Klemantan-Borneo wrote:
World Assembly: When populism helps the environment and the green industrial future
Claudia A—Opinion Piece Author: That is to say, Marioncare, ironically only legislated into reality because of the dangerous forces of populism and their exploitation by our politicians, will hopefully provide a helping hand for the underprivileged workers left behind; so they can more easily escape the suffocating grip of deindustrialisation ...
Royal Alexandria, 31 August 2018 —According to the Encyclopædia Maxtopia, deindustrialisation can be defined as the process of social and economic changes caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity, especially heavy manufacturing industry. That is to say, it’s the reality we have faced since the end of the Economic Miracle period (1946-2016).
When we read official legislative publications in Yohannes, such as the Parliamentary Analysis Archive, we tend to compare figures: Economic growth? 0.75 per cent this quarter or the next. Annual net migration rate? 750,000 last year. Whole time equivalent average weekly earnings? 910.07 NationStates or Universal Standard Dollars.
But more than likely figures and graphs won’t portray the intangible costs unaccounted for, nor will they accurately reflect the feeling of the electorates. For instance, the November Parliamentary Analysis Archive in 2017 forecast 4.3 per cent unemployment rate by the end of the next fiscal quarter. It also hinted, at random, that this was due to not just high net migration level but also deindustrialisation across the continent.
In the following day’s sitting, Chancellor Annabelle Thorndon-Stevensonn took these figures at face value, or rather attempted to do so in a very convincing manner, and fired back during oral questioning time at members of the Opposing Forces. She failed to take into account—and she refused to accept—the bigger picture which had produced high unemployment figures in the Deep South and Heartland countries.
Those pundits and supporters of a more regulated immigration environment had warned Thorndon-Stevensonn that voters across the Kingdom of Burmecia, Grand Duchy of Dali, Noble Republic of Treno and Merchant Republic of Landburg—the Bible Belt countries—would punish her for her addiction to graphs and numbers which display only meaningless economic and capital growth on paper. And they did just that in January 2018, when they elected GOP’s Marion Maréchal-Le Men as the 18th President of the Electoral College.
The bipartisan negotiation that followed—the alternative being the failure of every single future executive council bill to come to vote by the Executive Council—established two new nation-state wealth funds: the Infrastructure of Nation State Significance Fund, which was mentioned briefly by The Royal Alexandria Times on 29 August, and the more controversial of the two, the Industrial Care and Revitalisation Fund, otherwise known for its partisan name, “Marioncare.”
Since the fund’s shaky start six months ago, Marioncare has rapidly grown to become the seventh largest wealth fund in the Nineteen Countries—the biggest loser from its astronomical rise being the holder of the first position, the Central Provident Fund, which has found itself being stripped off direct executive council contributions until 2025.
What, then, is the purpose of Marioncare?
Declining industries on the continent. According to the GOP official website, the first purpose of Marioncare is to cushion the working people—in not just the Bible Belt and the Heartland countries, but also the coastal “Rainbow countries”—from the blows “inflicted” by “heavy old industry’s decline, high net migration and the forces of internationalisation.” Fundamentally, to protect the common working people from rapid internationalisation and to mitigate the costs of deindustrialisation. To protect the hard-working line assemblers, the plumbers and the micro and small-sized business owners.
Which brings us to its second purpose; its most challenging task—to help bring about the “green revolution” in the Nineteen Countries.
All Yohannesian citizens 30 and over who are made unemployed are eligible to receive Industrial Care and Revitalisation payments provided they are willing to take jobs in “Fund Approved” sectors. Christian Democratic Party members mockingly called it “Marionpay” and “Marioncare-for-you.” The Fund also subsidises small and medium-sized enterprises eligible to apply for supplementary funding. Special preferences will be given to businesses involved with the renewable-energy industries.
Figure 1: Part of the Solar Power Regional Systems (SPRS) complex in Reichsgau Bergen auf Rügen, Kingdom of Alexandria.
The Nineteen Countries can only afford these payments through taxpayer contributions and rates paid by today’s citizens and permanent residents. With forecast of increasingly higher decline in the “traditional manufacturing” sector of the economy, the fund will soon reach its “critical point”; that is, when the number of taxpayers and eligible enterprises as a proportion of the working age population and nationwide enterprises has dropped below a certain point that could not be be crossed if support for those receiving the supplementary funding is to be kept. These inevitable demographic and internationally induced changes mean that our future generations will have to face a much higher tax burden for Yohannes to keep funding its universal “Green industry” initiative.
To tackle this challenge, until the time when the Nineteen Countries can tackle head-on the challenges of internationalisation, the Worker Protection and Industry Care Act 2018, or the “Marioncare Act,” has legislated by statutory obligations as follows: (i) The Industrial Care and Revitalisation Fund (ICRF), a collection of both domestic and foreign sourced capital and assets for the Executive Council Books; and (ii) the Board of Industrial Care and Revitalisation in the Bank of Yohannes (Forest Protector), a nation-state body corporate charged with administering the ICRF.
Since its creation in February, the executive council and its quangos, which include the Bank of Yohannes and VMK Defence and Steel Works, have contributed 16 trillion Quertz russling (140.7 billion NSD) to the Fund. Contributions are scheduled to continue until the third quarter of 2025, when the Executive Council will be looking to directly increase fundamental government borrowing (by gross debt issue) to support underperforming sectors of the economy. Payment is to commence once again when fundamental government debt has fallen below 30 per cent of real GDP, taking into account differential and seasonal adjustments.
By current trend of contributions, the Executive Council is set to take money from the ICRF by the second half of 2035 as it continues to exponentially increase in size (from current forecast) in the fifteen-year period to 2050. By statutory obligations the Executive Council must then resume its contributions and close the coffer of ICRF again until it is forecast to peak in size as a percentage of real GDP by 2060.
Just like the Central Provident Fund, ICRF’s capital is partly invested in growth-oriented and highly diversified portfolio, such as International Incidents guarantees and instruments in emerging “hotspot” regions. As a nation-state body corporate, the Forest Protector can spend and invest as deemed necessary, and while the Minister of the Treasury and Wealth Fund is given the power to act as “head authority,” the Minister is by precedents dissuaded from influencing the Forest Protector’s operation on the ground. As a nation-state body corporate, the Forest Protector must submit operational reports to the Chancellor every year, and must present their audited statements of annual accounts before Parliament.
Looking ahead, over a third of Marioncare’s capital will be invested outside the continent of Yohannes, where most of the growth are. Injecting capital in multiple countries allows for greater diversification and investment opportunities than would otherwise be available had Marioncare involved itself strictly inside the Nineteen Countries’ borders.
Will Marioncare effectively contribute to the “old industry” hard workers in the increasingly rusty Bible Belt regions? Will Marioncare support the increasing focus placed on renewable energy and green growth policies in Yohannes? And most importantly, will it continue to maintain its current forecast growth in, say, 2050, even as withdrawal levels start to overtake contributions?
And what about politics? What will happen when a future vengeful Christian Democratic Party-led Executive Council or Parliament, free from legislative interference by Marion Maréchal-Le Men’s presidency and Saul Ryan’s speakership, will have the opportunity to amend, or worse, repeal the “Marioncare Act” altogether?
Only time will tell.
Personally, I believe that the decline of the “old manufacturing” sector is something that we will have to eventually face head-on. We can’t run away from internationalisation and the constantly changing international community beyond the International Incidents. The rise of populist rhetoric on both sides of the political spectrum is intertwined with the rising unemployment, despair, and lost hope felt by our hard-working people in the Bible Belt districts and the Heartland countries. It is true that Marion is a populist Yohannesian Emperor. She likes to flirt with the politics of xenophobia, and she is unwilling to distance herself from her more offensive colleagues, such as Ronald Chump and Nickel Fallage. But at least she got one thing right.
She will finally provide enough support—financial and real, not just rhetorical—for our green industry and the renewable energy future. For every job in the old, traditional manufacturing sector shed from our economy, another one from the “new, green” manufacturing sector will be made available somewhere.
That is to say, Marioncare, ironically only legislated into reality because of the dangerous forces of populism and their exploitation by our politicians, will hopefully provide a helping hand for the underprivileged workers left behind, so they can more easily escape the suffocating grip of deindustrialisation.
A legacy carried over from the previous century, but one need not be kept in Yohannes for our children’s future.
Today’s exchange rate: According to the International Securities and Exchange Commission, 1 NationStates or Universal Standard Dollar (NSD/USD) (World Assembly and International Standard) can be used to buy 111.08 Quertz russling (Yohannesian); that is, a Yohannesian must spend at least §111.08 to afford $1 NS.
Published by The Royal Alexandria TimesAuthor: Claudia A
claudia.a@tratimes.co.yo
@claudiaa
Claudia A is one of the underpaid interns at The Royal Alexandria Times. She is a Macroeconomics postgraduate student and professional procrastinator in between lectures by day. She has previously attempted green policy analysis and social justice reviews, but was suck at both. These days you can find her in her natural habitat—writing for the Parliamentary Analysis Archive and The Royal Alexandria Times in her leisure time. She can sometimes be found tweeting together with her friends Baxter W, Erica B, Yohannes D & co. at the Maxtopian social networking website NationStates.
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138 CommentsAnnie17
Tot agree with you 100% @claudiaa. Yohannesians have a long way to go if were to escape the fate of the United States. The Nineteen Countries should be more like Sweden or Germany not the US or the UK. I was a wee tod Third Industrial Growth period (1933-1945) and watched Yohannesians go from having less but more charitable now to see NationStates wingers and extreme market advocates. Can we also kick Asians and Muslims too had enough of them opening dairoes and shops speaking God knows what
Share 2 replies▼ ▲35 I ▼79
Feud For Thought
“kick Asians and Muslims too,” can we not go there?
Share ▲107 I ▼29IAmAsianAndMuslimDWI
Grannie forgot this is nat news 2018........... 1939 calls
Share ▲72 I ▼25Aweebitsick
Having 70+ hour week shifts nothing you want. Honestly should be a law if you pass say 70 you get less pay unless your doctors nurses etc. What about kids they need good rolemodel at home and ideally one at home mum or dad looking after them. We need more stable balanced society not pecking order botom of the food chain US style
Share ▲100 I ▼14Blimey Weasley
Watch this backfire
Share ▲37 I ▼81
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