How The Rich Are Abusing War Bonds
Day 900, 18:38
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Published in Canada 
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by
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by Dade Pendwyn
Canadian Conduit - Issue #43
***Note: This is not an official statement from the Executive Branch, and it bears no association to my appointment as Minister of Communication.***
**UPDATE: 1ronman has declared he will be withdrawing 150g from his War Bonds purchases, opening them up for other eCanadians to purchase. The Canadian Conduit extends its gratitude for this gesture to eCanadian citizens.**
What if I told you a system was in place that allowed over 89 gold to be gathered up from average eCanadian citizens and donated to 2 of its richest citizens just for being rich? Believe it or not, it’s happening right now.
For those of you who are as lazy as me I’ve linked to parts of the article, so you can do as little reading as possible while still learning enough to get angry.
Contents:
How War Bonds Work
How War Bonds Devalue Your Dollars
So Who Is Making All This Money?
What Can We Do To Fix This?
What's The Point Of This Article?
Read These Before Getting Butt-Hurt
How War Bonds Work
Bonds are a great idea, but it's a system that needs tweaking to avoid exploitation. War bonds should support the war effort; instead, all they're doing is allowing rich eCanadians to snatch huge profits from average citizens without providing a service of any kind.
As we know, War Bonds include you donating gold to the government, and the government uses its ability to print money to issue CAD for this gold at a higher rate than the monetary market offers. The rate is currently 38 CAD per 1g. Seeing as 1 CAD = 0.031g (or 1g = 32.25 CAD conversely), that means an investment of 1g in war bonds means a very quick 5.75 CAD (or .178g) profit. If you invested 10g you would within a few days have 11.78g in your pocket. So, the government raises gold for the war effort and citizens make a profit. What's the problem?
How War Bonds Devalue Your Dollars
The problem is that nothing is for free. This money has to come from somewhere. Bonds are essentially a trade-off: the government gets more gold at the cost of devaluing the currency - it introduces more currency onto the market without introducing more gold, which means a higher CAD to gold ratio, which in turn means CAD is worth less. Still, in war time, these things need to be done. So, again, what's the problem?
The problem is that war bonds are making rich eCanadians richer, and poor eCanadians poorer. Bonds are only available up until 1000g, and those limited bonds are being snatched up immediately in absurd chunks by rich eCanadians who are privy to congressional and executive decisions.
So Who Is Making All The Money?
1ronman has purchased 250g in bonds and Dalyath has purchased 250g in bonds from the Victory Bonds Canada organization. This means fully half of the 1000g in available war bonds have been gobbled up by already rich eCanadians. 1ronman and Dalyath both stand to instantly make 44.5g from this transaction.
That means that through the devaluing of the CAD currency, 89g is being donated to 1ronman and Dalyath, and this donation is being made by anybody who owns CAD.
I, too, saw the incredible profit potential in war bonds, and as a successful businessman, I considered taking advantage. I have 300g in liquid assets with which I could purchase war bonds and make an easy 53 gold. However, I did not, because it would have been a morally bankrupt decision. Those war bonds are for average eCanadians, and hoarding them for my own profiteering purposes is not in my mandate. I would buy a more appropriate set of bonds (say, 10 or 20 gold), but I'm sure by now with the heavy handed buying we've seen that they're already sold out.
What Can We Do To Fix This?
Bonds need to be made to have a limit on how many any one person can purchase. This way, one or two citizens can't buy out all the available bonds and claim all the profit for themselves. I can't reveal what most of the proceedings for this include (as for some peculiar reason it's in closed congress), but I will say that hopefully congress does something about this before War Bonds are issued again.
What’s The Point Of This Article?
Nea Milosu had his hands tied with a broken system and a country that desperately needed funds, so in my opinion no blame should be placed on him. Instead, I ask that 1ronman, Dalyath, and anyone who is attempting to purchase over 100g in bonds request their purchases back at a rate of 1:1, so that these bonds will become available to the average eCanadian.
Please implore these two to rescind their purchases, because War Bonds are here to support our armed forces. Not our wealthy ones.
Read These Before Getting Butt-Hurt
Comments Pre-empts:
1: For those of you who will berate me for disclosing Closed Congress information, please note that everything outlined in this article is public information.
2: Again, this is not an attack on my Prime Minister’s decision to issue war bonds. Rather, it is an attack on an exploitable system and those who are exploiting it.
3: I am by no means implying that this is a deliberate attempt by 1ronman, Dalyath, or any member of government to screw over the little guy. However, that is what’s happening, and experienced citizens should know better.
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Comments
For one, get your facts right, I bought 500, and asked for 250 back to open up bonds for others.
I also don't appreciate being told I'm stealing from other Canadians. Just because I've played the game longer, and generated more wealth doesn't mean I should be punished.
Everything I've said is public domain. You'll be receiving nearly 10,000 CAD when that money should have gone to a much wider array of eCanadians. Dispute it if you want, but donations lists don't lie.
And you delete your comment that claims I'm stealing from eCanadians. Hahahaha. This whole article is a bunch of attacks onto Dalyath and myself. If I stole from other Canadians by purchasing bonds than so did every other person who purchased bonds, they just did it to a lesser extent... according to you.
I deleted it because it was redundant. I've got an entire article, I don't need a single comment.
Like I told you before, other Canadians aren't stealing if they buy War Bonds, because it's meant for EVERYONE. But if 2 people buy HALF the available war bonds (and subsequently war bonds sell out within 12 hours) you are stealing the chance for ordinary citizens to buy the,.
If you're so upset about this article just return 200g or 230g of the War Bonds so that those bonds will be available for the citizens who actually need them. If you're not willing to do that, I don't know what you are complaining about.
The argument isn't against you 1ronman, you are just an unfortunate example
there should be a limit, (maybe 25 Gold max?)
and there should also be a 24 hour notice period to when buying will commence (I'm sure an article could get voted to the main page) so that all Canadians have an opportunity to participate
I do think that there should be a limit... I was sleeping then at work, so I never had an opportunity to buy war bonds, and will be subsequently poorer for it. Both of Rolo's suggestions are excellent.
Agreed. Hard.
I wish I were rich enough to purchase all the bonds.
And have a heads-up since along with money, I can make it into the congress.
Exactly, Rolo. Not sure why 1ron is taking this as a personal attack.
Its all about being fair to all eCanadians , dont buy so much so the guy who is just starting can make a profit , instead of you making a huge profit and blocking out all the smaller players
First come, first served. Except...everyone in congress gets a head start.
If 1ronamn and Dalyath can afford 250 bonds and there was no limit set or enforced by the seller then why shouldn't they be allowed? The fact there is only 1000 available limits it to only a certain amount of people anyhow.
This is clearly a first come first serve venture.
If the bond makers want to allow more people to purchase bonds then they should install a 50 bond maximum.
1ronman is probably taking it personal because he was clearly named in this article as someone who bought bonds and accoring to the article abused the system.
P. Magee
The bigger question should be why we are even having this war in the first place. It's not budgeted for, and it serves no useful purpose. The War Bonds program now is just trying to cover one mistake with another. That's not the correct way to get out of a mess. The war needs to be closed so that we can stop wasting Government money that should be used on better, more useful things.
The war needs to be closed. Congress and the public shouldn't have to keep bailing out an executive that wants to keep acting with impunity and not be accountable for poorly made decisions that didn't involve Congress or the public to begin with. War bonds are for real emergencies like being invaded, not for funding a mistake of a war.
There is a limit, its 50g. It climbs to 100g if you've bought bonds before. Unfortunately, this became law 9 hours too late.
These "improvements" to the bond act were legislated less than 12 hours after the executive order to issue this most recent round of bonds.
Another "improvement" was to provide at least 48 hours notice that bonds would be issued to give everyone a chance to subscribe to them, not just those close to the source.
I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I recommended these improvements after the last bond issue based on feedback I received from the program. Auditor General Cypher Rahl insisted on them as well. It's just good housekeeping.
It is unfortunate that 1ronman and Dade are walking into this quagmire. By law, they are not obligated to opt out of any of the bonds they have subscribed for, its a real pickle, I empathize with them. Had I not exercised restraint myself, the entire lot of 1,000g in bonds would have been sold in less than one hour to three people. I say this with confidence because I posted the exact same thing in congress one hour after the executive order was issued. To be candid, I just couldn't deal with attracting that much more attention to me nor my party.
I don't usually agree with you, Addy... 😛
QQ
Yeah, Addy.
I thought appropriate amendments were made to the war bond module by the Harland administration after the last time the bonds were issued.
@KIPPERS
Sigh. And people wonder why I get frustrated sometimes.
Despite how much common sense these improvements have, this change required a constitutional amendment and this takes time. Regardless, the spirit of the change has been common knowledge in congress for over two weeks. That is why I was surprised to see the Executive Order to issue bonds come down with no mention of these measures.
One of the best issues I have seen discussed lately, thank you Dade for bringing this up. The improvements suggested by Addy are a perfect solution,good job on that. I do not blame 1ronman for buying, as there was no limit set, he did no wrong, its the old system that was wrong. This is a good day to be a Canadian.
As I said in open congress I think the fault of the matter lies with our president for proceeding with an unrestricted issuance knowing full well a significant chang in the bond act was meer hours away.
To 1ronman, Dalyath and the others who got in on the issuance- congratulatins to you, you deserve the bonds for paying attention to what was going on in congress and watching for the issuance notice to put your money down. GOOD GAME!
First I'll say I didn't buy any bonds...However, don't blame people for having the gold and the speed to purchase them....in real life just as in this game...if you have the cash and are quick you can get things.....
I didn't buy any bonds either even though I saw the Executive Order in open congress, and I don't blame people for taking advantage of the system, but there does need to be a cap.
[removed]
and Nea Milosu is going to subsidize his training with Napolean...
"There is a limit, its 50g. It climbs to 100g if you've bought bonds before. Unfortunately, this became law 9 hours too late."
Is this for real? The way out of this was to set a new limit for returning buyers at 10% of the total number of bonds sold? That's good to hear I guess. Worst case scenario 10 people will get to buy bonds next time...
Here's a novel idea how about you set a realistic number so that the wealth gets spread around and more than 15 or 20 citizens get a chance at them. Maybe set the limit a little lower like 25 or as a best case scenario your level. That way people that have played a long time can get a couple extra but not deplete the total supply drastically at the same time.
As a side note I think it's a little ridiculous that a government employee (and as a paid tank that's exactly what 1ronman is) he was even eligible for bonds. Sounds little too close to double dipping for my liking. It's like someone that works for the lottery commission winning the jackpot. even if it is on the up and up you can't help but feel something's more than a little off.
Good article tho the title is misleading. The problem is with government rather than the people that take advantage of the bonds.
I never understood why the government keeps needing to pay interest to raise money. Money and gold for the war chest should have been saved up before instead of paying out this massive interest last minute.
This bond is not the cheapest way to do it either. It is essentially risk free because it is backed by the government so the interest rate should be well low but instead the rates are better than private sector.
Like in rl, Treasury bonds have the lowest rates of interest.
BTW, I am with addy and pimp on this one, there needs to be a maximum.
As an aside,
Having the person that dictates and declares the wars (ala the France mess) buying up a lot of the war bonds just doesn't sit right.
Congress is voting right now to solve these issues and we expect them to pass. (Oh, I did not buy any bonds. I am kind of broke.)
Citizen B, Congressman on your side
Hear hear! I was thinking about starting a paper just to publish an article on this. It seems like many players in this game have an unlimited source of money. I've been playing for over 6 months but don't really have a lot of gold to show for it. Yet I see people who have been playing for 2 months or less with strengths that rival mine (or dwarf it) who somehow are able to crank almost 2 gold per day into training. Where does all this money come from? When I saw the article about bonds yesterday I thought I would buy some as an investment but was very disappointed to see that a few people had bought them all up almost as soon as they came out.
It would be nice to be able to purchase some bonds to try and eek out a few more dollars since I haven't figured out the "methods" that allow people to rake in gold like it was free.
Citizen B! Bankrupt! LIES!
To be fair we should see the complete list of people who were able to purchase.
complete list
http://www.erepublik.com/en/citizen/donate/list/1639930/1" target="_blank">http://www.erepublik.com/en/citizen/dona[..]930/1
Again 1ronman is just an example, but make no mistake - behind the scenes we are ruled by a more or less benevolent aristocracy - there's a whole hidden world of a class of insiders that wield most of the real power in this country that the average Joe is blind to.
They didn't conspire to make it that way, the game just lends itself to it, but they could try harder to be more transparent and self-limiting.
hb741
BTW, open question - was TFD's real mistake that he threatened that class of insiders in some way? Did *some* react?
Just asking.
I for one will commend ironman for smart business practices 😉
I don't really think that's the case for Tyler.
I agree HB, Tyler would have really shaken up Grand Frere (the aristocracy).
Jethro ri.
Bon sans déconner on reproche juste d'avoir voulu aider, sympa. Non parce que comme il a été dit j'aurais pu très bien aller voir ailleurs c'est mieux t'es pas emmerdé par la populace en furie et tu gagne vraiment.
"Instead, I ask that 1ronman, Dalyath, and anyone who is attempting to purchase over 100g in bonds request their purchases back at a rate of 1:1, so that these bonds will become available to the average eCanadian."
Et juste ca c'est une joke? t'aimerais que j'ouvre une entreprise et que je te mette au salaire minimum? 😃 histoire de bosser gratuitement, parce que juste comme ca pendant un bout de temps l'argent qu'on a prêté est indisponible...
Why bring tyler into this?,
eCan has two or thre major 'cliques' and the reason tyler lost was because he was part of the 'nasty' clique as opposed to the 'rich clique' or the ruling one.
Burn the rich!:>
Seriously? All of them are gone already? This is bullshit
I am very glade to see so many people voicing they're passion and dis approval of this. Addy braught forward these suggestions after i forcefully voice my disapproval of certain Law violations and "Spirit" viloations from the last round of bonds. Last time it was someone else in the lime light and this time it is 1ronman.
Our CP should never have pushed this EO through before the changes had been made to the bond act, and the rich should not TAKE ADVANTAGE of the program. If you have played the longest and are rich already give others a chance!
Policy and procedures are in place and ignored, justice can never be served if the laws are always ignored.....
I can't imagine bond issues in any great numbers, so great as to allow or even require, a bonus if you will, of a max of 100g possible investment to those who have already bought bonds in the past.
If the issues are kept relatively low at 1000 per, then a max of 50g strikes me as too high as well. I'm fairly certain that if a max of 10g was set, the bonds would still rapidly sell out and more players would have a sense of participation and would want to get further involved in the mechanics of the game. As it is, an outcome like this just turns more players away.
The word is restraint.
Si les obligations (bonds) du gouvernement se vendent trop vite, cela signifie qu'il serait possible de réduire le taux d'intérêt.
i've bought several hundred gold in bonds
how come im not mentioned?
am i not rich enough for you?
maybe next time, i'll buy all 1000 gold right away
that'd pull those panties of yours all the way up
😛
btw, to my buisness partners, jkjk
*unplugs his ears and opens mouth*
"Is it over yet?"
*hermit-hog see shadow of 44 comments, returns to hole, sh*tstorm forecast extended*
http://www.photoshoppix.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/10008/normal_groundhog2.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.photoshoppix.com/modules/copp[..]2.jpg
Impeach the bugger, this is just another slap in the face of the taxpayer!
How do you purchase bonds? Just donation and a mail?
did someone mention impeach?
BRING IN THE SPENCER!!!!!!!
Marius, if you need to have "business partners", no you're not rich enough. 😛
If Congress is getting a heads up on buying them, and they really work as described in the article, then Congress is essentially doing the same thing as traders using inside information. If this was RL, it would be a massive scandal, and people would likely be going to jail, since congress gets a head start on the purchases.