Office of Former President and Gov. DemPGH

[DemPGH]

I appoint Siren as Executive Consultant. She has expressed a desire to assist the region, and I figure that this will give her a chance to become acquainted with the issues facing the region.

I will, next, deliver a new constitution!

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The above will have my attention over the next 48 hours, at which point I plan to have it edited for presentation to the public.

[Хahar 🤔]

I have to take exception to that. The constitution isn't simply being stalled; there are legitimate concerns being expressed, and the delay in ratification is a result of that. The worst thing we could do would be to ratify an inadequate constitution, as we've seen with the last one. I haven't really been around the last couple days (I flew across the country on Sunday and had my first day of classes on Monday and got called in for jury duty today), but that doesn't mean that the Council has been absent; all three members have been involved in this session.

That provision in the Constitution is to be used when members are absent, not when they don't do what the Governor (or acting Governor) wants. I fail to see how the members of the Council have been absent.

[DemPGH]

I have to take exception to that. The constitution isn't simply being stalled; there are legitimate concerns being expressed, and the delay in ratification is a result of that. The worst thing we could do would be to ratify an inadequate constitution, as we've seen with the last one. I haven't really been around the last couple days (I flew across the country on Sunday and had my first day of classes on Monday and got called in for jury duty today), but that doesn't mean that the Council has been absent; all three members have been involved in this session.

That provision in the Constitution is to be used when members are absent, not when they don't do what the Governor (or acting Governor) wants. I fail to see how the members of the Council have been absent.

It's sat there for months, I haven't seen you do much since you got here, and before that you got kicked out of the Senate for not doing anything.

The 4th Con is going to referendum one way or the other. I'm not bringing anything else to the floor until it gets to referendum.

[DemPGH]

We will miss PJ, and hopefully his reason for leaving will be revealed at some point, since there's nothing worse than seeing a great person go without a reason. That said, I trust you to be a great Acting Governor, DemPGH, and I wish you the best of luck leading the Pacific.

I meant to say thank you for this. I am absolutely focused on the new constitution and the bailout situation.

[Хahar 🤔]

It's sat there for months, I haven't seen you do much since you got here, and before that you got kicked out of the Senate for not doing anything.

My prior activity has nothing to do with my work in the Council. If it hadn't been for me, the constitution would have been enacted without any provision for amendment; this would have triggered a constitutional crisis.

Of course, none of that addresses my main point, which is that it is literally counterfactual to describe the council as "not present". The executive doesn't get to suspend the legislature just because the legislature's decisions aren't pleasing to the executive.

[DemPGH]

Just a quick update that as an attorney I've argued a number of cases and as an executive I've done a lot more putting out fires and trying to get things organized than as a writer of laws. Nonetheless, I've had a chance to author these. The first I have just introduced at the regional level and the second at the federal level by way of TNF.

I hope we can agree that the first is a good public safety measure and I sincerely hope that frigid libertarianism will not sink the second.

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And this at the federal level by way of TNF:

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[DemPGH]

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I have to say that I have some severe reservations about this. The federal government dictating our tax rates and giving one individual some nebulous veto power over some committee structure makes me really wonder about both the constitutionality and fairness of this. I just don't know.

Moreover, the Pacific will turn around with a more active, more participatory public. Or if it is merged with a more active region! After all, this is not the USA - it is Atlasia. We're trying to get people more involved, though. That's what we need. I don't know that a bailout with a bunch of pro-wealthy, pro-corporate strings attached is a better avenue.

Additionally,

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[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Why not at least give our recommendations a shot? Oakvale is not going to be dictating anything beyond what is laid out in the first part of this bill, and his oversight role will not be hand on unless something silly happens like you decide to give everyone free iPads in the region with the money. The region has been a mess for a long time, and clearly whatever is going on where now is not working. The numbers do not lie. We are seeing the numbers turn around now, and it is my hope that continues.

The Senate discussed this bill for a long time, and we came to the determination that this is the best method moving forward. You all are free to reject the money and continue on the path you are on, but I truly hope you do not chose that route.

I do agree with you re: needing more active participants in the region. We were all really disappointed to see PJ leave without warning after working with him on the bill. The Pacific needs people to come in who are dedicated to working to fix the problem and see it through - not randomly leaving without warning. Merging with the Midwest seems like a cop out to me, and it will be difficult to make happen. We saw how difficult consolidation turned out to be. Hanging your hat on that is incredibly risky.

I am exploring some ways at helping ease the laws on allowing people to move into your region that are within my constitutional powers, but I have not come to any final decisions yet.

[DemPGH]

I am exploring some ways at helping ease the laws on allowing people to move into your region that are within my constitutional powers, but I have not come to any final decisions yet.

Huh?

I know you have no affinity for my leadership, but holy Moses! You're a President, sir, not a CEO.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am exploring some ways at helping ease the laws on allowing people to move into your region that are within my constitutional powers, but I have not come to any final decisions yet.

Huh?

I know you have no affinity for my leadership, but holy Moses! You're a President, sir, not a CEO.

I have no qualms with your leadership at all. But you can't do it alone! You need dedicated people to help with the cleanup and renaissance, and I know you agree with that!

[DemPGH]

I am exploring some ways at helping ease the laws on allowing people to move into your region that are within my constitutional powers, but I have not come to any final decisions yet.

Huh?

I know you have no affinity for my leadership, but holy Moses! You're a President, sir, not a CEO.

I have no qualms with your leadership at all. But you can't do it alone! You need dedicated people to help with the cleanup and renaissance, and I know you agree with that!

Well, if I knew you better it might ease my concerns. You make good jokes and you are definitely in favor of big business. Beyond that, IDK.

I have come to favor regional consolidation because there is not the activity to support the current arrangement of five regions with five distinct governments. A bailout will not solve that problem, and that should be the discussion. The discussion should not be the terms of the bailout, but rather whether or not it is scrupulous.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am exploring some ways at helping ease the laws on allowing people to move into your region that are within my constitutional powers, but I have not come to any final decisions yet.

Huh?

I know you have no affinity for my leadership, but holy Moses! You're a President, sir, not a CEO.

I have no qualms with your leadership at all. But you can't do it alone! You need dedicated people to help with the cleanup and renaissance, and I know you agree with that!

Well, if I knew you better it might ease my concerns. You make good jokes and you are definitely in favor of bug business. Beyond that, IDK.

I have come to favor regional consolidation because there is not the activity to support the current arrangement of five regions with five distinct governments. A bailout will not solve that problem, and that should be the discussion. The discussion should not be the terms of the bailout, but rather whether or not it is scrupulous.

We had the whole consolidation debate and my administration even fast-tracked the amendment a second time to get it through the senate, but it ultimately failed. I even authored a detailed plan for consolidation during the October election (see the Duke Plan).

At this point, my biggest concern is to get all the regions in a healthy position. If consolidation happens in the future, that's fine, but at this point, we cannot govern as if we expect it to happen. There is serious opposition to it to make such a massive structural change.

This stimulus may be a failure, and if it is, I am fully ready to take responsibility for that failure. The region needs capital, a functioning constitution, and needs to get its budget in check to allow for growth. This is our goal with this bill. I am hanging my hat on it.

As for your other concerns, I think if you examined by presidency so far, I have been pretty fair to both business and the worker - so friendly in fact, that some on the right want my head on a platter. I don't believe handing all the power to one side or the other will help grow our economy, and that is my main concern at this point, putting people back to work and fixing the pressing issues. I am and always have been a problem solver, and that is something I will never shy away or be ashamed of.

[DemPGH]

Okay, wait.

Why should we accept the tax structure you are choosing to impose, and moreover, why should anyone on the side of labor accept it? They've capitulated. I may, but not without reason.

There is serious opposition to it to make such a massive structural change. 

I'm aware that there is opposition, and of course you have to ultimately choose whose side your on, but I hesitate to call it massive. Allowing two regions to share a government is hardly massive change.

This stimulus may be a failure, and if it is, I am fully ready to take responsibility for that failure. The region needs capital, a functioning constitution, and needs to get its budget in check to allow for growth. This is our goal with this bill. I am hanging my hat on it.

As for your other concerns, I think if you examined by presidency so far, I have been pretty fair to both business and the worker - so friendly in fact, that some on the right want my head on a platter. I don't believe handing all the power to one side or the other will help grow our economy, and that is my main concern at this point, putting people back to work and fixing the pressing issues. I am and always have been a problem solver, and that is something I will never shy away or be ashamed of.

I respect that! I guess I just want a reason that transcends rhetoric.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I came up with the tax structure by comparing the levels of the other regions to each other and then to the Pacific tax code. The Pacific taxes far exceeded those in the Midwest and Northeast regions even when you consider the size and cost of living of the Pacific. The Pacific had over a 20% unemployment rate at the time andthe highest tax burden of any region. See where I am going with this? The region is not a place where people want to do business at all, and The People of the Pacific do not have jobs. Why would anyone on the side of labor support chronic, high unemployment? A budget in shambles?

Yes, the new rates will increase the deficit, but right now, we aren't concerned with the deficit. The federal government can shoulder the debt. What we do want to see is jobs returning to the Pacific, businesses moving and returning there, and those businesses creating jobs. Once the jobs return, revenues will explode and the region will be in much better shape. This bill includes provisions to help do just that. This outcome is nothing but good for the Pacific, good for The People and good for Atlasia as a whole.

As for combining with the Midwest, that is not my business nor my fight. I am concerned about helping the Pacific as it is now. If you all do merge government's with the Midwest in the future, fine, but that is a totally separate issue to me.

[Fed. Pac. Chairman Devin]

Are you running for a full term?

[DemPGH]

Hey, Devin! Welcome and thanks for your question. I should elucidate.

I plan to finish PJ's term which expires in April after which I doubt that I will run for a full term. I have a couple of objectives right now, and if this region could get up on its feet I would gladly make room for others. If I can't get it accomplished by April, it might be time pack it in. So that's my thought process. Right now I am all in.

Here are my objectives:

1) I am dedicated to a fair merger of the governments of the Pacific and the Midwest. I will accept a 2-2-1 format or a 1-1-3 format. I will facilitate it anyway I can that's legal.

2) I am bent on getting the new constitution passed regardless. It is one of the things that the bailout is contingent upon (at least as I understand the bill).

3) I'm not keen on the federal government handing down to us our tax rates. I was never involved in discussing that and it seems to me that it was done rather out of haste, and I can appreciate that because the region is paralyzed by inactivity. Nonetheless, I am not entirely comfortable with enacting a tax rate handed to me by the federal government, and would like a chance to talk it over with an active council.

I'm also not sure that the bailout tackles the central problem (and there are others in the Pacific who I know share this concern, so of course it is not just me), but look, if a merger is impossible then we're going to have to get a stimulus done someway that works.

I'm also not sold on the idea that in-game economic numbers are the end-all be-all. It seems to me that those numbers could come from anywhere, and I have a radical idea to employ someone to write occasional scenarios about how business is coming back, etc. I have a few people in mind for that and hope to get to it soon. We have some budding writers here.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

So you're proposing that we just ignore the GM, who is the "god" of our game in favor of your own writers who you will instruct to say the region is turning itself around?

Now I am beginning to get frustrated. The senate worked weeks on the stimulus to help your region, so it's disheartening to see you plan to reject it, start your own unofficial propaganda machine, and hang your hat on a merger that could fail. Nothing was done arbitrarily or in haste. Please don't use that to justify what's going on now. It's simply not true.

Forgive me for sounding frustrated. A bill we debated for weeks and weeks isn't one we did quickly or negligently. We all put a lot of time in effort into giving your region the tools it needed to turn around, and I've explained it clearly multiple times to you and others after its passage. Please consider implementing the changes. You can still work on the merger, but putting off any progress until a merger fail or passes is a poor idea.

[DemPGH]

No. I said. . . I plan to pass the constitution and I want to talk over the numbers with somebody! Why in God's name can't I do that? Sure, if a more positive spin can be put on it (official vs. unofficial propaganda, to use your term) I want to do that. Why wouldn't I? I object to how this has been done. Aside from the fact that it's been without concern for the law, there are a lot of other people here who wonder if this is the best course of action. So it's not just me. You guys on the outside are pretty well out of touch, I must say.

In short, I've NOT decided to vote against it. I've decided I want to check it out. If I cannot do that, then there's no point to any of this. You may as well just take over all of them and adjust their numbers to your liking, Mr. President. But I hope that this is a fantasy government, not a fantasy corporation.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

You're fine talking it over. I am just worried to see you plan to employ your own writers to mold the narrative more than anything.

The GM is hardly a mouthpiece for my administration. Nix and I do not collaborate on what he writes or anything of that nature. I have no idea what the impact of this stimulus would be on the region should it get fully implemented. This is the first time I've heard a conspiracy that I'm in cahoots with the GM

[DemPGH]

So for clarification. . .

We have to:

1) Activate the new constitution
2) Lower the taxes to the prescribed rates
3) Then the funding kicks in
4) Then we're on the clock to spend it and do the all the things we have to do

Is that correct?

In the meantime, if I make an effort to make all that happen, which I'm doing now, I would like it if the Senate would NOT actually block a merger. We need more than one plan open. And we need some more research on the MW side, but if they are amenable and we want it, it would NOT be cool if the Senate would block it. That would erode a lot of trust. So I'm willing to deal.

[DemPGH]

So for clarification. . .

We have to:

1) Activate the new constitution
2) Lower the taxes to the prescribed rates
3) Then the funding kicks in
4) Then we're on the clock to spend it and do the all the things we have to do

Is that correct?

In the meantime, if I make an effort to make all that happen, which I'm doing now, I would like it if the Senate would NOT actually block a merger. We need more than one plan open. And we need some more research on the MW side, but if they are amenable and we want it, it would NOT be cool if the Senate would block it. That would erode a lot of trust. So I'm willing to deal.

In other words, assuming this all goes through, what would be GREAT to have and what would ensure that everyone is on the same page, since we are in very uncharted territory here, is a to-do list. Just a list of tasks to complete rather than leaving it all open to interpretation, and having some idea of the limits we are operating under. That will help me facilitate it, and I'm very hopeful that Siren will be joining the Council, if nothing else than to take my seat.

I mean, will we actually vote on the text of that stimulus bill? Or does it automatically kick in once we activate the constitution and lower the taxes? I gather that either scenario is possible. So rather than the admin just throwing something at me without a lot of instructions, some guidelines would help get it rolling, assuming it all kicks in.

[DemPGH]

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Ideally, then, I would like Devin to ultimately take my seat, and we just might have some signs of life so long as we still have Flo. Yes, barely filling a three-seat council is a chore! Hopefully reasonable people can continue meaningful dialogue concerning a Pacific / Midwest merger.

Also, the 4th Pacific Constitution is close and debate has been opened on the new tax structure for the Pacific. As soon as the Constitution is approved we'll move it to referendum.

[DemPGH]

The voting booth for the plebiscite removal amendment is now open! You have seven days to vote.

Also, the 4th Pacific Constitution has been approved by 2/3 of the Council. It is technically an amendment to the current constitution, so I would like to announce that within 24-48 hours I will be opening a voting booth for its ratification. Ratification lasts 72 hours and must garner 2/3 approval from Pacificans, so I want to give notice that that is coming, and we need people to help us ratify it.

[DemPGH]

Voting booth is up and running on the 4th Constitution!

72 hours + 2/3 public approval needed. A lot of people put in a lot of work, so let's get going on it!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Excellent work!