Current events and a VP Pick.

Day 920, 22:36 • Published in USA USA • by Chocolate McSkittles

The recent situation with the Indian people choosing to request Karnataka back has everyone on split hairs at the moment. Its a very stressful situation, with thousands of Americans to possibly be moved, and our economy to soon undertake massive changes.

Losing Karnataka will be bad for both sides. Our Indian friends lose a source of income and find themselves with a region that their population cannot fully support, and find themselves an even tastier target for potential PTO squads or invaders. On the other hand, American business owners lose out on investments made based on faith in the longevity of this setup.

That said, we must respect Indias right to sovereignty, and continue to respectfully work with them to resolve this situation. In our shoes, we must accept that they want their country whole, and treat them as equals at the bargaining table. In their shoes, they must recognize and account for the fact that this situation will cause a slight churning in our markets, as well as require massive coordination to move the four thousand Americans living in the region to protect it.

Those are significant downsides to these events, which I feel outweigh the benefits of returning the region, but we must respect our allies decision. Negotiations must continue in a mutually respectful environment, and hopefully reasonable heads prevail.


Situation needs more love

But don't let the doomsayers get you down. I'm proud to say that our country may well have the most resilient economy in the eWorld. Thanks to a year of free trade oriented economic policy, we have instilled a resiliency into our markets that most would give anything for. We also find ourselves blessed with natural high wood regions that allow us the ability to maintain the strength of the raw materials labor market. Unlike countries like Romania or Hungary that depended on a single sector, the American raw material market will not collapse as a result of the potential loss of Iron, but will simply adapt.

With all of these thoughts in mind, I truly feel that free trade leads to stronger, more competitive markets that benefit all participants. I also feel that we need more participants!

As such, one goal of mine, should I win the presidency in June, is to create a subsection of the State Department devoted entirely to encouraging nations to lower trade restrictions (ie: tariffs) and promote trade friendly policies, such as currency to currency pegs, or more peg alignment. This new department would be headed by a Secretary of Economic Affairs (chosen by myself and equivalent to a deputy secretary of state) who would be able to choose his/her own assistants with my approval. I hope to provide more details on this front in my soon to come Candidature.

On a slightly unrelated note, I also made a promise to myself to never write two articles in one day...but have some very exciting news to share!

I am proud to announce my Vice Presidential Candidate pick.

I could not think of anyone I could want more for the position, as this is someone I respect, admire, and trust. This person has worked tremendously towards the success of this nation.

I announce...Ligtreb!



Ligtreb is my best friend in eRepublik. I have worked with him for a year and know that we have a great working working relationship. Ligtreb is the type of guy that understands other people, and knows how people and organizations relate to eachother. Hes a self motivated worker who has never let me down when I needed something done. He's also a great friend and great council, and whos opinion I value greatly. His hard work in the creation and maintenance of the USA Welcoming Committee, which has serves thousands of new players making their first steps in our world easier, has been absolutely essential to the retention of countless players. Ligtreb is pretty much awesome, and I am absolutely delighted he agreed to travel this journey with me.

And as a last note, I'd like to encourage anyone who has any questions or is willing to help out with my campaign to visit the IRC Rizon chatroom #chocforpresident or contact Michael Porter, whos a pretty great guy too.

I'll talk to you guys again soon!
Choc