[Patti4PM] Domestic Manifesto

Day 861, 17:08 • Published in Australia Australia • by patti11

Hey Australia,

As promised, here are my domestic policies for next month. I know some of you will be eagerly awaiting this, and others dreading as it takes away some of their ammo against me because my opponent published before me. You know what they say though, quality over quantity 😉
Before I jump into my policies however, I'd like to touch on 2 points I made when running for PM in April '09, Experience and Communication.

Experience

As most of you know, and have experienced it trying to be portrayed negatively by my opponents (thanks for the free publicity 😃) , I have previously been Prime Minister a total of 3 times, April, May and October 09. The achievements I had were (If I say so myself, humbly of course) many, but one I would like to focus on is AIRRA (Australian Indonesian Region Return Agreement). The reason I would like to highlight this, as it shows of my experience in the foreign affairs department, which is going to be a massive issue this term. As many of you have read, and for those who have not can read here, USA has left EDEN, and this has implications on Australia. Australia, since our rebirth in November '08, has had good relations with USA and even now with the Brolliance, this is still true. However, EDEN has helped Australia much in recent history and it is only now we are going through a rough patch. Lastly, we cannot forget our hostile neighbours on 3 fronts. Regardless, key foreign affair decisions will need to be made next term, and I think it is fair to say that I excel in this department, and have considerably more experience then my opponent. However, it is fair to say neither myself or my opponent can comment on this issue in detail without knowing all the facts. More on foreign affairs will be in my next article.




Communication

IS KEY to any successful government. We all saw Cozza's government falter because of it, and Cerb's government because of it especially with discussions about Indonesia. This ties in with experience, but anyone around from my terms will know I publish articles informing those who do not use the forums and IRC of what is going on and am willing to hold emergency Senate meetings if need be. I recognise its importance, and will keep that tradition of transparency to the wider populace going. On top of this, the personnel in my Department for Public Relations are two of the most enthusiastic people you can meet, and their recent history of unbiased reporting will be maintained and continue to grow.

Now, onto some of the major policies I hope to run out next term:


Finance

On consultation with the current Department of Finance, the economy is in good nick, that being our coffers, imports vs exports and taxes. While this does mean that there is a possibility for tax decreases in the future, this will only occur once we assess our needs for the term, and if we have the required funds to do so , otherwise it is too premature to promise. My Minister for Finance has been confirmed to be the great John Sykes, who's articles on economics are considered part of the economic's bible for any MoF or investor around the world. His enthusiasm is radiating, and we are already working on how to maintain and get the most out of our current boom.
Myself and Sykes have already decided for the government's Monetary Market approach to be pegged (you can read about this in great detail in Syke's articles, just contact him for the link). Briefly, a pegged system allows two government maintained monetary market walls, relatively wide apart. This is perfect for our current economic situation, as it allows for normal variations in imports vs exports and inflation. While a fixed approach forces these natural variations onto the price of products, a pegged approached allows the currency to adapt and cushion the blow. In layman's terms, the value of goods stay constant in relation to gold because they drop when the dollars rises and vice versa. Don't get it? Don't worry, if elected the economy will be safe hands. Other approaches we are looking to implement is a section on the forums so consumers can interact directly with the Minister for Finance, all in the name of education and transparency.

Military

While some of our military failures have been blamed on allies (some rightfully so, some not) I think all can agree its time we step up and lift our game. To EDEN, Brolliance or any of our allies we need to be more than the country with "great resources". Now is the time we can do so. As mentioned, with a healthy budget its time to expand our military, so we can reach our full potential. With the awesome Mack Craft retiring, I have had an overwhelming response of people applying to take over the reins and bring some positive change to the military. I have picked a team with fresh ideas that will help us achieve these lofty, but attainable goals. Some of the ideas we are looking to implement are:
- Performing a cull on those soldiers who don't see the need to be active and maintain that activity. Its better to have 20 super active tanks then 50 semi active. This way we can rely on our military to do the damage that needs to be dealt, and our best weapons goes to our best soldiers.
- More fighting for our allies, battles that affect the alliance, affect us.
- More mass attacks, the positive effect it has on morale is undeniable.
- More transparency in the media (when possible) on why we are fighting, top soldiers from last battle etc.
- No concrete figures on the amount of weapons for soldiers, weapons based on importance of battles, not empty promises.
- Developing the structure of our military come v2, and updating and revising per new Insider.

These are just a snapshot of the major changes we think need to be made. It's time for us to step up, and when my cabinet is released, I ensure you this team will cause excitement.



DoPE

In the past months it is clearly evident that our "culture and education" departments are a mere shadow of their former self. Historically, education is something I hold very close to my heart and I continue to recognise its importance and I subscribe to the belief that without it our country will not reach its full potential. The Department of Promotions and Education, or DoPE for short has been developed by our very own Dartreal, and it aims to rectify this problem of inadequate and inefficient work of the departments in past, despite the efforts ministers put in.
The structure of DoPE is that it will be an umbrella department, encasing 3 ministers: Minister for Education, Minister for Babybooming and Minister for Promotions. These Ministers will have the opportunity to pick their own staff on confirmation with myself or my dPM. This allows for the freedom these Ministers sorely need. Primary tasks of these Ministers are as follows:
Baby Boom: will focus on getting new people into eAustralia as well as messaging them
Education: will look at helping the New Babies if they are having trouble with the game
Promotions: will look at promoting actvitity in eAustralia to encouarge more people to develop new ways to make eRepublik more fun
It is clear the relationship these Ministers will work together as all three depend on one another and will do a great job in increasing the retentive rates of newbs and the knowledge they possess.

Healthcare

With the recent hospital changes if you are stuck on low wellness you tend to be stuck in a vicious cycle of lower wages--> lower food quality --> lower wellness --> lower wages and rinse lather repeat, you have either quit or given up. While nothing is concrete yet, I have drawn up proposals that need some tuning and refining once the budget figures are released, and which I will discuss with the Senate if elected. Either a work for gifts program, utilising our gift training company gifts on those who sorely need it or companies paying a fee to the government to gift their workers.

I will be discussing all these policies with the Senate in detail if elected. While all these will cost the Government money, the long term benefits of all are evident, and we will track all those who use the program, and provide education on maintaining a high wellness. There will be conditions of eligibility for this program to ensure only those Australians who truly need it will obtain gifts. We are open to suggestions as always, and will continue to strive to find the best way to keep wellness high for the individual and the government.

Any questions, feel free to post below. My foreign policy manifesto will be released in two days time, to allow more on the EDEN and US issue to come to light.

Yours faithfully,

patti11