Join the new world

It's good to be back, New York! When I served as your state senator 2 months ago, I participated in some of the greatest debates in congress as I led the fight for a Q5 hospital in the state (PEACE GC trolls even chimed in saying they would provide great health care for New York after they took it over - how did that turn out?) As a colonel and commanding officer of the Home Guard Bravo Company, I ordered our platoons to defend New York when it was attacked and I spent all of my money to buy weapons and put up 1000 points on the wall so, just like many New Yorkers, seeing New York fall was a very disheartening moment in my eLife. But I served the rest of my term in congress, representing New York in exile and working on keeping our nation running even as the armies of PEACE GC ran us down to 1 state. When at that point in time many citizens left the country for jobs in allied nations, I still believed in eUSA and knew we needed to do as much as possible to keep our citizenry intact, even if we were to lose every state. I ran for congress in our last state of Florida because I saw other people running who did not seem to understand the mechanics of eRepublik and were advocating isolationism and erecting trade barriers. I found this to be a ridiculous concept in a social strategy game which is won by alliances who work well together, and lost by individual nations who try to do things all on their own.

I was fortunate to win a seat in congress to represent not only Florida, but essentially a voice to represent our entire country. I participated in all of the major debates and voted in favor of reducing the income taxes from 25% down to 20% so that our citizens would be better able to equip themselves in this time of war while still being able to fund our military and I voted in favor of keeping open trade with nations that allow us to compete in their markets and offer goods necessary for our citizenry. As a result of this, we have a constant supply of inexpensive food and, even though we've had a prolonged war for more than 2 months now, we have not seen our supply of weapons disappear resulting in expensive weapons that most citizens are unable to purchase, as was seen in the past.

Seeing New York come back to eUSA was a happy day for me and, although it was nice to represent sunny Florida, it's time to come back home! I would be honored to represent the great state of New York once again to continue to work in congress for the betterment of our nation. I have served in the Cabinets of the last 4 Presidents of eUSA and, on a daily basis, I've seen the challenges our Presidents and our nation have faced and I've learned from the brightest minds and the most knowledgeable people about game mechanics as well as relating to people all around the world, both friends and foes. New York, if you want someone who will work every single day of his term in congress for you, as I have done before, my experience is a testament and you can rest assured that I will do that for you.

What Does mjdiv Stand For?
My stance is now as it always has been and what I have consistently stood for over the last 8 months in eRepublik, since even before I ever ventured into politics. Anyone who has been a part of eRepublik for any length of time knows that no one country can succeed on it's own (economically, politically or militarily) without the support of other nations around the world. For this reason, taking an isolationist approach is counterproductive. To put the focus on what we will accomplish rather than what we should avoid, I will state my objectives in terms that will lead to multinational cooperation and mutual success for all involve😛

1. I support trade with other nations that also support trade with us. I will continue to encourage the reduction of trade barriers in other nations to provide a better environment for our businesses to compete in while also keeping import tariffs on raw materials low so that the result will be affordable finished goods for our citizens. I support cutting off trade with nations that refuse to allow reasonable competition from our businesses in their countries in a non-cooperative manner.

2. I support dialogue with ALL nations (not just our allies) because dialogue is the first step which leads toward friendship and cooperation among different cultures around the world. Dialogue also promotes understanding between the nations, which is the cornerstone of successful relations and mutual prosperity.

3. My stance on income taxes has changed as I've become more experienced in eRepublik. To support or not support taxes, one has to understand what taxes are used for:

a) Mutual Protection Pacts (MPPs) with other countries (costs 30 gold for each nation) so that we can have military allies to work together in the defense of our nations.

b) New citizen fees - Our nation is rapidly growing and every new citizen currently gets 5 USD to start - this amount doesn't come from eRepublik - it comes from the country's taxes.

c) War - The most expensive thing in eRepublik, declaring wars and attacking provinces and states (even if they were our own original states) costs a great deal of gold.

d) Printing Money - When citizen fees are paid out and citizens become inactive, those citizen fees are permanently lost, so we need to print more money to keep in circulation - this requires gold.

e) Funding the Military - The military needs weapons and moving tickets to move soldiers around. This is what takes up the majority of the tax revenue in the country. Without the ability to move soldiers and supply them with weapons, the military becomes less effective.

My stance on income taxes is that, especially since we are at war, we need sufficient taxes to be able to fund our military and maintain our alliances, but not so much that it cripples our citizens' ability to do things on their own. I support the current wartime tax structure to keep our military as best able to defend our nation as possible.

4. I will engage in intelligent debate and treat other debaters with respect and dignity. I will not look at the political party of the person who is bringing a concern up. Partisan politics may serve political parties well, but this dilutes the effectiveness of people who have good ideas. I will not judge others according to the political party they represent, but by the quality of their ideas and their concerns.

5. I support FUN! Every vote that comes up in congress, I will be asking myself if a) This keeps our nation secure; b) This will help make YOUR experience in eUSA more fun! If the answer to both of these is "No", then so will be my vote. If this is not clear-cut in congressional debate, I will ask my New York constituents how you feel about the subject. If I am to be your representative, then I must vote according to the people who put me in office!

Hopefully this gives you an idea of what I'm about. I log in to eRepublik every day, I always answer PMs and I am in constant communication with the "movers and shakers" of our nation. If you want responsible, experienced leadership who will work for and remain accountable to YOU, then I once again ask you to push the Libertarian button and vote for mjdiv on September 25th.

Thank you, New York! Have fun and enjoy another day in eRepublik!

mjdiv,
Editor of Freedom & Responsibility and
White House Press Secretary