FOUCAULF FOR NYMAN - Concession Announcement

[Foucaulf]

Credit to Bobak, Wikipedia

Minneapolis, State of Joy (Minnesota)

Citizens, Atlasians,

I want to start this press conference of mine with a moment of silence, for the lives lost during the terrorist attacks that have ravaged our nation. The terrorist cell continues to threaten us, but we in the Midwest and the Simfan administration in the Pacific have united to destroy this insurrection. I am proud of their work; let us all ensure the deaths that have passed are not in vain.


Thank you - now on to the announcement itself. Everybody knows by now that there's a Senate seat up for grabs following Bacon King's vacancy. Everybody knows that there are three candidates in the race already, including our Dear Leader Adam Griffin. Well, do I have news for you - there are now four.

I am running for the At-Large Senate seat not for political power. I am running for the seat not to impose on Atlasia fanciful, utopian visions. I am running to represent you - not only the Western Atlasians who suffer a loss with Bacon King's departure, but every one who needs their voice heard in Federal government's echo chambers.

Let's keep it simple. As a Senator, I will fight for two things. The first is regional rights. The Atlasian Constitution as it is designed gives federal government certain, specific powers, and endows the rest to the people or the Regions. Throughout all the controversy over the radical agenda pushed in the Senate, not enough have called the agenda for what it is: unconstitutional. Regional rights is a value all Atlasians share, and I will represent a united front maintaining it.

The second is common sense economics. You will hear Labour supporters harangue me about the radical economic agenda I proposed in the Midwest. But I had to, because the region was and continues to suffer under poor governance and a delusion about state finances. And federal government's just as guilty of it as the Midwest! All Atlasians deserve to know the truth about our nation's economy, and we should unite to solve endemic problems facing us in the future.

People will question my credentials. I am a registered Atlasian citizen for years. I lived through the JCP age, the Era of Good Feelings and when our country bordered on civil war.

After becoming politically active, I led a grassroots movement that nearly toppled the Midwest Labour machine, in the closest regionwide electoral contest in Midwestern history.

After becoming politically active, I argued before the Supreme Court in Roe v. Zuwo, arguably the  most landmark of judgments in recent years.

After becoming politically active, I realize that my agenda is not partisan. I am running as an independent in this election, opposed only to the Labour machine's disregard for regional rights and economics.

My speech has gone long enough - now it's up to you. I have two weeks to win your support, and I will fight like hell to do it. It's time for real Atlasians to rise up, to holler: "Foucaulf For Nyman."


For Order, For Atlasia.

[Simfan34]

I would endorse you with the utmost enthusiasm but I don't know who's going to declare. However, given this field, you'd have my vote and I'd lobby for The Party to endorse you.

But indeed, we need someone to fight for order in Nyman, and desperately so.

[Cranberry]

If I may so, I find it interesting that you are often speaking of "Western Atlasia", instead of just the Midwest. Is there a reason in particular for this?

[Simfan34]

If I may so, I find it interesting that you are often speaking of "Western Atlasia", instead of just the Midwest. Is there a reason in particular for this?

There is a great deal of convergence between the interests of the Pacific and the Midwest- this recent security crisis just the latest, while we've both long been preyed upon by outside actors and interest groups. There is a new wind blowing through the western part of Atlasia, and you and I are both part of it. It's high time that it started blowing (again) in Nyman

[Foucaulf]

I would endorse you with the utmost enthusiasm but I don't know who's going to declare. However, given this field, you'd have my vote and I'd lobby for The Party to endorse you.

But indeed, we need someone to fight for order in Nyman, and desperately so.

I will explicitly seek out the support of political parties this time, with the exception of Labour. Paraphrasing what I said, every party except for Labour has a commitment to regional rights. It's time that we coalesce and fight for it.

Thank you for your support, Governor! Your administration has been an inspiration.

If I may so, I find it interesting that you are often speaking of "Western Atlasia", instead of just the Midwest. Is there a reason in particular for this?

Some recent users would not remember attempts last year to "consolidate regions." Particularly scandalous was Adam Griffin's proposal that the Midwest and the Pacific be merged into one. This insults the unique nature of our regions: we have distinct political cultures, but common interests.

Western Atlasia is a land endowed with natural resources, one which values individualism without endorsing anarchy, and home to a diverse range of political perspectives. It is a land often ignored by the Nyman elite - many of which reside in the Northeast or the Mideast - and who wish for us to be rid of. It's time to say no.

EDIT: For another perspective, look at the home regions of the declared candidates so far. DKrolGa is Northeastern. Adam Griffin is Northeastern and Southern. JCL is Mideastern. No other candidate has an association to the Midwest or the Pacific - except for me, who have exclusively resided between those two.

[Cranberry]

If I may so, I find it interesting that you are often speaking of "Western Atlasia", instead of just the Midwest. Is there a reason in particular for this?

Some recent users would not remember attempts last year to "consolidate regions." Particularly scandalous was Adam Griffin's proposal that the Midwest and the Pacific be merged into one. This insults the unique nature of our regions: we have distinct political cultures, but common interests.

Western Atlasia is a land endowed with natural resources, one which values individualism without endorsing anarchy, and home to a diverse range of political perspectives. It is a land often ignored by the Nyman elite - many of which reside in the Northeast or the Mideast - and who wish for us to be rid of. It's time to say no.

EDIT: For another perspective, look at the home regions of the declared candidates so far. DKrolGa is Northeastern. Adam Griffin is Northeastern and Southern. JCL is Mideastern. No other candidate has an association to the Midwest or the Pacific - except for me, who have exclusively resided between those two.

Thank you for your swift answer. It is indeed good for both our regions to stick together, for our common interests can always be better achieved in tandem than just alone, but still, it's equally valuable to keep a respectful distance in our common stride. I will have to wait and see what else is coming this election, but on regional issues, I see we have a common position, together with Governor Simfan on that matter.

[Maxwell]

I would endorse you with the utmost enthusiasm but I don't know who's going to declare. However, given this field, you'd have my vote and I'd lobby for The Party to endorse you.

But indeed, we need someone to fight for order in Nyman, and desperately so.

But wait, your party has a nominee at the moment in Dkrol! I thought you were complaining about party loyalty earlier.

[Simfan34]

I would endorse you with the utmost enthusiasm but I don't know who's going to declare. However, given this field, you'd have my vote and I'd lobby for The Party to endorse you.

But indeed, we need someone to fight for order in Nyman, and desperately so.

But wait, your party has a nominee at the moment in Dkrol! I thought you were complaining about party loyalty earlier.

Indeed, but who is he? I'll try my best to stop TPP from getting into a JCL-style situation.

[Foucaulf]

Every day until the election starts, I will write a policy brief alternating between my two campaign themes. We will start with "common sense economics."


THE WILD, CRAZY ATLASIAN FEDERAL BUDGET

A Senate bought by outside interests never likes discussing the budget. Like in real life, members of the legislature squabble over the most minor details, while ignoring the bigger problems that loom for our government. But the state of the federal budget is not just due to obstructionist politics; it is also due to laziness.

Consider the passed version of this year's budget. By some fluke, total spending for the next fiscal year is nearly the exact same as last year's, with only about $4 billion more. But this does not take into account the inflationary spiral our nation fell into last year, reaching up a record 8%. What does this mean in real terms? - budget expenses actually fell by 8% this year.

Consider the cuts to Atlasia's Health Service. Funding moved from $1050 billion to $1000 billion, a 5% decrease. Taking into account inflation, the AHS received a 13% cut in expenses in one year. How ludicrous is that?

Now, it should be that income revenues have gone up in nominal terms. That it stayed at about the same level is a statement of the Atlasian government's incompetence at tax collection. Having said that, the current revenue is likely lower than is reported. There is a common fallacy among members of the Senate that "The rich can afford to pay more." But that is not the problem; the problem is that "the rich can afford to move their money."

Why should we not believe that tax fraud is rampant in Atlasia, when there is no legislation of the sort on the books, no attempt at restricting clever capital transfers and accounting practices? The financial tax is clearly not sufficient, since paying 0.5% four or five times to transfer capital in and out of global markets - 2.5% aggregate - is much cheaper than paying 60% for that money. The income tax revenue should be cut by $200 billion at least.

Why should we not believe that corporate tax costs are transferred by corporations to their employees through wage cuts? With the minimum wage prices in account, either they start plainly firing employees or hire temporary, seasonal workers, which lack any protection in Atlasian statute. Or, faced with these wage inflexibilities, these firms simply shut down. Corporate revenues should be down by at least $50 billion.

Why do we lack a federal sales tax or a value added one? What we have instead are a mix of sin taxes and fuel taxes, often overlapping with regional ones. As an aside, why is the National Broadcaster Levy about ten times as much as the actual expenses for the National Broadcaster?

The list goes on. I can look through every item with a fine comb and pick out details, but the big image is clear. The federal government does not take the livelihoods of its citizens - expressed in the budget - seriously.

And the point is not to have a detailed breakdown of every expense on par with a fully functional nation. The point is that, if you have an idea of Atlasia's tough economic times, you should at least object to passing through our most vital legislation without even a second look.

Voters from the Midwest likely remember me performing the same exercise with the Midwest budget. And my prescriptions for Nyman are similar: if we have to cut, we have to cut. By the end of this campaign, I will offer a set of policies we must pursue to bring Atlasia back to fiscal balance.

[Simfan34]

Most germane points! I've long wondered about the state of our finances given the changes made to our budgets over the course of the fiscal year, and the inevitability of revenues and expenses varying from the figures given (estimates, really) in the Budget.

The corporate tax burden raises one such key point- I do wonder how many major firms are domiciled in Atlasia at this point, considering the generally anti-business climate that has persisted for some time and, as far as I am aware, no recent legislation targeting corporate inversions or other types of offshoring. I do know, however, that we have managed to reduce the top marginal corporate tax rate so that should help, although I suspect the bevy of regulations, pro-labor Labor policies, and the like far outweigh any gain from reduced rates.

Whether or not this burden is passed on to the employees is a good question, and raises the need for more thorough economic statistics- something which I tried to do when I was GM albeit without much success. The organisations that keep this figures revise them all the time, and there is no reason for that not to be the case here. Heck, Nigeria managed to double the size of its economy by "rebalancing" how it calculated GDP-- which the World Bank and IMF actually recognised (even if I remain skeptical). Hopefully if you are elected a comprehensive policy review will be launched and the full effect of our policy on employment, income, wages, and other key indicators will be uncovered.

There is also the matter of the civic duty paying one's taxes entails; perhaps it would be worth exploring prevailing conceptions of taxation and its function. I would say that if people, on the whole, felt that they were being taxed fairly, and that their taxes were being put to use and to good use, we would have a lower level of tax evasion than we would have otherwise-- although I freely admit the free-rider problem will never go away.

I would emphasize, however, that perhaps the problem is not so much tax fraud as it is confiscatory tax rates and other burdensome liabilities, which, if reduced to more sensible levels, would in part raise the level of tax compliance as well as, well, the whole Laffer curve thing and all that which I know you know we both know... but this is your campaign and I will let you make the points you want to make.

Regardless, this clearly demonstrates both the depth of the thought you have given to the problems facing Atlasia as well as the progressive nature of your campaign!

[Cassius]

For what little its worth, emphatically endorsed.

[Foucaulf]

The campaign is certainly not dead, but I've suspended my original schedule since I am now contesting in the TPP primary. My loss in the primary would mean suspension of the campaign, though in either case I will write more in order to advise on future policy.

I would still like to write on the powers of the federal government, Atlasia's loophole-ridden corporate governance, a call for more Senate resolutions and the need for innovation policy. Maybe I can say a bit on Atlasian foreign policy as well.

[Simfan34]

Looking forward to it!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Endorsed!

[Potus]

Absolutely endorsed. You're the best candidate to actually fight the Communist Threat.

[Foucaulf]

THE POLICY DUMP

Citizens, Atlasians,

The election has already begun, and the race may as well be a dead heat. I know some of you remain undecided, and to convince you I'll take a crack at Adam Griffin's question.

We know what you stand against; what do you stand for?

Leading up to the Midwest Gubernatorial race, I presented a seven-point plan to save my region. This time, I have a twenty-five point plan to save Atlasia. Bolded policies are ones I believe I can introduce before new elections next month.
STRONG FISCAL POLICY

• Acknowledge the fiscal deficit that plagues the federal government, after a year of civil war and economic chaos.
• Maintain health funding at real levels, or increase health funding by $90 billion.
• Scale back transportation projects, housing loans and research funding to keep the deficit at a tolerable level.
• Lower income taxes for the top two brackets, and instead centralize auditing of high-income taxpayers' books.
• Cut sin taxes and fuse into one progressive consumption tax.
• End the gravy train for government employees and the Atlasian Broadcast Service.

STRONG ECONOMY

• Substitute costly public employment training programs with tax credits for Job Creators.
• Raise the Atlasian Social Security retirement age to maintain fund solvency.
• Introduce a rigorous set of antitrust legislation.
• Eliminate a culture of nationalization among the Atlasian elite while planning prudent privatizations.
• End as much of the cooperatives regime as possible and restore corporate governance that has worked.
• Petition the SoEA to restart negotiations on free trade deals.

STRONG CITIZENSHIP

• Recognize that the federal government is constitutionally barred from dictating much social policy, and leave these issues to the regions.
• Sponsor an act that establishes a naturalization process for immigrants to Atlasia.
• Reform prisons while empowering our police unions.
• Add provisions for violent, undesirable crimes in Atlasia's Criminal Code.
• Support an active Attorney General who is not afraid to expel criminal politicians from office.

STRONG COUNTRY

• Support aerial or tactical intervention in rogue nations without putting troops on the ground.
• Work to maintain the integrity of Atlasia's intelligence services.
• Oppose any further cuts to the Atlasian military.
• Resolve to make the SoEA report regularly to Senate.

STRONG LEGISLATURE

• Continue the streamlining of Senate rules.
• Oppose attempts to remove the At-Large Senate seats, seeing that they increase competition in the game.
• Oppose attempts to subordinate the Game Moderator under partisan Senators.
• Reintroduce Senate resolutions as a constitutional way to impact game opinion.

And that is my plan: not made out of partisanship, but out of common sense. If Labour members agree with me on my reforms, let me say this: I will cooperate with them fully. But, after the events of 2014, you can forgive me for not trusting them to their words.

[windjammer]

I have a question. Will we able to work together on some issues (because considering your program, it appears there are many issues where I agree with you) or shall I expect a guérilla from your part because "muh I m a labor senator"?

[Foucaulf]

I have a question. Will we able to work together on some issues (because considering your program, it appears there are many issues where I agree with you) or shall I expect a guérilla from your part because "muh I m a labor senator"?

As I've said during the debate:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

The same also applies to any other policy of note. I singled out you and Talleyrand because both of you have a history of compromise. While I will not rule out working with TNF, Lief or SWE, I will put the onus on them to reach out to me.

[Foucaulf]

THE LABOUR AGENDA

Citizens, Atlasians,

The first day of voting has passed, and I am momentarily in the lead. This means, of course, that Labour will start serious rallying their voters against me. For the mass who will soon descend upon the polls, I have a post for you.

I was a Labour supporter. When the JCP collapsed, I actually plotted on how a genuine leftist party can seize the discourse in Atlasia. So why have I lurched so far to the right? Not because of self-loathing, but because I saw what the party has really done to our country.

I will spare you gory details on Labour's abuses during the DemPGH and Lumine administrations; I've made them public before. I admit that Labour constantly recruits and elevates new officeholders, so it's not fair to pin the blame on individuals for acts in the past.

But when I talk about the "Labour agenda," I don't target individuals - minus those who want to pretend problems don't exist, like TNF or the Midwest Governors. I'm talking about the culture. Where's the culture at in Labour? It resides in a party system that has grown too old for wear.

Labour is a patronage party. Members are recruited to serve office in Atlasia and swap between regions to elevate their status. This is not unlike the Chinese Communist Party, though I won't stretch the metaphor too far. It's an hierarchy of chumminess and hierarchical connections. When's the last time a competitive primary took place in the party, for instance?

Labour is a party out for power. It is remarkably tolerant on the antics of its members, while remarkably intolerant on the actions of others. I'm aware that individuals like Windjammer have called out some of Labour's radical policies, which is why I will work with them. But why does Labour not condemn DemPGH's folly of an administration, or the legislative abuses of TNF, or Lief's catcalling? One official statement can restore your status in Atlasians' eyes, not just mine.

This is the last time I will mention the "Labour agenda," and I want to send it out to Labour members.

Labour members, I was once side by side with you. The minute I spent more time in this game than just voting for someone who PMd me was the moment I realized something was wrong. If you do not vote for me, I hope you can abstain from voting.

Let us hope that a rational, pragmatic Leftist party, a New Labour or otherwise, can represent all of you in the future.

[Lief 🗽]

Lief's catcalling

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Is there anyone who has attempted or even proposed to get rid of at-large Senate seats?

[Foucaulf]

Is there anyone who has attempted or even proposed to get rid of at-large Senate seats?

There is a very long thread currently debating the abolition of the At-Large seats. I don't remember the exact reasons why people oppose them: I suppose they are extremely unpredictable and supposedly elect Senators who are more inactive, whose resignation then leads to nationwide special elections.

The Class A/Class B system is the one originally proposed when Atlasia is founded. But I do agree that it'll add another layer of bureaucracy to a process that should be clear and exciting. The special election I'm running in is very, very tense - and this political competition is a good thing for Atlasia.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Is there anyone who has attempted or even proposed to get rid of at-large Senate seats?

It seems likely to pass overwhelmingly. I probably was leaning closest to nay of the lot being rather undecided, and I am now departed from the chamber,

[Adam Griffin]

Are you seriously asking people who won't vote for you to not vote

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Are you seriously asking people who won't vote for you to not vote

He seems to think that low turnout will harm the political legitimacy of elections here in Atlasia.