by Meeks, while the Senate is largely more moderate and more in line with the Clarkian Democratic Establishment. The Republican Party is equally split between traditional Reaganite Conservatives, led by figures like Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Rick Scott, Senator Tim Scott, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. The ‘Liberal Republicans’ in the form of the Powellian Republicans, led by figures such as former President Mitt Romney, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Senator Charlie Crist, and Senator Susan Collins.
- The United States is also facing a serious deficit crisis. High spending has been partially offset by higher taxes, however, this has also slowed economic growth and inhibited factors that encourage greater revenue. Calls from all sides are coming to focus on budget issues, while others call for greater spending on infrastructure and social services or on defence spending to outmatch the Soviets and the Chinese.
- the United States remains the aging dominant superpower of the world. Its force projection and its system of integrated alliances around the world still leave it unmatched in power. However, the United States spent much of the 2000s deep in its own 'splendid isolation'. Its focus was on domestic issues and dealing with affairs in the United Nations and with peacekeeping operations. This self-imposed isolation based on security of victory over its enemies has come crashing down, as the USSR has made significant efforts and has recently moved hard to challenge American hegemony in the world, while China continues to threaten its allies in the South China Sea. This has forced the United States to reenegage the world in a new light, adapting to the newly forming world order.
Military Information (If different from irl you must indicate that here):
Largely the same as IRL
The branches of the United States Armed Forces are:
The United States Army
The United States Navy
The United States Marine Corps
The United States Air Force
The United States Space Force
The United States Coast Guard (in times of war only)
The Space Force is the newest branch of the Armed Forces, having been established in 2013 by President Romney as part of a ‘pivot’ towards revitalizing the space efforts of the United States. By 2025, the Space Force operates two X-37B unmanned spaceplanes for orbital and testing operations. Plans to integrate a manned spaceplane is in the works with the X-37C being the most likely candidate. However, the DreamChaser is also considered by the Department of Defence.
In 1990, the United States Armed Forces peaked at 2.24 million servicemen and women. During the following warming of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, the US military was reduced gradually until by 2000, there were approximately 1.4 million servicemembers. During the War in Afghanistan and the ensuing Global War on Terror, further troop reductions were put on hold. However, as the war dragged on, further troop reductions continued under Romney as part of the drawdown of the War of Afghanistan. These were accelerated under President Meeks and the Armed Forces would bottom out in the aftermath of Fall of Kabul to nearly 1.2 million soldiers. Recent recruitment efforts has redrawn this to around 1.29 million soldiers as of 2024.
Alliances (If different from IRL): NATO
History Changes (Subject to review and approval by OP and Co-OP):
In the 1980s, the United States was firmly under the control of Reaganite domestic and foreign policy. As the decade wound down, the feeling of a Golden Age seemed to set in on the American people. In the world, the United States was scoring significant victory after victory against their Soviet enemies. By the end of the decade, the Soviets were forced to withdraw from Afghanistan with their tails between their legs and the Warsaw Pact was all but dissolved as East Germany fell, followed by other Eastern European proxies.
Buoyed by this success abroad, former Vice President George H. W. Bush would steam ahead to an easy victory for the Republican party, still drawing on that Reaganite base of support in the Democratic and Republican parties. The late 1980s and early 90s would prove vital in forming the future foreign policy directives of the United States. As the USSR fractured from within, the Soviet leadership began to implement stronger and stronger reforms during the 1980s and 1990s.
President Reagan had met these reforms with even more goodwill projects and further easing of the tensions. By the early 1990s, the United States media and elected officials were already declaring victory over the USSR. Buoyed by these foreign policy successes, Bush was able to avoid a desperate campaign from Democratic nominee Bill Clinton and upstart businessman Ross Perot. Steaming ahead to secure his second term of office. However, the effects of the election would loosen the grip that the Reaganites had on both parties. However, that would come slowly over the entire second term of Bush.
With the United States scoring a variety of foreign policy successes, focus was returned to domestic policy. With the United States able to relax as the USSR gutted its military forces and its alliance fell apart abroad, the United States moved to reduce its military spending in order to offset its rising deficit. Further reductions to public spending included to social services and public services, which greatly upset the voting public following the earlier tax hikes by Bush and the defence spending cuts.
This would lead to a Democratic wave in the 1994 midterm elections, effectively leaving Bush as a lame duck president. Determined to ride on the coattails of the foreign policy successes, the Democrats nominated former Supreme Allied Commander of Europe General Wesley Clark and his running mate Al Gore. Gore ran against Republican nominee Bob Dole, a conservative traditionalist. Clark stormed to an easy election, gaining over 300 electoral votes and breaking the long red bloc of the south under Reagan.
Clark was elected on a moderate platform that urged for better social spending, balancing of the federal budget, and a focus on jobs and job creation. With the full support of both the house and the senate, the Clark administration set about setting the United States on a new path. One that was less focused on dealing with the USSR as a flagging enemy, but as a potential partner.
Clark would begin his administration with further reductions to the United States Armed Forces. Closing down two European bases and combining all European bases into three major centres. This was coupled with a reduction to the reserve and inactive reserve components of the US Army, Marines, and Navy. Development of the F-22 was delayed and the eventual buildout was significantly less than originally anticipated, largely due to the budget cuts to the defence budget.
However, these moves would end in 2001 when terrorists hijacked several planes and flew them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. In an instant, the entire focus of US foreign policy shifted and, after just a few months, US soldiers were on the ground in Afghanistan. By the following year, the Taliban had been overthrown and a new government had been put into place. However, the fight to find Bin Laden and bring the terrorist group Al-Qaeda to just proved to be far more difficult a task. Meanwhile, the Taliban retreated into the high mountains and worked hard to rebuild and re establish themselves once the United States left.
This focus caused a significant change in US foreign affairs. The USSR, now in full reform mode, had transitioned from a Communist one party state into democratic socialist state and then into a social democratic state. Its economy had slowly begun to recover from the disaster of the 90s and was looking for partners to help develop its new industrial bases. The United States was more than happy to agree. In 2003, in Geneva, President Wesley Clark and President Grigory Yavlinsky of the Soviet Union would meet and officially declare the Cold War over and that a ‘new era’ of relations between the USSR and the US would begin.
Across the United States, the move was widely celebrated and many began to talk about nobel peace prizes for both Yavlinsky and Clark. Under Clark, in an attempt to soothe relations with the USSR, agreed not to expand NATO and delayed several applications from Eastern European states and by and large attempted to avoid getting entangled in the entire Eastern European region. This would prove largely unpopular with many of the US’s European allies who saw the opportunity to expand NATO and improve the position and security of Europe in one fell swoop. Calls from the Republicans to expand NATO also grew stronger, however, Clark resisted the calls and the Era of Good Relations between the USSR-US continued well into the 2000s.
Domestically, Clark was able to address many of the issues that he ran on. By 1999, the federal budget had been balanced. However, the dot.com bubble of the early 2000s saw a drain on the overall US economy. The focus was also given to the climate. New climate measures, designed to limit the growth of coal were passed in 1998. The goal to have half of all US energy come from clean energy sources by 2030. This resulted in significant investment into renewables and even nuclear energy. However, the nuclear craze had long since died and only 2 nuclear power plants were ordered during the Clark administration and opened in 2009 and 2012 respectively. Hydroelectric and wind saw new investments, however, overall progress would be slow.
Furthermore, Clark would invest heavily into stronger social services. In 2000, the New American Century Act was passed that would see nearly 30 billion in new initiatives to improve healthcare access for children. Improve Medicaid and Medicare programs and provide better access to prescription drugs. This was followed by the Medicaid Expansion Plan, which established a new bracket for healthcare. Apart from this, Clark established Health America, an umbrella department under the Department of Health and Human Services, to act as the general Healthcare department of the United States, combining the functions of Medicare and Medicaid into a single department to cut waste and redundancy.
Health America would see its first expansion with the Child Health Program, which would see nearly 15 of the 30 billion invested into child wellness programs, seniorcare programs, and programs to reduce the costs of prescription drugs through promotion of generic branded drugs.
In 2004, Vice President Al Gore steamed ahead to secure the Democratic nomination for President. He was challenged by former general and moderate Republican Colin Powell. Powell ran on a very bipartisan and moderate platform that highlighted the differences between Clark’s more spend happy last few years and Powell’s vision of a leaner federal budget. Powell’s vision won out and, once elected, became the first African American to become president.
Powell was elected with running mate Governor Leavitt. Together, the administration didn’t undo much of Clark’s programs and instead even expanded its infrastructure developments, however, focused more on highway and road infrastructure, as well as water and other public utilities, rather than public transit. The primary focus on the spending plan was on repairing and building new bridges, highway extension and interchanges, as well as modernization of the US rail system. Because of these spending initiatives, the deficit continued to grow steadily under Powell, especially after the 2008 Tax Act saw major tax reductions across the board for Americans. This greatly increased the deficit, especially coupled with the war spending of Afghanistan.
2008, however, would prove to be a difficult year for the United States. In 2007 and 2008, the United States housing market would collapse, causing a domino effect with the entire US financial market. Powell reacted quickly, launching two successive stimulus programs, following the 2008 tax cut. While both these efforts helped stablize the economy in the short-term, it did little to offset the greater impacts of the Great Recession.
In 2008, Powell would eke out a small reflection on a campaign of tackling the recession through strong stimulus and tax cuts that had proved popular. However, Powell would lose both the senate and the house in the 2008 election and win only 271 electoral votes and 45.5% of the popular vote, following strong showings from the Green and Libertarian parties. The Democrats had nominated long-time senator and former Secretary of State under Clark, John Kerry. However, Kerry proved unable to unseat Powell’s Reaganite support from moderates, independents and Republicans.
However, The Powell administration moved markedly more left in the following four years. In an effort to stifle further hardships, Powell instituted the 2011 Banking Act which saw major new restrictions added to the financial sector. This was followed by a third stimulus and bailout, aimed at the US automobile industry. Further stimulus programs into clean energy were continued in 2011 and 2012 with two new solar power plants established in Nevada and Arizona, creating over 1,000 construction jobs and 200 full time jobs and over 2,000 secondary jobs.
Furthermore, in step with the Democratic majorities in both the house and senate, Powell passed the United States Healthcare Initiative Platform, which was designed to further simplify Health America and Veterans Affairs and how they managed their programs. Powell’s program was significantly more moderate than the Democrats would have wanted and significantly more liberal than what most Republicans wanted. The focus expanded Child health tax benefits, individual health exclusions, and increased funding for Medicaid by 4% over 5 years in order to expand its coverage for underinsured, underemployed citizens.
Meanwhile, in 2011, President Powell passed the American Immigration Plan, which would see significant investment into border security and protection, expansion of physical and technological barriers in order to prevent illegal immigration, while also working to simplify pathways to citizenship for landed illegal immigrants who were already employed in the US economy. However, this was launched in conjunction with a mass deportation scheme where hundreds of thousands of recent illegals, illegal immigrants who had some sort of criminal record, and those who had been caught multiple times were deported.
However, with spending increasing and the deficit becoming a problem, support within both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party with Powell began to run short. Former Vice President Leavitt attempted to secure the Republican nomination, but was upset by former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney who secured the nomination with Senator Marco Rubio as his running mate.
Romney was elected on a likewise moderate platform, but one that was markedly more traditional Reaganite Republican rather than the more Rockefeller Republican that Powell was in. Romney would run on a platform of moderate economic and fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, Reaganite foreign policy.
Romney would continue with the ideals of small government through the reimplemenation of Powell’s tax cuts. The tax cuts had reduced the top 3 brackets by 2.5% each and the middle income brackets by 1.5% each. Lower brackets had not been reduced. These were extended under Romney. Meanwhile, the Defence budget saw new increases as Romney established the Space Force as the newest branch of the Uniformed Services, expanded ship production in order to secure American interests in both the Atlantic and Pacific.
Investment programs into industrial development to ‘bring back jobs’ proved to be mildly successful, with many industrial bases being established in Rust Belt states as well as in the less union friendly south. However, the increasing deficits and lack of social spending would prove to be Romney’s undoing. The economy had recovered somewhat by 2015 and calls to balance the budget and address the rising income gap in the United States grew even stronger. Romney attempted to respond to the calls, however, the 2016 election proved to be too much for Republicans to withstand. The calls for change were too strong.
Led by young progressive Florida Senator Kendrick Meeks, the Democratic Party stormed into 2016 and defeated incumbent Romney and secured the house, but not the senate. That was enough for Meeks, however, who began to undo many of the conservative policies that the United States had imposed. This began with healthcare.
In 2017, the Next American Healthcare Act was passed by the slimmest of margins by the senate. It was a pale imitation of what Meeks had originally planned for. The plan saw the expansion of Health America through the creation of a single market account by which Medicare providers, Medicaid providers, private healthcare providers, and other regional hospital or insurance networks would be hosted in a single marketplace. Furthermore, the Healthcare Act expanded drug coverage for Medicare and Medicaid recipients and eased the restrictions to access Medicaid. Furthermore, the expansion for childcare was expanded with greater funding of government sponsored child care clinics, expansion of health coverage at schools and universities, and promotion of health and wellness programs in K-12 education. This plan was a gutted formula, however, it still proved mildly successful in bringing down drug costs and coverage costs and reducing the uninsured rate by a small amount.
Meeks also ordered for the withdrawal of all US soldiers from Afghanistan by the end of the decade. However, that would prove too tall a task and the withdrawal was postponed until 2021. Moreover, Meeks announced significant budget cuts to most branches of the military. The only exceptions were on the Space Force, new fighter and bomber aircraft, and naval construction. In a public statement, Meeks called the USSR a ‘grave threat’ to the world order, ushering in a new era of hostility and sparking fears of a new Cold War. Meeks, however, was quick to dismiss claims of a new Cold War and continued to reduce spending on defence and reducing America’s overseas commitments.
Furthermore, Meeks would cut funding from border security. Ending several federal programs designed to entrap illegal migrants, cutting funding for future wall expansion, and cutting funding to ICE. Further immigration reform would have to wait as the Republicans controlled the senate throughout the entire first term of Meeks. However, the 2020 would see Meeks storm to reelection against the right-wing traditional conservative candidate Ted Cruz from the Republican Party, winning 299 electoral votes and securing 52 seats in the Senate and 239 seats in the house. Finally, Meeks had a full mandate and the power to enact his full vision for the future.
However, February of 2020 had also seen the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, forcing the United States, and the world, into temporary lockdown. In the United States, the federal ‘lockdown’ would last for two months before a gradual reopening process was introduced. A stimulus check was issued in the summer, a second in the fall, and a third and final check in the spring of 2021. The impacts of COVID would have lasting impacts on large sectors of the US economy for years afterwards. The lockdowns themselves and the stimulus programs had cost trillions of dollars in lost income and extra government spending.
Thus, the Meeks Reform Plans would have to largely wait as the battle against COVID took precedence. However, by 2021, Meeks announced the Health America 2.0 Act which was passed with ease in both houses. The Health 2.0 Act would expand on Meeks earlier creation of the Health America singular account. By the expansion of Medicaid and the introduction of a new Public Option, the single account allowed for Americans to have subsidized healthcare for seniors over 65, citizens making less than the federal poverty line, and disabled citizens. Furthermore, through the Health America account, payments could be made directly through income payroll as part of the Medicare Tax Expansion Act. This provided multiple levels of health coverage, both public and private networks, and reduced the uninsured population to virtually zero.
However, the expansion came with hefty costs. In order to offset it, Meeks instituted the Medicare Tax Expansion Plan and the 2022 Tax Act that saw the creation of several new tax brackets. One new for income, and three income tax brackets on tertiary benefits. The creation of a wealth tax was narrowly defeated by several moderate Democrats. However, corporations did see their net taxes increase under the new tax minimum on multinational corporations set at the base level for local businesses. Further actions against corporations saw the blocking of the Disney-Fox merger and several other high profile mergers in order to protect competitive rights.
These actions would be cannon fodder for Republicans. The attacks against businesses threatened American competitiveness. Especially with the Soviets and Chinese rapidly expanding as new competitors, Republicans argued that Meeks was making American uncompetitive. This idea caught fire across many areas. Particularly those most impacted by job-loss to overseas competition. Thus, the 2022 midterm elections would see the Republicans swing with wild momentum into the midterms. In the end, the Senate ended in a flat 50-50 draw and the house went solidly to the Republicans who won 241 seats.
However, Meeks attempted to work with the new Republican coalition led by the New Establishment figures of Nikki Haley, Chris Sununu, Tim Scott, and Paul Ryan. Their platform was built on fiscal conservatism and cutting of the federal deficit. Meeks attempted to compromise where he could, however, much of the last two years of Meeks presidency were deadlocked in stalemate. The greatest successes were investments into small businesses across the United States, and cutting taxes for green energy start-ups in a variety of fields, including nuclear energy. The Republicans were divided between the moderate and more conservative factions, however, the moderate faction would win out in the nomination. This would lead to the eventual Sununu/Charlie Crist ticket. They squared off against moderate-progressive California governor Gavin Newsom and former Speaker of the House and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Despite the general animosity against the Democrats, the Republicans proved unable to undo the goodwill of the Democratic Party.
However, the mandate given to the Newsom government was not nearly as straightforward as the Meeks' presidency. Newsom received 274 electoral votes to Sununu’s 264 in one of the most debated and controversial elections in American history. In the end, the counting came down to three states: New Hampshire, Iowa, and Virginia. New Hampshire would be called first, in favour of the Republicans, giving them the edge the day after Tuesday. Virginia would be called next, late in the evening. Iowa would go through a long recount process that took nearly 2 full weeks to finally complete. However, when it was called, it came down by 594 votes in favour of Gavin Newsom. Even in the down ballot, the Democrats barely gained much ground, as the Republicans maintained their control over the house and the Democrats eked out a small majority in the senate.
The new Newsom administration inherits an economy that is still facing significant budget crises. Higher taxes has offset this slightly, but high spending programs offset the tax hikes. While President Newsom will have to continue to build on the progress made by President Meeks, there are also strong pushes to begin to reel back high spending in order to prepare for a potential recession. Meanwhile, foreign policy becomes more and more complicated as tensions with the Soviet Union have continued under Democratic leadership and tensions with China have also increased, leading to fears of a three-way Cold War or the USSR and the People’s Republic of China reforming their old friendships in order to defeat the United States and their hegemony.
In both cases, the United States faces a number of key issues, both on the foreign and domestic fronts. Whether or not President Gavin Newsom and his newly selected Cabinet are capable remains to be seen.
Do not remove - Alpha777
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