Office of Former President and Gov. DemPGH

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Goddammit. Why does this keep happening?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am not superstitious in the slightest. I refuse to believe any conspiracy theories.

[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.

[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!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Excellent work!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Excellent work!

We're "Team Pacific"! Would make a nice corporate logo anyway.

After the tax deal, then, hopefully we'll be off and running. If I'm Gov. till April and Devin's on the council, there is some reason to be optimistic.

I have all the faith in the world in the both of you. Nice work. Let the progress continue!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

If someone needs a project manager, I can appoint someone for them. I appointed Oakvale during the stimulus and Save the Pacific project/debate so I could strengthen my grip on this countryhave eyes on the ground there to make sure things were going well.

Hopefully the Midwest won't need a project manager!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Please let us know what we can do to help. Cincinnatus and I have already discussed this and are ready for whatever we need to do to assist you and the region.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I, too, will stand with DemPGH. He's stepped up to the plate following the death of PJ, and worked with my administration to enact sound policies that has undoubtedly put the Pacific on the road to recovery. I would welcome another term with open arms.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Good luck with trying to get regional reduction and the like. I have been pushing the Duke Plan for months and have failed at every step of the way.

But I do agree and have agreed since October when I ran that things are stale and we need to shake things up, which is why I authored a plan to transform the government and the way we play the game. Sadly, it was met with enough opposition that it has stalled.

We've been playing the same game for a long, long time and have really debated some issues to death. I am happy that one of my legacies will be leaving Atlasia with a functioning Pacific, and that is thanks to you and the legislature's hard work and your utilizing the tools given to you all by my administration.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Quick question I kind of wanted to ask both candidates because I am interested in it right now - what kind of plans do you have, if any, for our healthcare system? Currently, we are dealing with bankruptcies and closures of hospitals and it's clear something needs to be done. I am studying both the Singapore system and now the French system, but I'm not sure I will be able to accomplish anything in the 15 or so days before the election, but it's possible. If I do leave office before we fix anything, do you intend to tackle the issue? If yes, how?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Right. The problem with "single payer" is, there are so many definitions of that. The whole concept of taxing people and providing free healthcare with no limits I have learned, through my limits, doesn't exist. One of struggles right now is that many people seem to favor single payer yet don't know what that means.

Some people should have out of pocket costs, especially those who can afford it. The poor and elderly, sure, they need to be covered and cared for, but others who make a decent salary and can afford to pay 10-20% of their expenses should pay.

Anyway, thanks for answering. I am trying to get the ball rolling on something before I leave office, but I have no idea if we will pass anything before the next president is sworn in. It will be on the docket for my successor, rest assured!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Fireball? You mean the liquor? I've had some shots of that tonight...

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

This is the most magical era yet. I love it!