Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 16:06:04 GMT
Ancerious Galaxy
Karvoskaya System
Karvoskaya Prime, Colonial Parliament
-----------------------------------------------
*After the events of the Battle of Rubikon and the Battle of the Crucible*
"I call upon the Civil Administrator of the Karvoskayan Terriories of the Interstellar Republic of Singapore, Barenkovic Shimm, to present the agenda of the day."
Barenkovic promptly stood up, straightened the coat-tails of his black suit and cleared his throat audibly. The Parliament's fixed wall cameras as well as news drones reporting on the day's proceedings, focused on him, feeding a live close-up recording of his face to the large holo-screens surrounding the walls of the parliamentary chamber.
"Thank you, Honorable Speaker," he started. "Fellow Ministers, advisers and governors present here now, I will be frank and I will go straight to the point. The 2nd Ancerious War has grown increasingly dire and our military capabilities are in serious need of major upgrading if the Republic is to survive the war. Our military research projects have finally managed to yield the weapons our troops need thanks to the data and technology obtained from the Davians, but the immediate mass production of these weapons requires a large increase in military expenditure. This is what my agenda would be centered around today - a request for a larger allocation of the state budget to the armed forces for the purpose of re-equipping them with more advanced and better weapons that will enable them to stand a better chance against more technologically sophisticated foes."
Upon hearing Barenkovic's opening address, the parliament was abuzz with murmuring and whispering. The economic minister, Galaghan Jeon, especially does not seem to be particularly happy.
"I understand the financing of this increased expenditure would not be easy. Our reserves are already close to the acceptable bottom limits with the ongoing reconstruction efforts, and thus we have no choice but to divert current resources from somewhere else into the armed forces. If you would go through the files that I have just made available to the public cloud, the most optimal facilitation of this reallocation of the budget would require firstly, a 10% cut in welfare spending, secondly, an increase of 5% in corporate taxes and thirdly an increase of the goods and services tax from 8% to 9%. This is after we account for external transfers from the central government, who had agreed to bear an already considerable portion of the costs of undertaking such a major military overhaul. As such, the alternative costs of the reduction in welfare spending and increase in taxes are, in my opinion, within acceptable margins."
Barenkovic then ended his speech and went back to his seat. There was very little applause, only more murmurings followed.
"Thank you, Administrator. The Civil Administrator's agenda is now open to parliamentary discussion. Those who seek to comment, you may do so now."
Galaghan Jeon promptly shot up his hand, to which the Speaker nodded in approval giving him the go-ahead. The economic minister stood up, bringing up the personal notes he had quickly drafted on his computer tablet during Barenkovic's speech.
"Thank you, Honorable Speaker." Galaghan bowed in the direction of the Speaker. He then turned to Barenkovic's before he began his speech.
"Administor sir, as much as I understand the situation of the war we are currently embroiled in, but with all due respect I question the wisdom of enacting such austerity measures right when we are in the middle of reconstruction. The damages sustained to our public welfare infrastructure - hospitals, schools and more - along with the rising unemployment and poverty as a result of the Third April Fools War necessitate increased spending not less. Furthermore, the increase in taxes for corporate income and goods and services would be a detriment to our economy which has just only recently started to stabilise after the 'war shocks'. These taxes stunt corporate incentives to expand economic production and retard consumer consumption as prices increase from the resultant increase in cost of production for corporations. It should be understood that our economic power underpins our own military power, and if we do not ensure that our economic foundations remain robust, then the military overhaul you seek would be nothing more than hollow and merely temporary."
"And with that, I conclude my commentary of the Civil Administor's agenda," Galaghan bowed once again before sitting down. His personal circle of economists, corporate barons and merchant representatives clapped. This time, the sour faces were coming from the opposite end of the Chamber where the military's representatives were seated.
Barenkovic stood up again to deliver his counterpoints. "In response to the Minister's concerns, as I have said, the alternative costs of such measures have been carefully taken into account and have been deemed to be within acceptable margins. And I said so because while yes, there will be inevitably some slight reduction in the private sector and consumption, overall this reduction would not threaten our macroeconomic stability. The massive amounts of profits garnered from our corporations entering the larger galactic market will far exceed the losses from the tax increases, allowing us to exploit a greater amount of revenue with minimal economic losses. Intergalactic trade has allowed our local companies to grow and expand, and with it, increase employment rates and create new higher-paying jobs as well. Consumption will rebound very quickly."
"Furthermore, while not the main objective of my proposal to increase the military budget, the major overhauls would also indirectly benefit the economy as well. As the military steps up production, more factories will be set up and more workers will be needed. This will therefore also increase our employment rates, especially among the war torn populations of planets ravaged by the Third Aprils Fools War, and through the alleviation of war-inflicted poverty comes more consumption."
"And these are the findings from the state's own statistics department to back my claims," Barenkovic ended his rebuttal speech with a swipe of his hand, sending everyone present in the room a compilation of macroeconomic data projections, tables of the average corporate income and profit margins over the years and of course, graphs.
The Chamber became silent for a few minutes of so, with exception of whispers as Galaghan quietly discussed with his own advisers. Soon enough he stood up once more.
"The Administrator's reasoning is sound, though the economic gains from military production should be understood as short-term and temporary. As the Head Minister of the Economy, I should highlight that an overreliance on wartime production to artificially stimulate economic growth is costly, dangerous and ultimately wasteful of resources that could have been channeled to greater and longer-lasting endeavours. As long as the Administrator understands this, then I am willing to support the increase in budget for the military's overhaul program. However, before I can fully give my official support, I request that the Administrator or whoever else suitable to clarify the contents of the overhaul program so that all of us here today can be enlightened on what exactly are we paying for."
"High Commander Klausstrum, if you would please?" Barenkovic asked.
"Very well," the High Commander replied. "The 3rd Generation Army programme or 3GA for short is the consolidation of various separate military projects in order to collectively advance the technological quality of the Regular Army's arsenal. Most notable of these developments would be powerful automatic railgun assault rifles, handheld laser rifles, plasma-sheathed anti-tank rounds and missiles, greater integration of unmanned combat vehicles into field operations, energy shield panels for infantry body armor, hover vehicles and development of stronger yet lighter armor composites for infantry and vehicles with the advent of nanomaterials and superplastics."
"All of these separate but closely interlinked projects would help us face more advanced foes in the APP and help to drastically improve the survivability and combat effectiveness of our ground troops."
"Thank you, High Commander. I have no further questions and I hereby officially endorse the Civil Administrator's agenda for budget reallocation," Galaghan replied. Barenkovic and the High Commander heaved a sigh of relief. The merchant associates and corporate representatives silently sulked; there was no argument against the fact that the tax increases would have minimal impact on their earnings. To press further would be to present themselves as greedy barons unwilling to give up some profit for the greater good. They had no choice but to respect Galaghan's decision.
"Since the main properiator of the state budget has agreed to finance the Civil Administrator's agenda to increase military expenditure, the budget reallocation shall thus be recognised as de-facto government policy. A proper draft shall be submitted within a period of 5 working days maximum from today on and the draft will be reviewed before becoming a bill, and thus, become official state policy," the Speaker took over.
"If there are no further commentaries or inquiries, I hereby conclude this parliamentary session."
Karvoskaya System
Karvoskaya Prime, Colonial Parliament
-----------------------------------------------
*After the events of the Battle of Rubikon and the Battle of the Crucible*
"I call upon the Civil Administrator of the Karvoskayan Terriories of the Interstellar Republic of Singapore, Barenkovic Shimm, to present the agenda of the day."
Barenkovic promptly stood up, straightened the coat-tails of his black suit and cleared his throat audibly. The Parliament's fixed wall cameras as well as news drones reporting on the day's proceedings, focused on him, feeding a live close-up recording of his face to the large holo-screens surrounding the walls of the parliamentary chamber.
"Thank you, Honorable Speaker," he started. "Fellow Ministers, advisers and governors present here now, I will be frank and I will go straight to the point. The 2nd Ancerious War has grown increasingly dire and our military capabilities are in serious need of major upgrading if the Republic is to survive the war. Our military research projects have finally managed to yield the weapons our troops need thanks to the data and technology obtained from the Davians, but the immediate mass production of these weapons requires a large increase in military expenditure. This is what my agenda would be centered around today - a request for a larger allocation of the state budget to the armed forces for the purpose of re-equipping them with more advanced and better weapons that will enable them to stand a better chance against more technologically sophisticated foes."
Upon hearing Barenkovic's opening address, the parliament was abuzz with murmuring and whispering. The economic minister, Galaghan Jeon, especially does not seem to be particularly happy.
"I understand the financing of this increased expenditure would not be easy. Our reserves are already close to the acceptable bottom limits with the ongoing reconstruction efforts, and thus we have no choice but to divert current resources from somewhere else into the armed forces. If you would go through the files that I have just made available to the public cloud, the most optimal facilitation of this reallocation of the budget would require firstly, a 10% cut in welfare spending, secondly, an increase of 5% in corporate taxes and thirdly an increase of the goods and services tax from 8% to 9%. This is after we account for external transfers from the central government, who had agreed to bear an already considerable portion of the costs of undertaking such a major military overhaul. As such, the alternative costs of the reduction in welfare spending and increase in taxes are, in my opinion, within acceptable margins."
Barenkovic then ended his speech and went back to his seat. There was very little applause, only more murmurings followed.
"Thank you, Administrator. The Civil Administrator's agenda is now open to parliamentary discussion. Those who seek to comment, you may do so now."
Galaghan Jeon promptly shot up his hand, to which the Speaker nodded in approval giving him the go-ahead. The economic minister stood up, bringing up the personal notes he had quickly drafted on his computer tablet during Barenkovic's speech.
"Thank you, Honorable Speaker." Galaghan bowed in the direction of the Speaker. He then turned to Barenkovic's before he began his speech.
"Administor sir, as much as I understand the situation of the war we are currently embroiled in, but with all due respect I question the wisdom of enacting such austerity measures right when we are in the middle of reconstruction. The damages sustained to our public welfare infrastructure - hospitals, schools and more - along with the rising unemployment and poverty as a result of the Third April Fools War necessitate increased spending not less. Furthermore, the increase in taxes for corporate income and goods and services would be a detriment to our economy which has just only recently started to stabilise after the 'war shocks'. These taxes stunt corporate incentives to expand economic production and retard consumer consumption as prices increase from the resultant increase in cost of production for corporations. It should be understood that our economic power underpins our own military power, and if we do not ensure that our economic foundations remain robust, then the military overhaul you seek would be nothing more than hollow and merely temporary."
"And with that, I conclude my commentary of the Civil Administor's agenda," Galaghan bowed once again before sitting down. His personal circle of economists, corporate barons and merchant representatives clapped. This time, the sour faces were coming from the opposite end of the Chamber where the military's representatives were seated.
Barenkovic stood up again to deliver his counterpoints. "In response to the Minister's concerns, as I have said, the alternative costs of such measures have been carefully taken into account and have been deemed to be within acceptable margins. And I said so because while yes, there will be inevitably some slight reduction in the private sector and consumption, overall this reduction would not threaten our macroeconomic stability. The massive amounts of profits garnered from our corporations entering the larger galactic market will far exceed the losses from the tax increases, allowing us to exploit a greater amount of revenue with minimal economic losses. Intergalactic trade has allowed our local companies to grow and expand, and with it, increase employment rates and create new higher-paying jobs as well. Consumption will rebound very quickly."
"Furthermore, while not the main objective of my proposal to increase the military budget, the major overhauls would also indirectly benefit the economy as well. As the military steps up production, more factories will be set up and more workers will be needed. This will therefore also increase our employment rates, especially among the war torn populations of planets ravaged by the Third Aprils Fools War, and through the alleviation of war-inflicted poverty comes more consumption."
"And these are the findings from the state's own statistics department to back my claims," Barenkovic ended his rebuttal speech with a swipe of his hand, sending everyone present in the room a compilation of macroeconomic data projections, tables of the average corporate income and profit margins over the years and of course, graphs.
The Chamber became silent for a few minutes of so, with exception of whispers as Galaghan quietly discussed with his own advisers. Soon enough he stood up once more.
"The Administrator's reasoning is sound, though the economic gains from military production should be understood as short-term and temporary. As the Head Minister of the Economy, I should highlight that an overreliance on wartime production to artificially stimulate economic growth is costly, dangerous and ultimately wasteful of resources that could have been channeled to greater and longer-lasting endeavours. As long as the Administrator understands this, then I am willing to support the increase in budget for the military's overhaul program. However, before I can fully give my official support, I request that the Administrator or whoever else suitable to clarify the contents of the overhaul program so that all of us here today can be enlightened on what exactly are we paying for."
"High Commander Klausstrum, if you would please?" Barenkovic asked.
"Very well," the High Commander replied. "The 3rd Generation Army programme or 3GA for short is the consolidation of various separate military projects in order to collectively advance the technological quality of the Regular Army's arsenal. Most notable of these developments would be powerful automatic railgun assault rifles, handheld laser rifles, plasma-sheathed anti-tank rounds and missiles, greater integration of unmanned combat vehicles into field operations, energy shield panels for infantry body armor, hover vehicles and development of stronger yet lighter armor composites for infantry and vehicles with the advent of nanomaterials and superplastics."
"All of these separate but closely interlinked projects would help us face more advanced foes in the APP and help to drastically improve the survivability and combat effectiveness of our ground troops."
"Thank you, High Commander. I have no further questions and I hereby officially endorse the Civil Administrator's agenda for budget reallocation," Galaghan replied. Barenkovic and the High Commander heaved a sigh of relief. The merchant associates and corporate representatives silently sulked; there was no argument against the fact that the tax increases would have minimal impact on their earnings. To press further would be to present themselves as greedy barons unwilling to give up some profit for the greater good. They had no choice but to respect Galaghan's decision.
"Since the main properiator of the state budget has agreed to finance the Civil Administrator's agenda to increase military expenditure, the budget reallocation shall thus be recognised as de-facto government policy. A proper draft shall be submitted within a period of 5 working days maximum from today on and the draft will be reviewed before becoming a bill, and thus, become official state policy," the Speaker took over.
"If there are no further commentaries or inquiries, I hereby conclude this parliamentary session."