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unmerged(10397)

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O'Floinn takes the podium at New Lancaster City University.

Good evening, my fellow Eutopians! Today is the beginning of a cross-country tour sponsored by the Eutopian Business Association. Before I say anything, I need you all to know that this is not a political campaign. We're not looking for votes, nor are we representing our parties. I'm not here to talk about foreign affairs or the military. However, I am here to talk about capitalism, and how it relates to you.

I know that the opponents of capitalism would have you believe that this tour is little more than a few rich men trying to convince you to maintain the system that maintains them. But do not be influenced by them! There is an inherent flaw in the message of men such as Cornelius Dank. If you have anything in terms of success, abandoning capitalism hurts you! Dank's plan depends on his followers thinking they are worthless, currently no more than tools to be used and abused by the rich.

I'm not going to lie to you, not everyone can be 'the boss.' There will always be that inequality in wealth. If everyone were wealthy enough to not have to work, the economy would collapse. But less wealth doesn't mean less worth! Employees are just as necessary to capitalism as executives are. We can't all be rich, but that doesn't mean we can't all prosper.

When the state controls your economy, and you are 'equal' with everyone else, anyone can be pulled up to do your job. But when you have a unique skillset cultivated from your unique education and work experience, you can control your career. And you can rise through hard work! Would you rather work twice as hard as the man next to you and be forced to maintain economic parity? Or would you rather work twice as hard to reap twice the benefits?

I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who said that wealth would be distributed according to "industry and skill." Well, call me old-fashioned, but I see nothing wrong with a harder worker making a better living.
 

unmerged(33865)

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Wealth is the present value of your future income. What does that mean? Present value is a concept quite familiar to the economics majors among you, but perhaps novel to others. It is not a difficult principle, drawing upon such well-known proverbs as “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. I know you want to hear about wealth, but we have to get over this little hurdle first, so please bear with me.

The idea is that a sum of money to be received in the future is worth a smaller sum today. The difference is like interest. To calculate a present value, you discount the future amount at an appropriate interest rate. 100 ducats a year from now is worth Ð90.91 today, if you use a 10% discount rate, because if you invested that sum for a year at that rate, you would have $100 at maturity. Interest compounds, so Ð100 in ten years time is only worth Ð38.55 now. If the money is certain to be paid, because it is from an insured certificate of deposit or a Government Treasury Bill, then a modest rate of interest would be appropriate. $100 a year from now is worth $97.09 today at a 3% discount rate. If it is from a company in financial difficulties, but not yet bankrupt, like Marticon, then a higher discount rate should be used to reflect the risk that you might not be paid. This lowers the present value.

This talk is not directly about happiness, or what economists call utility. If you are twice as wealthy, which we can measure, it doesn’t mean you are twice as happy, which is rather subjective. Despite folk tales to the contrary, more wealth is preferable to less. It gives you more choices. If your particular circumstances seem to be different as more wealth brings less happiness, then you have the choice to fix the problem by giving away some of your wealth.

Wealth is the present value of your future income. I don’t run for the federal finances, so I don’t mean what you will list on your tax form. Income comes in three major types: compensation (what you get for working: wages, commissions, bonuses, tips, etc.), investment income (interest, rent, capital gains, etc.) and transfer payments (gifts, social security, alimony, etc.) Some things don’t show up as cash, like if you own your own home, then the amount of rent you would have to pay to rent a similar dwelling would be counted as income. Some things you have to pay, like taxes, credit card interest, mortgage interest, etc., are considered as negative income in this measure.

Typically, unless you have a big inheritance coming, early in your working life, most of your wealth is the present value of your future compensation. Gradually, the portions change until you retire, when all of your wealth derives from your future investment income and transfer payments. Let’s take a look at what a typical profile might be. The person’s age increases from left to right. I’ll draw two lines: one for income, the other for consumption (or expenditure). Both start low, increase, and then tend to decline, but the rate of change and volatility of income is greater.
graph.bmp

If you are earning more than you spend, then you are saving. If you are spending more than you earn, you are dipping into savings or borrowing. Children usually consume little but earn even less, but the gap is mostly covered by transfer payments, from their parents or guardians. Consumption jumps when they go to college or leave home. This leads to increased borrowing, whether for student loans, a car or installment and credit card purchases. Your largest borrowing, your mortgage, doesn’t figure in this graph, as you are borrowing money to buy an asset, your home, not to consume. If the imputed rent on your first home is higher than what you were paying before, then your consumption has risen somewhat, which would have an effect.

Eventually, your income should outstrip your expenditure, allowing you to repay prior borrowing and then begin building up your savings. Part of this may not show up in your checking account, if you are contributing to a Eutopian pension plan. Some people just spend whatever they earn. That is usually inadvisable. A temporary decline in income, due to a lay-off, or a significant mandatory expenditure would require both a reduction in consumption and an increase in borrowing. For most people, reducing consumption is very unsettling, that is to say, quite unpleasant.

It is useful to keep track of the accumulated savings or borrowings. If you are young but have good prospects, you are able to borrow against your future income. When you are older, past your peak earning years, or in retirement, it is more difficult. Even worse, it is fairly imprudent to put yourself in that situation. No one wants to just live off governmental transfer payments (social aid), so you need savings to provide investment income. Traditionally, one did not invade principal, adapting one’s consumption so as not to exceed income. This makes sure you will not outlive your savings, and that your heirs will inherit something. If you haven’t saved enough to live within your income after retirement, annuities are a less conservative option, providing cash flow for life, but nothing for your estate.

Let’s work through an example. A recent college graduate might have a starting salary of thirty thousand ducats, for a business or econ major. Humanities would be lower; engineering would be higher. Let’s forecast a working life of 40 years. Thus, if they never got a raise, they would collect at total of Ð1.2 million in salary over their working life. Instead, let’s project raises of 8% a year for the first 25 years and 3% a year thereafter. The power of growth is such that they would earn Ð6.1 million over the full forty years. However, we are not immortal, so combining this with standard mortality experience, an average person in this situation would be expected to earn about $5.8 million during their working life. This needs to be discounted. At a 10% interest rate, the present value of compensation portion of that recent graduate’s wealth is $735,000, pre-tax. Tax rates can go up and down. I’ll assume that, on average, taxes eat a third of your income, leaving our hypothetical recent grad about $490,000. To get a complete picture of their wealth, you would deduct the value of any loans outstanding, and add in the value of any investments and the present value of any future transfer payments.

What can you do to make yourself wealthier? You can raise your expected income or lower your personal discount rate. There are two main ways to raise your expected income: saving money will increase your future investment income, or investing effectively in yourself by education to increase your value in the job market.

Your personal interest rate is subjective. If you engage in unsafe sex with dubious partners, smoke, drive after drinking, or drive a Yugo, the number of years you will earn an income is uncertain. Therefore, the interest rate you should use to discount your future income is higher, so its present value, your wealth, is lower. Cut those and other destructive behaviors out, and exercise, and your wealth increases. The proverb that speaks to this is, “without your health, you have nothing”.

Another influence on your personal interest rate relates to your patience and self-discipline. If you are a credit card junkie, paying high APR’s, then it is hard to argue that your interest rate is lower than what you are willing to pay. If we recalculate the recent graduate’s wealth using an 18% interest rate, it plunges to about $202,500, or less than 42% of what it was when we used 10%. An “I really want it NOW” attitude is going to cost you, big time.

By this definition of wealth, are you a millionaire? Even without any money in the bank, the typical one of you is halfway there, if you are young enough, with a good enough income and good prospects for advancement. But unlike the traditional definition, under this one, you still have to work to earn your wealth. And, of course, a half-million isn’t what it used to be.

The point is not to brag about achieving a particular milestone, but to help you plan and keep track of your progress. If you are young or are giving advice to some who is, there is a temptation to think that at that age, their choices don’t matter, when in fact, the consequences are magnified as they carry forward throughout their lifetime. Like the ad says about what some luxury will cost you in future retirement savings, you will still be paying for that sports car you bought when you land that great job well after the last payment has been made and well after you have traded it in. There are two types of mistakes people make, undervaluing and overvaluing themselves. If you are young and cash poor, don’t undervalue yourself and treat yourself shabbily, particularly when it comes to taking needless risks. Don’t drive around in a car with bad brakes and bald tires. Measure your wealth as the present value of your future income and you will decide that you can afford to take better care of yourself. Later, when you have more money in the bank, ask yourself if drinking Dom Perignon at Ð150 a bottle is a good idea, when you have always thought Veuve Cliquot, at a quarter of the cost, was an excellent champagne. You can “live a little”, but just because you have amassed some dollars, don’t lose your sense. Don’t get carried away by either extreme.

You students are smart. You can figure out that if you were to only work six hours a day in your peak earning years, you will have to trade that for something else, sooner or later, and the longer you wait, the more you will have to give up for that leisure. This isn't news. Think of the old sayings: "Make hay while the sun shines." or "Strike while the iron is hot." Think for yourselves, don't let me or any one else hand you a slogan for you to chant without you deciding whether it makes sense or not.
 

Amric

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Former President Amric Al’Aeshir steps up to the lectern. He has no notes with him as he has memorized his remarks thoroughly. He is dressed in a grey silk suit with a white silk shirt and a blue silk tie. It is for the effect of showing that he is indeed a successful businessman.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It’s nice to see such a sea of bright shiny new faces eager to leap forth and do battle in the field of business. I’m sure most of you recognize me. If you don’t, where have you been? A good head for business makes one want to know about potential rivals or business partners.

I’m not going to sugar coat the truth, people. Less than 10 percent of you will start and successfully expand your own business independently. Figures don’t lie. You should all be aware of them. I’m sure you read the same business journals and economic forecasts just like I do. Don’t let that discourage those of you who have such an interest from going for it. It takes guts to go after your dreams. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.

Let me tell you a secret. Business is a global battlefield. That’s right, I said battlefield. Because any kind of business must compete against others of their own type. Not only locally, but globally in some cases. There are few true monopolies left. What there is in monopolies is generally energy production, operating system software, telecommunications, et al. The owner/president/CEO of a business is the general. The higher level managers are like colonels. The mid grade managers are like captains. Low level managers are lieutenants. Supervisors are like sergeants.

The general MUST come up with a comprehensive strategy. A good general will take very bit of information they can find and process it. Yes, there are marketing people. But the end result, good or bad, is laid at the feet of the general. They should also take and implement useful suggestions from the lowest ranks as well. Now what do I mean? Let me give you an example. I have a recycling business. The first large scale one in Eutopia. I didn’t just create a center and HOPE I would get business.

I did research. Or paid for research to be done. Some of it I did myself, the rest by a talented team of highly paid professionals. I found that caring about the environment was becoming of more interest to Eutopians. Part of that was due to my efforts with the Eutopian Society for the Environment. I had ‘primed’ the pump, as it were. I also found that by recycling as much as possible that would greatly lessen the strain on Eutopia’s garbage dumps. Plus, I discovered that recycled materials can be sold to industries that would use them. For a cheaper cost than having to import them or buying new raw materials. I found that profit could indeed be made. In a niche area ripe for investment. I was the first one. Now that doesn’t mean you have to find a niche that isn’t being utilized. You can go into a niche that is mature, you just have to find a way to make your business worth more to the consumer so that you can be successful.

Remember, there were no recycling facilities in Eutopia when I started. I started building centers in the major cities of Eutopia. At first I had people dropping off their recycling items. Of course by now I have route drivers who pick up recycling every week. The glass, plastics, and so forth are rendered down to be made ready to sell to manufacturing businesses. I do good for the environment and make a profit as well!

I still dominate the recycling industry. But I could lost that dominance if I lose sight of the market and the industry. Let us not forget IBM, which at one time dominate the computer industry. Now it is a fallen giant, no longer the dominant player. AT&T, the giant monolithic monopoly in telecommunications until 1984. The US government broke them up in that year into regional Bells and AT&T stayed in the long distance business. Well, as of recently, SBC has made a tender offer to buy AT&T. SBC is one of the baby Bells. AT&T is about to disappear. THE start of telecommunications is about to go the way of the dinosaurs. All because they lost focus and got involved with risky schemes that didn’t pan out. How can I say that so definitively? I’ve been watching AT&T since 1983. I’ve seen it slide ever closer to the brink, and now they’ve slipped over it.

Here is a giant no no in business. Do NOT forget your core business! So what was AT&T’s core business? Long distance telephone service for business and residential customers. What did they do? Start a computer division in 1984! A division, in personal computers, that IBM was beginning to duck out of! PC’s are a business with little profit margin. You make your money on volume. For some odd reason AT&T thought that their name would be enough to drive business to them.

They were wrong. AT&T is known for telecommunications, not computers. It took them a few years of staggering losses in that computer division to figure that out. So what did they do? Compound that error by buying NCR<National Cash Register>. NCR had a viable, if small, PC division. It was more known for cash registers, ATMs, and mainframe computers. AT&T, after buying NCR out, folded their fledgling computer division into NCR and CHANGED the name! NCR was around LONGER than AT&T. Let’s add insult to injury. The division continued to lose money!

Nobody knew anything about this new ‘brand’. Industry experts felt that AT&T would screw it up and the computer division lost long time customers and was not replacing them with new ones. So what did AT&T? They gave up. Spun off the computer division. I’d like to share a little side story with you.

My father worked for NCR for 42 years. During the time prior to the buyout and during and after as well. When AT&T spun them off we had a discussion about what the new company would be named. He thought it might have a brand new name. I informed them that would not happen. He asked me why. I said that throwing away a 125 year old name would be STUPID. As we all know, NCR was reborn. The name lives on. You do NOT toss out a brand name with that kind of massive investment and recognition. AT&T did and you know what? After NCR came back, they became profitable once more.

Only a fool casts aside a proven brand name. Let me give you another example. When tobacco maker R.J. Reynolds bought Kraft Foods they didn’t change the name. Who wants to eat R.J. Reynolds cheese? They were bright enough to know you don’t get rid of a brand name that is a household word. Copy machines worldwide are commonly nicknamed Xerox machines. Brand recognition!

Proven brand names can be worth millions of dollars. In sales as well! This is true in EVERY type of business. A brand has a reputation. That reputation can rise or fall depending on how well it is maintained. I’ve been using examples from the US because all of us should be familiar with them. They are justifiably famous companies, known the world over.

Let me use a few Eutopian ones. OSI? Anyone remember it? Von Streusser Enterprises? The second one was doing well. Then they bought into the coal and lumber industries. Since the coal deal with the US expired years ago and the Canadians continue to dump lumber on Eutopian markets they have taken a beating. VSE has a small chance to pull out of it if they get some kind of deal with a foreign nation to buy coal and lumber. Anyone heard of FFH? BMI? AAH? Ah! All of them, I would expect. But which of them has the highest profile? Which has been around longer?

Brand names are IMPORTANT! Customer loyalty can be fickle at times. But protect that brand and you will be better off than if you trash it. Let me give you a Eutopian example. Operational Security Incorporated. New at the time of Term 6, it had little reputation. But it was an alternative to a much larger company. I, being MHES at the time, hired them for clinic and hospital security. At the end of Term 6 they flying high. But by Term 7 they were toast as robberies and clinics and hospitals tarnished that burgeoning reputation.

But it got WORSE when it was discovered they were at fault when it was determined that those robberies were inside jobs pulled by OSI people. The discovery that Yuri Voshkod was a man plotting the overthrow of the government was the final nail in the coffin. Oh, they still exist. But they are a mere shadow of their former size and glory. They are on life support and owned by another company now. They have a bad reputation that they are unable to shake.

The OSI brand may be tainted forever. Plus this serves as a reminder that nobody is infallible. Even I make a mistake occasionally. I had ignored my business instincts concerning OSI. I had reservations. BUT, as a government official I wanted to make a point of fostering fair competition, so I hired OSI. Had it been a purely business decision I would not have hired them. Fortunately in my business career I haven’t made such a disastrous decision.

Your brand in an integral part of your army as well as part of your strategy. As a new business you have no reputation. You have to BUILD that reputation. With high quality goods, services, and customer service. What is your competitor’s weaknesses and strengths? What are yours? You MUST know these things if you are to compete effectively. Shore up your weaknesses and take full advantage of their weaknesses. You have to do it better, faster, and more cost effectively than the others, and yet still make a profit. This is war! A war of economic survival. It is you or them! Run smart advertising campaigns using the appropriate media outlets catering to YOUR specific customer base!

Never waste advertising ducats in media areas where your customer base is not going to be. It’s wasteful of money and you won’t see any return on your investment! Never go on the attack in areas you can’t win. There are those who feel all advertising is good. IF you target market is men 18-54 you would NOT advertise during the TV show Cooking With Marta Stanley! You’d be advertising on TV during EC Chopper.

Another form of advertising is sponsorships. NASCAR, golf, even sports venues are ripe fields to harvest. Perhaps the side of a bus? A billboard? Mail inserts. Advertising is the scouts/cavalry of your army. Ads FIND your audience/targets of opportunity. Your customers!

What about ethics? Very important, believe me. IF you treat your customers the way you would like to be treated then they are liable to come back. Yes, the Gold Rule, applied to business. If you short change or cheat them, it will get around. Damaging your brand and reputation! Treating customers with respect, charging them a fair price, and doing it right will enhance your reputation. If something fails, fix it.

You also want to stay on good terms with your suppliers/vendors. Get to know the well. Know them like you know your family, for it you ever find yourself short of something they are the more likely to rush to your aid than if you treat them poorly. Especially when you pay them in full on time! Always! Never shaft your vendors. Do not stint on thanking them every time they send you something. Greet them with as mile when they call upon you personally. Listen attentively when they want to show you something new. Even if you don’t need it now. Today’s non needed item may be tomorrows necessity! If you pay attention to the industry and market you will be more adaptable to the changing conditions that always occur.

Your employees. The backbone and heart of your army. They must be treated with respect, a fair wage, and a safe and environmentally friendly work space. Without them you cannot function. Know your employees well. Have company outings, even if it is only just a picnic once a year. Offer incentives to those who find innovative ways to improve things. Remember this, happy employees are productive employees. Those who do more should earn more. It’s only fair to reward people for their hard work. Remember this also. Sometimes the best ideas come from those lowest on the ‘totem pole’.

Now it is true that most of you won’t jump into ultimate leadership roles immediately. But all this applies to a greater or lesser extent regardless of whether you are the overall boss or only a shift supervisor. You are Eutopia’s business future. You have your role models you would like to emulate to some degree. Always remember that even the best in business can be wrong or make a mistake. Your ‘gods’ of business have feet of clay. They are not perfect. They can be beaten on the battlefield of business. But the best do tend to make fewer mistakes than others because they plan in advance and take calculated risks. But they are able to adapt to changing conditions and they know when to concede the current battle to prepare for a future one where they will win. They do not make decisions on a whim.

I want to thank you for your time and I hope I’ve illuminated some things for all of you.
 

TeutonicKnight

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Dear fellow citizens I am here today to discuss how business and capitalism is the best and how it helps everybody who engages in it.

Lately we have reached a crescendo of voices illuminating that capitalism is bad and it "enslaves" the poor and working class. My friends this is simply not true. Now what is true is that there are those who for whatever reasoning will not "succeed." Now, that very statement is misleading and very subjective because what is succeeding?

In a none-existent capitalism system succeeding is merely living another day with no real goal or direction in life but to work, and in some instances it is pre-ordained as to what ones work will be, not very successful or fulfilling is it? If you take away ones ability to reach for the stars to strive for a better life then in essence that person has lost. Even in a Capitalist/Pro-business setting those who are workers enjoy a higher standard of living than those in a Socialist/Communist setting.

In a Socialist/Communist environment complacency is what is fostered. Why should you wake up every morning and go to work knowing two things; first, you will not be able to achieve greatness and prosperity for no matter how hard you work it will be taken and redistributed; secondly, how would you feel knowing that you work hard and your friend works less but still gets the same as you because your fruits have been redistributed to him as "compensation."

With good business, education and hard work you can and will be rewarded. Those who are too timid to take initiative will forever be trapped in a state of complacency, but know this, that is their decision and why should you be ashamed of doing well. Of course there are those who will complain that you have more, but they would rather take from you because it's easier than working for it themselves.

Without business owners those would be complainers would never have a job. How many jobs has a non-business owner given you? I know that people try and do use class-warfare by dividing rich from poor, but to simplify it how many jobs has a poor man given you in your life?

Life is similar to a bee colony, everybody wants to be the Queen but not everybody can, there are those who must be workers, however, unlike a bee colony you can with your own initiative and a free market grab at the top rung.

Businesses and people must be left mostly unabated so they can form an intricate weave for the better of society. By doing so people are happier, more taxes are paid and those who truly can't take care of themselves can be taken care of.

Thank you all for your time and feel free to help yourselves to the free drinks that have been provided.
 

Provolution

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Sir Augustus de Provolution holds a speech outside City Hall, Huntington, Gloriana.

"Eutopia, Greek for "Good Nation"".....

"Citizens, ask yourselves, are we that good? Are we satisfied with a 14 % interest rate, soaring unemployment and lagging behind in technology?"

"Do you want to rise to the ranks of America, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan, and grow to prominence, or should we falter behind like Southern Europe, Eastern Europe and Latin America?"

"I am asking these questions not to make you capitalists, but to understand the inherent dynamics of the world we all live in, a world where foreign aid is only given to the dirt poor, and resource exporting nations descend into abysmal inferiority and historical posterity"

"I am not content, I am not content at all, and if I am not content, why should you all be content at all? We really need to shape up our nation, not only for ourselves, but also for our children. We should make Eutopia strong, competitive, industrious, progressive and actually be able to deliver on the economic underpinnings on social welfare, education, health and culture"

"We all talk about culture, but what is wrong with a winners culture, a culture
assuring our future existance and ability to control our environment, soul and national economy is integral to Eutopian future."

"Capitalism is so much more than just a plain financial casino, but a system where the long term idea of staying ahead with the best technology at affordable prices to a strong population base makes the nation stronger at large. This is not about enrichening a few at the expense of others, but a system which allows us to expand the pie and share it, not fight over leftovers. Economics is more than mere financial statistics, but the quality of our economy, the products we create and sell, possibly export, the historical records we break, the scientific gains that cause other nations envy, the very projection of Eutopian self hinge upon domestic and international performance"

"There were the thinkers Kondratieff and Schumpeter, which spoke of technology cycles in the economy, where new technologies like the steam machine, petroleum engine, the Jet Engine, then the Nuclear Power and now the Information Age have all spiralled us into new paradigms of unprecented wellbeing, progress, performance and production"

"Financial institutions did none of that, but industrial investors and leaders did. Soviet and China tried, but they are forever bound to second tier solutions expect for their Sukhoj 37 Super Flanker these days"

"In finality, what should I, Sir Augustus de Provolution, do? I am going to do my best to put this nation into a position poised to dominate certain strategic industries, and thus skyrocket Eutopia into a new economic leadership.
My vision is that Eutopia shall one day reunify, and become an economic powerhouse capable of joining the G7 nations ranks, and become a top performer among nations. This would mean a lot to us, our children and our future children, not to mention our parents that built our nation. We all know where the money paying for our better lives come from, and merely stating taxes is a very crude simplification, as the general economy dictates more than the tax ratio. This means we need to expand the pie, not eat it."

"In facing this challenge, I will state five essential programs that requires political support for my line. I will list them briefly"

"One, Eutopia should become a telecommunications, networks and satellites powerhouse and become a new space nation. Weather satellites assure our environment, networks our global and national communications and space exploration opens a new territory not covered by our maritime claims."

"Two, Eutopia should strengthen its role towards the WTO and OECD, as well as WIPO, and go through all international legislation that is not treating Eutopia fairly in international trade. Every contract should now be better controlled to investigate if Eutopia's right is being wronged, then correct it."

"Three, Eutopia should become a new producer of airplanes, helicopters and car, yes we should develop a heavy transportation industry and compete with the best, but ascertain we win third world markets as we are cheap enough on price, and stable enough nation for delivery. Timing now is good."

"Four, Eutopia should become an Information Technology powerhouse, and compete head on head with Ireland and India in the low end of the scale and
America, Japan and Scandinavia in the high end. we should revise our patent laws and offer grants to high techology students, primarily engineers and programmers"

"Five, Eutopia should give tax cuts to research and development as well as industrial growth creating jobs and learn from other nations experiences in this field. Also, we need to conduct tax-cuts on non-workable capital such as real estate. All dead capital in savings accounts and state bonds should be activated as much as possible and used to build our economy. "

"I say vote de Provolution, and 21st Century is all yours".

- Mod Note: Edited for compliance with NPC rules
 
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