The Atlasia Guardian-Informer

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(July 26th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     884 -4 (0.45%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93045, World Index (-0.00020)
• Crude Oil = $87.23/barrel -0.19 (0.21%)

Analysis:

As markets brace themselves for the details of President Polnut's tax proposals in the following day, stocks remained fairly constant, while oil prices slid even further.

[Marokai Backbeat]

National News

Minor nuclear power plant scare raises concerns about back-up plans nationwide.

(AG-I) -- After a flooding incident at the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant in Curiosity (Nebraska), environmental activists are raising concerns about the safety of power plants throughout Atlasia, specifically the back-up plans in place at the power plants designed to stave off disaster.

"The concerns rely on the generators and the shoddy flood protection plans." says Doug Webber, spokesman for Atlasians for Nuclear Safety. "The structural designs in place at the Fort Calhoun plant designed to protect the plant itself from flood damage clearly failed, and we don't believe many other plants in Atlasia are much better designed in this regard."

Indeed, according to many regulators, the possibility for several of the 106 nuclear power plants in Atlasia to be damaged by floods is apparently very real, but plant-owners believe the chances so low as to not be worth the time and investment to maintain.

Atlasia gets roughly 23% of it's electricity from nuclear power, and since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, public scrutiny of nuclear power has been at a record high out of fear of a similar disaster in Atlasia.

"The back-up power generators are a particular concern." Webber says. "The placement of the generators is incredibly important, and many power plants place them underground, where the potential for danger is greater. It shouldn't be that way."

Not only is the placement of the generators an issue, however, the amount of power they can generate is the main problem. According to regulators, 85 of the nuclear plants in Atlasia have backup generators that will only hold power to the plant for merely four hours. The remaining 20 have power generators that will last for eight hours.

The Guardian-Informer contacted many nuclear safety experts asking them if four to eight hours would be enough time to get a grip on any potential problems that could befall a nuclear plant. None of them seemed optimistic.

"A first step to preventing these disasters is ensuring all power generators are above ground, and that the power they generate could last for at least several days." Webber continued. "In the instance of disaster, workers will need time to even assess the problem before they can go about fixing it. That alone is a simple but small step to protecting Atlasia from large-scale nuclear disaster."

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(July 28th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     890 +6 (0.68%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93075, World Index (+0.00030)
• Crude Oil = $87.01/barrel -0.22 (0.25%)

Analysis:

A tale of two Wall Streets today, as many were pleasantly surprised by the restraint from President Polnut in his tax proposals, as well as his remarks on wanting to lower the top brackets in a longer timeframe, while others were concerned that closing business tax loopholes without much change in business tax brackets themselves would be a harsh punishment on corporate income. Overall, stocks were reasonably positive before the proposals have been taken up by the Senate.

Oil continued to accelerate in its fall.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Foreign News

Several African nations petition to join the Global Treaty Organization.

(AG-I) -- Shortly before the announcement of a tour of African nations by GTO Ambassador Tmth, several heads of state from African nations officially announced intentions to petition the Global Treaty Organization for membership.

Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somaliland (officially recognized by Atlasia in November 2008) openly welcomed a visit by Ambassador Tmth shortly after his announced plans to visit to discuss their desire to join the GTO in greater detail.

South Sudan and Somaliland would greatly benefit from joining in particular. South Sudan was only recently formed as an independent state, electing their first President merely weeks ago, and Somaliland has struggled to form a modern economic infrastructure for many years, though has received more recognition in the world since Atlasia's official recognition of them as an independent nation in 2008.

Nigeria, on the other hand, has great prominence among African nations. It is the most populous country on the continent and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Major allies of Atlasia have yet to give word on the desire for the three nations to join the GTO, but many human rights organizations are speaking up in opposition to the idea. Human Rights Watch, one of the largest human rights advocacy groups in the world, released a statement to the Guardian-Informer earlier today:

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Though India did criminalize homosexuality at the time of it's admission to the Global Treaty Organization, this was later struck down by a court ruling. Since then, however, no nation in the GTO has made laws against homosexuality.

The Ambassador will meet in the coming days with Nigeria, South Sudan, and Somaliland. As more details come in on the meeting, the Guardian-Informer will report.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(July 29th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     897 +7 (0.79%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93155, World Index (+0.00080)
• Crude Oil = $86.75/barrel -0.26 (0.30%)

Analysis:

The market was excitedly shaken up today upon the creation of a new political party, while oil continues to accelerate in its decline.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headlines

Oceania protest movement gains ground in Northern Mariana Islands.

(AG-I) -- What was previously an almost exclusively Guam-centered protest movement, dissenters are gaining ground in the public opinion of the Northern Mariana Islands. 45% of residents of the Northern Mariana Islands now believe that the Pacific region is not doing enough to "protect the language and culture" of the people of Oceania, a number that was only 25% merely a week ago. Protest events and websites have been growing in the Islands for several days now, with angry residents demanding protection of their history and the Chamorro language.

Island residents claim to be "very worried" about the potential growth of the protests and have called for the Pacific regional government to take further steps.


Senate shows renewed vigor in debating Senator Antonio's safety net expansion bill.

(AG-I) -- A several months old bill introduced by Senator Antonio V has regained prominence in the Senate after new detailed analysis provided by the Guardian-Informer. The bill would expand elderly pension programs from the government and greatly improve the benefits of Unemployment Insurance, among other things. Senators are now working hard to reduce the overall cost of the bill to ensure deficit-neutrality.

Labor groups have hailed the increases in pension payouts proposed by the bill as well as the "modernizing" of the Unemployment Insurance system, while tax institutes have raised concerns over the increase in tax burden.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(August 4th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     902 +5 (0.56%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93205, World Index (+0.00050)
• Crude Oil = $86.50/barrel -0.25 (0.29%)

Analysis:

The market responded mostly favorably to the renewed interest in economic affairs showed by the Senate, though many businessmen expressed concerns over expanding their enterprises into Oceania due to the growing discontent in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Oil remains in negative territory, but the fall has leveled off.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Regional Employment News
(Post-July Employment Figures)

Employment & Population Information by Region

Estimated size of the national labor force: 155,471,774.

The following lists the top three industries in each region in order:

Northeast = Service; Trade and Transportation; Government
Mideast = Manufacturing; Trade and Transportation; Government
Southeast = Trade and Transportation; Agriculture; Service
Midwest = Agriculture; Manufacturing; Health
Pacific = Government; Trade and Transportation; Education

The following lists the unemployment rate in each region (estimated number in parentheses):

Northeast = 7.1% (1,995,743)
Mideast = 7.5% (2,735,566)
Southeast = 10.6% (4,932,370)
Midwest = 9.0% (1,118,360)
Pacific = 10.7% (3,416,687)*

National = 9.1% (14,198,726)

*Does not include Oceania. Oceania will be included as part of the Pacific in the next employment update.

The following is the breakdown of private-sector unionization figures in Atlasia by region (previous figure in parentheses):

Northeast = 15% (14.5%)
Mideast = 18% (18.5%)
Southeast = 11% (12%)
Midwest = 17.5% (16%)
Pacific = 26.5% (25.5%)

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headlines

Unemployment rate falls to 9.1%, after a net-gain of roughly 190,000 jobs.

(AG-I) -- The comprehensive jobs report for the previous month of July was released earlier today, with surprising news. The unemployment rate dropped .2% and Atlasia gained an estimated 192,554 jobs nationally, according to the report.

In the regional breakdown, the Midwest's 9.0% unemployment rate remained flat from last month, as the economy there remains sluggish, but while the economy there certainly isn't booming, it doesn't seem to be falling backwards either. Both the Mideast and the Northeast saw their unemployment rates drop by .3% and .4%, respectively. The Imperial Dominion of the South (commonly simply referred to as the Southeast) saw a small increase in unemployment, however.

The region's unemployment rate increase by .2%, presenting the unfortunate problem in employment gains in recent months. Though Atlasia gained 192,000 jobs nationally, there was also a loss of 60,000 public employees, dragging down the overall number. Most of the job increases were centered in the Mideast and Northeast, but most of those public employee job losses were from the Southeast, the most populated region.

The Southeast's predicament is presented in an interesting contrast to the Pacific region, which actually managed to see a .2% decrease in their unemployment rate despite their private economy not actually noticeably growing, by putting more citizens on the payroll of the regional government.

The Department of Internal Affairs notified the Guardian-Informer of an incoming report on private-sector healthcare job losses since the introduction of the national healthcare program.


Credit rating agencies continue to affirm Atlasia's 'AAA' rating status.

(AG-I) -- The credit rating agency known as Standard & Poors on Thursday released a short press release affirming the country's coveted 'AAA' credit rating status, weeks after announcing they were re-evaluating all 'AAA' nations. Many had worried the record debt would cause Atlasia to undergo a downgrade.

"Though the accumulated debt of Atlasia continues to increase to unseen levels," the press release read, "the ability for Atlasia's politics to remain focused on effectively paying for incurred debt remains strong, and leaves us confident."

Analysts stressed that S&P's "positive outlook" hinged on the continued reduction of the deficit, and expressed concern over the President's recent tax proposal possibly disrupting current revenue.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(August 12th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     917 +15 (4.97%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93325, World Index (+0.00120)
• Crude Oil = $86.60/barrel +0.10 (0.12%)

Analysis:

A huge day for Wall Street, as a positive jobs report coupled with reassurances from Standard & Poors on the credit rating of Atlasia made for a day of optimistic trading. The stock market ended the day with a nearly 5% increase; the largest in quite a long time.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(August 16th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     917 -2 (0.22%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93350, World Index (+0.00025)
• Crude Oil = $86.45/barrel -0.15 (0.17%)

Analysis:

A minor day of correction for the stock market, after the rally at the end of the previous week. Oil fell back into negative territory. Overall, a stable day.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headlines

Human Rights Watch praises Somaliland decriminalization of homosexuality.

(AG-I) -- Several weeks after Somaliland officially made movements to petition the Global Treaty Organization for membership, Somaliland's national legislature passed a decriminalization of homosexuality, as reported by the International Journal.

Chief among the concerns of the international group Human Rights Watch was the treatment of homosexuals from the nations that sought to join the GTO, as no nation in the GTO currently has any penalties against homosexuals, or homosexual behavior. The decriminalization marks a step forward for the country, the continent as a whole, and for Somaliland's prospects as an entry to the Global Treaty Organization. Britain and France have both called the move "very encouraging."

Human Rights Watch released a short statement: "When Somaliland first broke news about wanting to join the Global Treaty Organization, we expressed serious concern about human rights within the small nation and the precedent that would set for new entrants to the GTO. We are overjoyed at the decriminalization, and consider it a major step forward for human rights in Somaliland and the region as a whole, and reinforces our belief that the GTO can encourage the spread of human rights and the values of liberal democracy."


Report from Bureau of Labor Statistics gives basic idea of average wages per region.

(AG-I) -- A report from the Labor Statistics Bureau today gave the Guardian-Informer a glance at the current state of affairs for wage earners in Atlasia by region. In short, here are some of our take-aways from the report:

• The national average wage is $18.49 an hour.
• The national average wage for those at or under the age of 24 is $12.45
• The number of people earning at or near minimum wage has increased 9% since August 2010.

The report also listed average per-hour wages by region:

• Northeast Region: $19.89
• Mideast Region: $19.05
• Midwest Region: $17.60
• Pacific Region: $18.89
• Southeast Region: $17.04

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headlines

Libyan capital of Tripoli now 80-90% under rebel control.

(AG-I) -- Intense firefights raged all through the capital city of Tripoli throughout the weekend and into today as rebel fighters continued their struggle to take the remnants of regime territory within Tripoli. Rebels have made serious advancements in the last few weeks as Moammar Gadhafi's mercenary forces have weakened considerably from their strength just a couple of months ago.

Rebels tell reporters they are optimistic about taking complete control of the city, but warn "the danger is still there" as small pockets of Gadhafi forces still desperately cling to the city.

"They act as rebels within their own city." Said one reporter. "Gadhafi forces have been reduced to pockets of snipers and a handful of remaining tanks that cause trouble for the ill-equipped rebels, but by no means seem to be able to actually overpower them at this point."

President Polnut gave his vocal support for the rebel's advance yesterday, and the Atlasian men on the ground in Libya continue to assist the rebels in training and defending innocents. Which, if the events of the weekend have been any indication, seem to be paying dividends.


Oceania officials report large increase in petty crimes and vandalism.

(AG-I) -- Local government officials in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands today reported a near double in small crimes within the last month, as a sizable portion of the Guam and NMI population continue to feel unheard by the Pacific government.

Numerous city officials in Guam say to the Guardian-Informer that incidents of vandalism have increased three-fold and the number of large public gatherings in attempts to raise awareness for their concerns continues to grow.

"All I want is a sense of my language and history respected." Said one woman. "We deserve that protection, we are different from the rest of the country, and so far away."

The Midwest government attempted to lay claim to Oceania several days ago with legislation, in what constitutional experts unanimously agree has no legal binding, but only served to stoke the flames of the protestors by mentioning their hot-button issues. The Midwestern government plans to send an envoy to Oceania, which state officials say may only provoke the people.

As of today, the latest opinion poll shows 67% of the state supports additional protections and accomodations in the Pacific region for their language and history.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headline

Irene leaves billions in damage and a few dozen victims in its wake.
(Adopted from a Bloomberg article.)

(AG-I) -- Hurricane Irene killed at least 40 people as it moved from the Caribbean through New England, left an estimated $2.8 billion in damage and cut power to almost 8 million homes and businesses along the Atlasian East Coast.

North Carolina’s $750 million-a-year tobacco crop may have suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, state officials said. An industry trade group said harm to the cotton crop, the fourth-largest in Atlasia, may be “extensive.”

About 5.12 million customers in 13 states and Nyman remained in the dark yesterday, according to the Atlasian Energy Department, following the weekend storm which led to severe flooding in parts of Vermont, New York and New Jersey. At 3 p.m. yesterday, New York had the most outages of any state, at almost 889,000, according to an agency statement. Restoring power may take more than a week in some areas, utilities said.

A state of emergency has been declared in many states in the Imperial Dominion of the South, the Mideast Region, and the Northeast. Cleanup and repair efforts are already well underway for many Southern states, though with damage costs continuing to mount, it remains to be seen whether Atlasia's Senate will act to aid in the relief effort.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(August 29th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     905 -12 (1.30%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93350, World Index (-0.00035)
• Crude Oil = $86.15/barrel -0.30 (0.35%)

Analysis:

The damage to fragile economic sectors along the east coast from Hurricane Irene left the stock market feeling a bit depressed for the day, though maintaining a finishing number above 900. Oil began what many expect to be a continued fall in oil prices after rebel progress in Libya.

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Good job.    Keep up the good work! 

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headlines

Study of tax law reveals several loopholes at the federal level as well.

(AG-I) -- Over a month ago, the Guardian-Informer reported on a tax shelter located in Cheyenne, Optimism (Wyoming) in the Midwest region. The discovery of the tax shelter raised several questions about tax law at the regional level, allowing numerous businesses to headquarter themselves at a certain location merely with the purchasing of a post-office box, or allowing the headquartering of numerous businesses at a single property location.

Since then, however, experts have said that there is nothing preventing these sorts of abuses all over Atlasia, as no specific regulations on the process of "HQing" is in place at the federal level.

"It's a very serious omission." Said Bernard Schultz, senior member of the Institute for Tax Fairness. "These loopholes allow any number of businesses, all over the country, to headquarter themselves at a single location, with as little as a post-office box. By allowing this, it allows any individual to place themselves in the lowest tax region possible, with no additional expenses on property separate from any other business. It deprives federal and regional governments of millions of tax dollars a year, and that would be a very conservative estimate."

When suggesting ways to solve the problem, Schultz proposed requiring, at the very least, that only one company may headquarter itself in a single location, thus requiring entirely separate addresses.

"But that's only one small step." Schultz continued. "Other ways Atlasia could solve this problem would be to require more than simply a post-office box for a business's headquarters, or, quite radically, that a business must own it's own property entirely."

The Guardian-Informer has been told by government officials to expect a budgetary update within the next week. "For the sake of Atlasia's debt," the Institute for Tax Fairness said to us, "these tax loopholes must be closed."


Human Rights Watch cautions against over-exuberance in praising South Sudan decriminalization of homosexuality.

(AG-I) -- As one informal condition for increasing the likelihood of joining the Global Treaty Organization, South Sudan's legislature, as reported by the International Journal, narrowly decriminalized homosexual acts.

Human Rights Watch once again praised the move, similar to how they lauded Somaliland's decriminalization merely a few weeks ago, but cautioned against treating the move as more than it really is.

"It's really important that people don't treat this as some sort of societal epiphany regarding gay issues in South Sudan, and really, all over Africa." Julian Brooks, senior member of Human Rights Watch, said to the Guardian-Informer. Speaking informally, he continued. "It's decriminalization, and it's great, but I fear many people are getting the wrong idea. It's not an embracing of homosexuals in the region, it's only decriminalization."

Brooks continued, explaining he thought that pressure from the international community as a condition to GTO membership had "everything" to do with the decision by both South Sudan and Somaliland.

"Was it self-serving? Almost assuredly." Brooks said. "They had to make some gesture toward human rights if they were going to have a chance at joining the GTO. It's something they simply had to do."

Nevertheless, Brooks and Human Rights Watch considers it a positive development, and the decriminalization has received praise from GTO member-states across the world.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headlines

Irene damage estimates revised as states of emergency come to an end.

(AG-I) -- As states of emergencies were lifted today in more than a dozen states within the Imperial Dominion of the South, the Northeast, and Mideast, property damage estimates were revised to $4.7 billion, very close to the amount allotted to the regions by the relief Act introduced by Senator Snowguy (JCP).

Though experts expect insurance companies to cover a significant percentage of the damage to private property, they don't expect it will come anywhere close.

"It highlights a problem present in all insurance companies." says Derek Grippman, head of the insurance industry watchdog group Insurance Watch. "Whenever you need them most, in instances like these natural disasters, they never really follow through on everything you need them for. We firmly believe some level of basic coverage from insurance companies should be mandated by law."

It's difficult to estimate the damage done to the economy during the duration of Irene's onslaught, but nothing can compare to the 45 confirmed deaths from Irene's wake. Memorial services were held throughout the weekend and will continue into the week.

Experts expect Senator Snowguy's relief bill to have a modest impact on strengthening infrastructure for future storms, but it remains unclear if it is sufficient.


IDS "Trojan" Act seems to be increasing instances of safe sex, while also creating a Constitutional quandary.

(AG-I) -- Passed exactly two months to the day, the Imperial Dominion of the South is celebrating the "Trojan Act" which did two things: A much broader commitment to the distribution of contraceptives, and the introduction of a new "item that can be used in barter", distributed by private industry.

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Outside of the Constitutional issues of the Act, the law does seem to have had a positive impact on the sexual habits of IDS citizens. According to a recent study done by the Sexual Health Insitute, safe sex practices have gone up 10% in the region since passage, and knowledge of proper condom use has increased as well.

So, Constitutional crisis aside, people are at least having sex more safely.

When asked why he thought the government hadn't pursued a case against the Imperial Dominion of the South, legal analyst for the Guardian-Informer Lewis Steinbrook simply said "It's a symptom of the increasing dysfunction of our government. We don't even have an Attorney General at the moment."

The economic impact of the introduction of the "Dibble" has yet to be seen, as the "item" has not been widely circulated quite yet, but it's only a short matter of time.

[Marokai Backbeat]

National News

Atlasian Postal Service struggles to meet financial obligations and seeks Senate's help.

(AG-I) -- In recent years, the Atlasian Postal Service has struggled to remain afloat in a new age of communication, but the situation is becoming increasingly dire.

"We simply do not have the revenue to stay afloat on our own anymore. We've been teetering on the edge for several years now, but we're at the breaking point. If the Senate doesn't act, we'll have to make drastic, drastic cuts." said Vincent Adams, postmaster general of the APS.

The Atlasian Postal Service has long been a self-funding organization, managing all of it's funds from revenue raised from services and operating semi-independently of the federal government. This year, however, it is unable to meet it's $5.5 billion payment to the federal government used for the retirement security of former APS employees.

Though critics of the agency demand more must be done from the Postal Service before they deserve to get help, the APS has made many cuts in recent years, closing hundreds of post office locations across the country, thousands of employees, and reducing service hours. Last year, Adams suggested his agency may be forced to cease mail delivery service on Saturdays. The agency's deficit reached $8 billion less than two months ago.

Labor costs represent 75% of APS expenses, compared to an average of 46% from it's private competitors. Postal employees receive some of the most stable and generous employee benefits of all public employees.

The Postal Service remains the most positively viewed government agency by the general public. From a May 10th-13th Gallup Poll, 85% of the public viewed the Postal Service in positive light, and 80% desired it's continued operation.

When asked by the Guardian-Informer what the potential consequences of finally going broke would be, Vincent Adams was grim.

"We have a contingency plan in place for when we finally reach that point." Adams said. "But we desperately hope to not have to hit that switch. We would be forced into cutting over 3000 postal locations, and well over 100,000 employees. The effect that could have on the economy at-large would be awful, to say the least."

"We need a new stream of revenue." Adams continued. "Compared to other revenue streams to other parts of the government, what we ask for is comparatively small. We only need something to stay afloat."

It's unclear if the Senate will act, but when asked how long he believed the Postal Service had until the breaking point, Vincent Adams simply replied: "Not long."

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(September 6th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     889 -16 (1.77%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93215, World Index (-0.00135)
• Crude Oil = $85.75/barrel -0.40 (0.46%)

Analysis:

News of the postal service's financial crisis today, with the additional news that it could cost well over 100,000 jobs without stabilization, seriously reduced confidence in the markets today, as traders hoped to see leadership from the Senate on the issue. Meanwhile, oil continued it's fall in price. Experts attribute it to the psychological effect on speculators as the rebels continue to progress in Libya.

[Marokai Backbeat]

National Budget Update: September 2011.

Direct Spending ($3472.79 billion)

Military Spending ($445.01 billion)
$106.57 billion ... Military personnel
$153.02 billion ... Operation and maintenance
$80.54 billion .... Procurement
$68.13 billion .... Research, development, test and evaluation
$16.15 billion .... Military Construction, Family Housing and Other
$17.79 billion .... Atomic Energy Defense Activities
$2.81 billion ..... Defense Related activities

Iraq and Afghanistan Operations ($119.55 billion)
$113 billion ..... Military Operations
$6.55 billion .... Reconstruction aid

Military Retirement ($115.48 billion)
$40.83 billion .... Military retirement
$36.34 billion .... Income security for veterans
$3.24 billion ...... Veterans education, training, and rehabilitation
$34.35 billion ..... Hospital and medical care for veterans and retired military
$0.72 billion ...... Housing and other veterans benefits and services

International affairs ($31.59 billion)
$13.0 billion ...... International development and humanitarian assistance
$9.47 billion ...... International military aid
$7.97 billion ...... Conduct of foreign affairs
$1.15 billion ...... Foreign information and exchange activities

General science, space, and technology ($23.97 billion)
$5.62 billion ...... National Science Foundation programs
$3.44 billion ...... Department of Energy general science programs
$14.91 billion ..... Space flight, research, and supporting activities

Non-Defense Energy Spending ($2.12 billion)
$0.73 billion ...... Energy supply
$1.03 billion ...... Energy conservation and preparedness
$0.36 billion ...... Energy information, preparedness, & regulation

Natural resources and environment ($31.16 billion)
$5.45 billion ..... Water resources
$9.07 billion ..... Conservation and land management
$3.12 billion ..... Recreational & Park resources
$8.42 billion ..... Pollution control and abatement
$5.1 billion ....... Other natural resources

Agriculture ($26.02 billion)
$21.73 billion ..... Farm income stabilization & crop insurance
$4.29 billion ...... Agricultural research and services

Commerce and Housing Loan Programs ($6.82 billion)
$-4.28 billion ..... Federal Housing Loan Programs
$2.17 billion ...... Postal service
$-0.96 billion ..... Deposit insurance
$7.96 billion ...... Universal service fund
$1.93 billion ...... Other advancement of commerce

Transportation ($70.68 billion)
$36.51 billion ..... Highways and highway safety
$8.51 billion ...... Mass transit
$2.81 billion ...... Railroads
$17.26 billion ..... Air Transportation
$7.37 billion ...... Water transportation
$0.42 billion ...... Other transportation

Community and regional development ($19.1 billion)
$6.25 billion ...... Community development
$80.36 billion ...... Area and regional development
$10.15 billion ...... Disaster relief and insurance

Education ($64.07 billion)
$38.57 billion ..... Elementary, Secondary & Vocational education
$22.27 billion ..... Higher education
$3.23 billion ...... Research and general education

Training, labor and unemployment ($47.81 billion)
$6.88 billion ...... Training and employment
$1.6 billion ....... Labor law, statistics, and other administration
$139.33 billion ..... Unemployment compensation

Atlasian National Healthcare ($1153.02 billion)
$277.97 billion ... IDS Community Health Partnership (22.4%)
$219.13 billion ... ME Community Health Partnership (17.3%)
$241.23 billion ... MW Community Health Partnership (19.2%)
$230.78 billion ... NE Community Health Partnership (18.3%)
$269.41 billion ... PA Community Health Partnership (21.6%)
$16.0 billion ..... Central Administration Costs (1.2%)

Non-National Health Program Spending ($37.07 billion)
$4.7 billion ....... Disease control, public health and bioterrorism
$29.36 billion ... Health research and training
$3.01 billion ..... Food safety and occupational health and safety

Civilian Retirement (Social Security excluded) ($72.02 billion)
$4.89 billion ...... Civilian retirement and disability insurance
$58.22 billion .... Federal employee retirement and disability
$8.91 billion ...... Federal employees' and retired employees' health benefits

Aid to Low-Income Families ($206.78 billion)
$38.45 billion ..... Housing assistance
$87.58 billion ..... Food stamps
$19.3 billion ...... Other nutrition programs (WIC, school lunches)
$38.66 billion ..... Supplemental security income (SSI)
$18.21 billion ..... Family support payments (TANF)
$34.05 billion ..... Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
$13.15 billion ..... Child tax credit
$4.8 billion ....... Child care funds
$2.58 billion ...... Other aid to low-income families

General Family Support ($25.62 billion)
$6.56 billion ...... Foster care and adoption assistance
$2.92 billion ...... Child support and family support programs
$16.14 billion ..... Social and family services

Social security ($546.52 billion)
$454.4 billion ..... Old-age and survivors insurance(OASI)
$90.42 billion ..... Disability insurance (DI)

Administration of justice ($43.1 billion)
$11.35 billion ..... Federal law enforcement
$10.46 billion ..... Border security and immigration
$10.91 billion ..... Federal litigation and judicial activities
$6.16 billion ...... Federal prison system
$4.22 billion ...... Criminal justice assistance

General government administration ($17.76 billion)
$3.67 billion ...... Legislative functions
$1.14 billion ...... Executive office programs
$9.8 billion ....... IRS & other fiscal operations
$3.15 billion ...... Other general government

Misc. recent expenses ($57.03 billion)
$50.01 billion ...... Atlasian Green Jobs Act
$7.02 billion ........ Natural Disaster Relief Act of 2011

Net_interest_long ($211.08 billion)
$211.08 billion .... Net Interest


Tax Expenditures and Tax Cuts ($781.63 billion)

Corporate Tax Breaks ($60.36 billion)
$15.74 billion ..... Untaxed Foreign Profits
$9.87 billion ...... R&D Tax Breaks
$4.05 billion ...... Energy, Mining and Timber Tax Breaks
$9.93 billion ...... Tax Free Bonds
$20.77 billion ..... Other Corporate Tax Breaks

Personal Business & Investment Benefits ($86.71 billion)
$30.38 billion ..... Lower tax rates on capital gains (excluding housing)
$28.76 billion ..... Step-up basis of capital gains at death
$23.01 billion ..... Tax-Free Bonds
$1.36 billion ...... Enterprise & Empowerment Zones and New Markets credit
$3.2 billion ....... Other personal investment tax breaks

Pension & Retirement Deductions ($168.47 billion)
$51.05 billion ..... Employer-paid Pensions
$58.12 billion ..... 401Ks & Keogh plans
$7.31 billion ...... IRAs
$29.48 billion ..... Group and personal life insurance benefits
$19.77 billion ..... Untaxed Social Security benefits
$2.74 billion ...... Other retirement benefits

Health Insurance Tax Benefits ($140.99 billion)
$125.69 billion .... Employer-paid Health Insurance
$4.33 billion ...... Self-employed medical insurance premiums
$1.83 billion ...... Medical Savings/Health Savings Accounts
$9.14 billion ...... Deductibility of medical expenses

Housing tax benefits ($163.71 billion)
$76.03 billion ..... Mortgage Interest
$14.83 billion ..... Deductibility of property taxes on homes
$36.27 billion ..... Capital gains exclusion on home sales
$29.72 billion ..... Exclusion of net imputed rental income on owner-occupied homes
$2.11 billion ...... Housing bonds & low-income housing investments
$4.75 billion ...... Exception from passive loss rules for $25,000 of rental loss

Other individual deductions and exemptions ($161.39 billion)
$37.89 billion ..... Charitable contributions
$34.62 billion ..... State and local taxes (w/o home property)
$6.55 billion ...... Soldiers and veterans tax benefits
$5.94 billion ...... Workman's compensation
$14.01 billion ..... Education deductions and credits
$32.81 billion ..... Child credit
$2.81 billion ...... Child care credits and deductions
$2 billion ......... Deduction for the blind and elderly
$7.86 billion ...... Social Security benefits for disabled and survivors
$3.76 billion ...... Untaxed foreign personal income
$3.28 billion ...... Employee parking and transit expenses
$1.25 billion ...... Adoption and foster care tax credits
$6.82 billion ...... Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) (revenue loss component)
$1.79 billion ...... Other fringe benefits


Budget Summary:

New budget update total amounts to: $4254.42 billion
($3472.79 billion in direct spending,
$781.63 billion in tax expenditures and cuts).

Budget Deficit: $501.64 billion.
(This is will steadily increase, assuming all budgetary matters remain unchanged, by $35 billion each budget update.)

National Debt: $12.41 Trillion
(This will steadily increase, assuming all budgetary matters remain unchanged, by .20 trillion each budget update, until we reach budget surplus.)

[Marokai Backbeat]

Headline

"End to Imperialism Act" becomes law, presents a serious change of foreign policy direction.

(AG-I) -- Senator Napoleon's "End to Imperialism Act" recently was signed into law by President Polnut, presenting a swift change in our missions abroad. The Act ends funding for all operations in Iraq by the end of November, and for all operations in Afghanistan in October 2012.

Ending Iraqi operations is expected to save Atlasia $60 billion a year, while ending active military missions in Afghanistan, as expected in May 2012, is expected to save $10 billion a year. Remaining expenditures in Afghanistan will be eliminated toward the end of next year.

Some military experts expressed concern over the swift withdrawal of funds in Iraq, but most expect the withdrawal of forces to be completed on time in accordance with swift combat withdrawal procedure. Watchdog groups praised the Act's eventual impact on the budget, though more groups showed disappointment that the Act did not address the impact of private military contractors, which cost the Atlasian federal government 1.87 times the amount of a normal military or public employee.


Financial News
(September 15th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     879 -10 (1.12%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93125, World Index (-0.00090)
• Crude Oil = $85.55/barrel -0.20 (0.23%)

Analysis:

The market reacts poorly to the budget report today as it braces itself for Friday's employment statistics. Oil seemed to be slowing it's descent, stabilizing itself in at least the short term. Insiders express pessimism about the Senate's ability to respond to budgetary woes.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Regional Employment News
(Post-August Employment Figures)

Employment & Population Information by Region

Estimated size of the national labor force: 155,540,509.

The following lists the top three industries in each region in order:

Northeast = Service; Trade and Transportation; Health
Mideast = Manufacturing; Trade and Transportation; Service
Southeast = Agriculture; Trade and Transportation; Service
Midwest = Agriculture; Manufacturing; Government
Pacific = Government; Trade and Transportation; Health

The following lists the unemployment rate in each region (estimated number in parentheses):

Northeast = 7.0% (1,967,634)
Mideast = 7.4% (2,699,091)
Southeast = 10.4% (4,839,306)
Midwest = 8.9% (1,105,829)
Pacific = 10.7% (3,424,042)*

National = 9.0% (14,035,902)

*Now includes Oceania. Future updates will not include this notification.

The following is the breakdown of private-sector unionization figures in Atlasia by region (previous figure in parentheses):

Northeast = 15% (15%)
Mideast = 17.5% (18%)
Southeast = 10.5% (11%)
Midwest = 18.5% (17.5%)
Pacific = 26% (26.5%)

[Marokai Backbeat]

Financial News
(September 16th.)

Financial Indicators

• ANSE     881 +12 (1.37%)
• $1 Atlasian = $0.93295, World Index (+0.00170)
• Crude Oil = $85.45/barrel -0.10 (0.12%)

Analysis:

Wall Street has reason to be positive today as news that the economy gained nearly 163,000 jobs, though lower than the previous month's gains, gave traders more confidence in the Atlasian economy. Even though long-term skepticism on jobs remained, as the post-office remained in dire shape, the stock market saw much needed green.

[Marokai Backbeat]

National News

"Kill the Penny" Bill not a penny saver in the long run.

(AG-I) -- The Senate is near voting time on the "Kill the Penny Act", legislation which will, if passed, indefinitely end production of pennies. The Act purports to save money, but does it really?

According to work done by the Guardian-Informer for the Senate already, it cost 1.79 cents to make a single penny, meaning for every penny we make, it's created at a 0.0079 (of a dollar) loss. In 2010, we created four billion pennies, which amounts to a loss of $32 million. This act would reduce the supply of pennies that would've otherwise been in circulation by (using the last six years to create the average) an average of 5.8 billion pennies a year.

This amounts to $45.6 million in savings each year for the Atlasian government. But the director of the Mint has deeper concerns.

"In the long run, those savings would be completely erased by the need for an increased supply in nickels, I suspect." said Edmund C. Moy, director of the Atlasian Mint. "Ceasing production of pennies wouldn't have a serious impact on the economy for a few years, but in time, we will have to increase production of the lowest valued currency, in that case, it would be nickels."

Nickels have a loss on them just as pennies do, Moy told us, but unlike the penny, the nickel has a loss on it roughly three times the size of the loss on creating an individual penny.

"At the Mint we've discussed the potential ramifications of ceasing penny production for a very long time, actually. In time, businesses would begin rounding up prices independent of government mandate. This stresses nickel production, hence, our concerns about nickel production."

According to the Atlasian Mint, it costs at least 7.1 cents to make a nickel. Increasing nickel production would likely erase all savings caused by ceasing penny production, leaving many to wonder what the purpose of the Act is in the first place.

When asked about ways to make the legislation work, Moy did have an answer. "If we're going to start rounding up or rounding down prices to use the nickel as the lowest valued coin in circulation, there are ways to make that a functional system that does save money. One idea the Mint has considered in the past would be making the nickel out of the same material that we use to create pennies. In doing so, the nickel would have more value than what it costs to make them, and we really would save money."

The approach the Senate will finally settle on, however, remains unclear.