First Presidential Debate (Closing Statements)

[Marokai Backbeat]

My apologies for taking so long to get to my opening statement. I've been moving, ill, and having to deal with shoddy internet. It's a miracle I'm here at all. See, Atlasia? The things I do for you.

I'm running for President because the challenges that face this game are immense, and I've tackled problems in countless ways from a variety of offices. While Senator, I was active and ran the Senate efficiently and effectively, and passed numerous amounts of legislation, trying in a variety of ways to pass game reform measures and domestic policy proposals.

While Vice President, I took an active approach to the role, and proposed several pieces of legislation and debate in the Senate as an honorary Senator. While a Justice, I wrote detailed opinions and established much precedent. While AG, I have updated the wiki efficiently, revived an Intro thread that, prior to my efforts, went woefully underappreciated.

Purple State and I had an agenda when we won in June, and we followed through on those promises. We stepped down after that single term because the work we wanted to accomplish in that time was done. We've returned again with more ideas and more proposals to get this game moving on the much better framework that we built during our time together the first time.

I believe that I can prove to Atlasia that I am the most qualified person for the job and the most prepared. That's what these debates serve. To show differences of style and creativity. To contrast the proposals and the intelligence of the candidates.

Thank you.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Due to the remaining candidates not reaching the Opening statements deadline, we will move onto questioning.

We shall begin in the field of economics, where as you all know, Atlasia is having some hard times.  With the recent stock market crash and "Great Recession" along with perceived inactivity of the federal government, what is your plan for getting Atlasia back on it's feet?

You have 20 minutes to answer this question.

First of all, an economic response is half-policy, half-response time. The government needs to respond swiftly to be as effective as possible. That's why one of my proposals is allowing the President and/or Vice President to have their own legislative que slot on the Senate floor, to make proposals as swiftly as possible. It would give the executive any other legislative powers, of course, but it would allow quick facilitation of executive proposals.

The right course of action of course is the Senate's proposed stimulus bill. That sort of thing is precisely what we need. More important than anything is getting money directly into the hands of those people who spend it. Food stamps and unemployment compensation are two of the most effective stimulus measures that can be taken, and those are two things that should be as largely boosted as is feasible.

But one of my biggest proposals when if elected will be to implement a large set of new credit card regulations. Of course, thanks to my time as Senator, we passed a cap on credit card interest rates that I will protect at all costs, but we can go further. I will propose policies similar to the "Credit CARD Act of 2009" passed in the real world, with a specific emphasis on the following provisions:

• Requires card companies give cardholders 45 days notice of any interest rate increases.
• Gives cardholders the right to cancel their card and pay off their existing balance at the existing interest rate and repayment schedule if an interest rate increase is imposed; gives cardholders three billing cycles after the rate increase to decline these new terms.
• Gives cardholders time to pay their bills by requiring card companies to mail billing statements 21 calendar days before the due date (14 days was the previous minimum).
• Requires that payments made before 5 p.m. EST on the due date are considered timely.
• Requires the due date to fall on the same day each month. If the fixed due date normally falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal banking holiday, then the due date shall be pushed to the next business day after the date. This measure prohibits due dates to fall on a weekend or holiday.
• Directs card companies to provide on every statement, a phone and internet address that a cardholder can access for payoff balances.
• Prohibits card companies from charging late fees when a cardholder presents proof of mailing payment not less than 7 days before the due date.
• Requires card companies to offer consumers the option of having a fixed credit limit that cannot be exceeded.
• Prevents card companies from charging over-the-limit fees on a cardholder with a fixed credit limit.
• A credit card cannot be issued to someone under age 21, unless they have a co-signer (who is 21 or over), or can provide proof of a means to repay.
• Prohibits retailers from setting expiration dates less than 5 years after the card is purchased.
• Prohibits retailers from charging dormancy, inactivity, and service fees unless the card has not been used for at least 12 months. If fees are charged after this period, the details of such fees must be clearly established on the card, but retailers cannot assess more than one fee per month under any circumstances.

And a variety of other provisions. Protecting credit card holders is a key element in stabilizing the economy for years to come.

[Marokai Backbeat]

'm sorry, this all I can fit into 20 minutes, as I myself didn't have an answer already planned out.

Nor did I.

[Marokai Backbeat]

'm sorry, this all I can fit into 20 minutes, as I myself didn't have an answer already planned out.

Nor did I.

No.  You just gave a lengthy bullet pointed and annotated speech about credit card legislation that does very little to actually impact an economy in freefall.

I explained efforts on shortening response time, supported the use of further stimulus, and more specifically, food stamp and unemployment compensation legislation, in addition to proposing credit card regulations which have a major impact on individual Atlasians and can stabilize and protect the economy for the future. It is critical not to undersell any impact these policies can have. Credit cards, for better or worse, are a major part of most modern economies, and they go woefully underregulated.

(Also, the question was about economic policy more broadly. Not about being in "freefall.") There's no need to bicker.

[Marokai Backbeat]

The time limit is up, and I will move onto the next question.

With the fact that the federal stimulus has been enacted, what is your opinion of the current federal deficit and what is your plan of action regarding this?

You have 30 minutes to respond.

The deficit is of course a problem, but long term, rather simple to actually deal with. As Oakvale said, I myself am something of a Keynesian, and sometimes a deficit is something we must deal with for a short time when there are matters of much greater import. Having no deficit doesn't do us any good when our economy is in shambles, afterall.

While Senator, I proposed the "Fiscal Responsibility Act", something I'm very proud of, which goes a long way to reducing the deficit on it's own. While I believe we need to spend money in the short term to gain in the long term, that Act itself will allow us the occasional fall-back when the going gets tough, as some peace of mind in knowing the deficit is on the retreat:

National News

From the GM’s Desk: Legislation Analysis
Fiscal Responsibility Bill: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Marokai Blue (JCP), seeks to streamline and restructure Atlasian income tax brackets.

The current bill would create new brackets for individual's income above $367,700, $1 million and $2.5 million, respectively. This would equate with a tax rate increase for the higher brackets and a tax rate decrease for the lowest brackets, with most rates remaining the same.

Previous estimates by the Office of the GM calculated between $250 billion and $600 billion in gained revenue as a result of these changes. Given the overall nature of marginal income tax, as well as the relative revenue gained through individual, rather than corporate, income taxes, the office is now prepared to predict a total revenue in-flow of $500 billion as a result of the new taxation brackets.

This would greatly help in reducing the budget deficit over the coming years. In conjunction with eventual spending cuts and other tax reforms, the Atlasian budget could reach neutrality in two years and bring the debt to zero shortly after a ten year time horizon.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I concur with Oakvale regarding the debt ceiling. Refusing to raise it (should a thing such as that come up) would cause all hell to break loose.

[Marokai Backbeat]

As the time limit is up, we will move on to the next question.

From the SoIA's report to the Senate, unemployment rates across the country have reached record highs.  What will your administrations do to help remedy this situation?

With hope, the stimulus package will have some impact, but we shouldn't be content with that alone.

A major part of what needs to be done is encouraging the regions to act and make their own efforts to reduce unemployment. The federal government can make a significant effort on their own, but we alone cannot do the job. Several parts must act together for maximum impact.

When I was Vice President, Purple State and I proposed (and I penned) the "Social & Economic Development Zone Improvement Act" which improved on the idea first proposed by Afleitch. The Act has numerous bonuses to specific regions declared a Social & Economic Development Zone.

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As President I would very strongly encourage regions to declare areas within their regions a SED Zone and give them increased attention. There are many areas of Atlasia that have been ignored with the passage of time, and with the GM's help we can estimate the number and placement of SEDZ to "fuel" employment (stealing a phrase from my June campaign!) and then the federal government and do our part by pledging the money necessary for the infrastructural development of those said Zones.

The SEDZI Act was a landmark piece of legislation. It's time to use it!

[Marokai Backbeat]

I would simply like to agree with Tmth's statement regarding taxes. I too agree that we certainly need no more taxes at this point.

[Marokai Backbeat]

What is your current opinion of the financial regulations the Federal Government currently has for corporations?  Is it fine as it is or should it be changed?  How and Why?

I would try to make more efforts to reduce tax loopholes, if anything, but I'm reasonably content with the overall picture of business regulation in this country. I'm always startled by statistics I see that show how little income taxes corporations actually pay. I'd ask the GM to evaluate tax loopholes in regard to corporations, at the very least, and take action from there. It's very important to involve the GM as much as possible.

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The food stamp program is essential in these times, and must be supported and expanded as efficiently as possible. As Senator, I also wrote legislation that created (something that seems to be a common theme!) the Home Energy Assistance Administration, which is a public program designed to help subsidize poor Atlasian's home energy bills. During these winters, some parts of the country suffering severely, it is essential that we don't allow the HEAA to go under and we support it to the fullest.

This is also entirely unrelated to economic concerns, but I would also ask the GM for an evaluation of the Postal Service. A public postal service, in some capacity or another, is something I believe that is essential, especially for those in remote or rough parts of the country. We should most definitely support it.

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Major changes? I seriously doubt it. Our healthcare system is superb. A robust public healthcare system with the option of going private, should the person decide to do so, that provides all or most necessary care at little to no cost to the individual. It is also roughly deficit neutral. Our healthcare system should be the desired balance for all nations.

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While I don't believe trade with China has been an entirely positive experience to say the least, ceasing trade with either Russia or China at this point would be wholly unreasonable. The bigger problem right now is the manipulation of the Chinese currency being perpetuated by their government, not necessarily trade.

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We've cut the military time and time again over the years, so I think a review of military spending is in order, if nothing else but to establish how much at this point we're actually spending. Once the GM has established that, we could make decisions from there. I'm always more than open to making defense cuts when made intelligently.

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As the author of the current income tax brackets, I'm very proud of our current system of taxation. People are individually taxed fairly, large chain stores are taxes more than others, the sales tax for business being done across state and regional lines has been made fair, etc. I would retain the current tax rates across the board.

As for religious institutions being taxed, I've never personally understood the religious exemption. I would be open to keeping the exemption on smaller religious institutions, but beyond a certain point, it ceases to be a sincere and honorable place of worship and turns into what could only be described as a business. Mega-churches, for example, are obscene and arguably a perversion of religion in the first place, and should most certainly be taxed, in my opinion.

We should, at the very least, also be more vigilant in making sure churches truly are being fair, and not trying to influence the political habits of it's churchgoers.

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I do believe it could be a major source for economic growth. Good examples of legislation on this front would be the Green Power Act, the Green Homes Act, and the Atlasia Clean Energy Act. We need to very strongly encourage the private sector to grow green jobs and expand the amount of alternative sources of energy that we use, and we need to encourage individuals to actually use them. It most definitely is the future.

At some point, however, incentives may not be enough and we may have to force the hand of the private sector with mandates and subsidies, as has been done to some extent already, to jump-start the process. It is a very long process, but it will definitely save us economically and just generally so.

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I would be extraordinarily surprised if we could at least get a handle on the economy within a first term. With swift implementation of our policies, and of course, smart and efficient policies, I believe we could, at the very least stabilize the economy within the first half of a term.

But of course, that all depends on the Senate's ability to function as it should. Something that's been called into question lately and something my running mate, Purple State, will make sure continues to move along.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Now that we're back, I have a new question for you all.  I won't set a time limit this time since I have no clue who's actually here this time around:

Atlasia has been mostly an isolationist state for it's existence.  Do you support the status quo foreign policy?  Would you like to see Atlasia more interventionist in foreign affairs?

My apologies. I was distracted today due to getting online rather late in the day and also the Giffords news.

Anyways, I've always favored a more tempered foreign policy. Both extreme isolation and extreme intervention are insane and unrealistic, and get us in more trouble than good. I believe it's best as a general rule to leave nations to their own affairs as long as they don't put others in danger beyond it's borders, but these things are a very touchy issue, and foreign affairs, to me, should be handled on a case by case basis and a careful and calm mind. Military action should always be a last resort, no doubt about it.

I'm fairly comfortable with the way Atlasia currently is in regard to foreign affairs.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Like Ben, I believe Atlasia needs to do more in foreign policy, as it has been pretty well ignored for the last few terms.

We absolutely need to focus more on foreign affairs. Too often we're focused on domestic concerns in this game. It would be my hope that my Game Advisors proposal would allow more leeway for GM reports on foreign matters in addition to the current frequency of domestic updates.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Welcome back to Day 2 of the Senate Debate in Atlasia.  To cover up the fact that I couldn't get to a computer until now () and to finish up on this subject, will all candidates please post what the major points of their economic and spending plan is, as well as the reasoning behind it?  I'll give an hour since this is rather a hefty question.

I'd like to answer this, since nothing else seems to be going on, and the more information the better in these debates, afterall!

As explained earlier, what I'd really love to do is focus more on the SEDZI Act which has gone very underutilized. The benefits of a SEDZ are incredible, and would go a long way in improving the employment numbers in those specific zones. In addition, I'd like many new of the aforementioned credit card regulations.

Of course, I would support further efforts, such as a proposal to grant a 100% tax deduction for small businesses that invest in new equipment, or replacement equipment, for their business, for the next year or two. And one of my first domestic policy efforts would be an abolishment of any wait-times of limits to receiving heating assistance or housing vouchers.

If you meet the qualifications to receive them, you should get the assistance, regardless of what number you are in line. It's disgusting and immoral to allow people to go cold or homeless because the 'quota' for assistance in any particular day has been met.

I would also re-propose a "Cash for Clunkers" style program that I wrote once myself over a year ago, but didn't pass the Senate, which I believe would be an incredible boost to the economy, and the automotive industry more specifically, which in Atlasia, isn't faring too well because of the refusal for temporarily nationalization in June/July/August of 2009.

As you can see, my Administration will have a multitude of economic policies on the table from Day 1.

[Marokai Backbeat]

We'll move on then with three questions, due by 6 PM:

Do you believe that out-of-site membership should be encouraged (as in branching out to other political sims and inviting them to join us)?

I'm afraid I don't. There is incredible potential for abuse in that sort of practice, and almost always makes people suspicious of newcomers that were recruited from offsite. Honestly, I think that if Atlasia was meant to be a standalone political simulation, it would be Atlasia. Besides, it's difficult to actually trust people put in charge formally of offsite recruiting. If a right-winger was put in charge of offsite recruiting, could that person resist the temptation to recruit only people which would help his causes? Not to cast aspersions or anything, but pretty much all of the new recruits lately have not exactly been Social Dems, if you catch my drift.

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Yes, it's a central part of my platform to allow for multiple people with GM powers. The key difference would be, mine would be considered more of a team, whereas the other candidates have multiple GMs practically competing against each other. My proposal is a team, with something of a command structure, allowing people to work together on the direction of the single GM.

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My personal opinion on the details of it all could be turned into a novella, but more generally I think it's a good thing for their to be actual competition now. It's for the better in the long run. The party system was far too predictable for far too long. Sadly, even now, good people will likely lose because of voters who seldom actually pay attention to Atlasian affairs, even if they put in by far the most effort, but that's just one of the hazards of our system I suppose, like it or not.

As for my opinion of the RPP, it's higher than it used to be, but my only commentary on the RPP would be that the name doesn't seem to make much sense lately. It's a "Regional Protection Party" half made up of people that either don't care too much about making it a rallying cry, or outright don't care about regions at all beyond simply favoring their existence.

I wish we actually had party names that meant something. The Populares doesn't really mean anything as a name. The JCP is nondescript and is more of a party that exists for the sake of gaining power rather than having something specific in any sort of name that defines them. The "RPP" as a name means very little at this point. The "UDL" on the other hand, as a name, actually has a purpose. I guess you could say I don't like "zombie parties" at this point either. The RPP was on the verge of collapsing at one point a year or so ago, and it should've, not for my political benefit, but because it would've allowed something more genuine and actually political to rise up in it's wake, instead of the RPP being sustained solely for the sake of being sustained.

But oh well, I suppose I'm rambling on that issue.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Throughout the course of this debate, I've tried my best to give a small look at the policies my ticket will propose in office, and to show the country that I am the most prepared for the office. If you support Marokai/Purple State, we will get to work immediately, we will have a pile of legislation ready right out of the gate.

In my history in Atlasia, I have always dedicated myself to whatever office I've ever held. No position in office I've held in my Atlasian life has been taken for granted, and I would continue to work as hard as I can as your President.

Atlasia faces many problems right now, and my platform (the only one formally introduced so far of all the candidates!) has a variety of proposals on all fronts. Reviving interest in foreign policy, making the Senate more active now and in the long term, improving elements to the game that go ignores, and introducing multiple domestic policy proposals to revive interest, I hope, in economic policy.

I don't do well with speeches, I readily admit. My best qualities can be found in my work, and in my political debate. I believe I've made my best case, not in my opening and closing statements, or in my whimsical efforts to poke fun from time to time, but in how I propose my policies, build them, and defend them. And so, I will simply leave you all with this:

During this campaign, you should always keep asking yourself, "Which candidate is the most well versed?" "Is my candidate the one with the biggest history of dealing with Atlasia's issues?" "What candidate has the clearest proposals and most demonstrated ability to write legislation meant to address Atlasia's problems?". We believe, in all those questions, we come out on top.

Thank you all for listening, and thank you for this debate.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I realize the debate is over, but before heading home I'm going to post a question here rather than copying and pasting in all your various campaign threads:

"If you are elected president, will I still have my job?"

Please respond in 1-2 words, preferably one beginning with "y".

I remember when PS and I were trying to find a new GM after PS got elected. I don't want to go through that again. The answer is "yes."

[Marokai Backbeat]

Though I don't expect it to go here, I couldn't think where else to bring it up...

I hope the candidates for President, myself, Oakvale, and Marokai, will be able to fit in another debate before the election begins, maybe even two. Was Yelnoc going to do the next debate, or someone else?

I'm open to as many debates as you'd like.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Why can't this be started?

Archangel sent out a private message to all remaining candidates several days ago about the debate, and asked for everyone to respond so we can begin. So far, I'm the only one who's responded, which is certainly frustrating, as I know both of you have had plenty of time to respond to the message. If the two of you really want another debate, I ask that you please respond to Archangel ASAP.

Lord have mercy.

I've responded to him many times before asking for more debates but apparently I need to hold everyone's damn hand by responding with a specific time before we can actually move forward. Okay, sure.