2nd Term Budget

[nocturne perch]

So, if you maintain a balanced budget, Symon will say as much and state that you will be going into your second term with a larger budget. Does that mean a hypothetical 2nd term Rayne would start with 8 or more GB in 1958?

[minor crag]

Who knows

But u can make sure it will be by yourself

[rapid mortar]

I imagine that that’s Symon projecting the income that will be provided by stuff like new taxes and state company revenue

Because it’s not like the smoke tax or alchohol tax are one and done taxes

They probably will give more income over time

Though they probably only give high dividends immediately because the Sordish alchohol and tobacco industries are so big and after the taxes the revenue would be diminished slightly

[minor crag]

I love that its hinted that the tobacco industry is bigger than alcohol

[rapid mortar]

How so?

[minor crag]

Smoke bill is -3PO, Alcohol bill is -1PO

[rapid mortar]

I figured that’s because smoking is something that in the 1950s wouldn’t have had the known health problems and issues linked to it exposed yet and it was something that most people would regularly do

Compared to alchohol it isn’t widespread and there were irl temperance movements and supporters of restricting alchohol consumption

[minor crag]

""Tobacco
was recently discovered as dangerous to personal health after researchers in United
Contana published an international paper.""

Recently

[rapid mortar]

“Yet another example of Commie propaganda! Guards, seize this man”

[minor crag]

Well, another reason is Sords prefer foreign tobacco imports

Which ofc gets taxed more than Sordish ones

[rapid mortar]

Wouldn’t the tax help Sordish companies then by bolstering local industries?

[cosmic sentinel]

The tobacco tax bill is designed to bolster local industries that focus their production on exports, not on the domestic market

[sullen wagon]

Like most of the time

cutting taxes lead to same revenue

and raising taxes leads to same revenue

because when you cut taxes more stuff is produced so more stuff to tax

the exact opposite applies to raising taxes

[minor crag]

This assume cutting/raising taxes will lead to the same amount of goods decrease/increase

Which in irl and Suzerain is obv false

Case in point, Ronald Reagan corporate tax cuts led to more efficient tax collection, but its still a net loss compare to pre-tax cut

Unless u have data to back up "most of the time" statement, ur claim is baseless

[rapid mortar]

Reagan should’ve just invested in the anti-corruption police and then declared war on the USSR

[sullen wagon]

yo i am back

it of course might not lead to the SAME amount

macroeconomics involves wayy too many things for it to be "predictable"

but the most of the time part is more dependent on the blank page idea in economics

the blank page is the economy, which we will assume is balanced, stable and mediocre

in this scenario, cutting taxes will lead to a set and predictable growth which will help the economy (which leads to tax gains and other gain from other places)

and also lead to higher production, which is assumed to cover the costs of the tax cut, meaning the tax revenue is same with the addition of more economic activity

but economics is based on wayyyy too many assumptions and blank pages, this obviously doesn't exactly apply to every economy just as i wrote

the most of the time is based on positive economics and the basic economic theory, and as expected this isn't really true in real life or in Suzerain

As expected, we are the unexpected. Our economies are outside the "most of the time" that was tought in economics classes

but in the end, the basic economics and positive economics theories and assumptions help us understand an economy better, and even if things arent exactly the same irl

it still lets us understand how cutting taxes doesnt just cut revenue by the same percentage,

like how cutting taxes by 10% doesn't cut the tax revenue by 10% exactly

i hope this makes more sense now that i explained it

[sullen wagon]

and yeah you were literally right, economics are BASED ON assumptions, we assume many things so that economics is simple enough to be understood, so that we can make formulas that don't always work but give insight into how it might

[devout mason]

Will nationalizing the oligarchs actually bring an economic improvement on this second term? It certainly didn't have much economic benefit on the short run.

[rapid mortar]

Depends on other factors

[nocturne perch]

Nationalizing them as part of a consistent strategy to enact a planned economy does improve the economy. I'd argue that the main benefit (from a left-wing Rayne's perspective) is more political than economic though.

In Sordland, privatization gives the government more budget to work with, allowing you to go for some of the best economic synergies. However, privatization tends to come at the cost of basic services, reducing the quality of life for most citizens. Nationalization does the opposite, maintaining/improving services for citizens, but restricting your options for growth.

[devout mason]

I nationalized everything and still achieved Silicon Valley synergy on my last run. I'd say we're on the right path for growth.

[nocturne perch]

Ah, but did you get the free public housing at the end?

[devout mason]

Listen man, I funded every ministry, you can't do everything at once. I had to print myself out of debt.

[nocturne perch]

Well, it sounds like you kinda proved my point. You tried to fund every ministry while going for one of the most expensive economic synergies in the game while (I assume) trying to enact a planned economy.

[devout mason]

I didn't try, I succeeded at funding every ministry, getting one of the most expensive economic synergies and enacting a planned economy.

[nocturne perch]

But at the cost of plunging Sordland into a debt hole (and no free housing).

[devout mason]

Debt hole? I avoided trade war, debt crisis, and reached a neutral budget after all printing was done.

[nocturne perch]

Honestly I've always just gone for a balanced budget (fund all ministries except maintain military, skip first megaproject and go for the Bergia agriculture synergy). Is the money printing strat something you get to do if you control the central bank?

Also, wouldn't doing that cause insane inflation?

[devout mason]

The Ekonomist says it causes 76% inflation, but they're just angry my completely centralized economy is booming. And also, due to the great Sordish recovery I have only 2% inflation.

Besides, the central bank reinforcement act will be a great help for that, and the economy is strong enough for it to keep growing even after that.

And yes, you need to control the central bank. I like dictator runs.

[nocturne perch]

That honestly sounds like a dev oversight. Either the Ekonomist shouldn't say the inflation skyrocketed or Symon should confirm inflation is really bad.

[devout mason]

Well Symon yells you the inflation is 2% before you decide to print yourself out of debt. The other option you unlock with control of the central bank is using the emergency funds.

That one doesn't immediately hurt your economy, but leaves you at quite the high risk in case of a crisis.

[nocturne perch]

Well, I guess going back to my point, if you had gone for privatization, you likely wouldn't have needed to take either option since you'd have had the capital on hand to fund the synergy.

Trying to fund everything on a planned run will usually have negative consequences. That's not to say you can't get a good economy while going for planned, just that your options for getting there while not going crazy with the budget are more limited.

[devout mason]

I taxed everything to get to this point. EVERYTHING!!!

[nocturne perch]

And yet Sordland still has no free housing. Shame on you for prioritizing fancy radios over the people's welfare.

[devout mason]

The people have very good welfare. They get accessible rural education, that's also highly competitive and modernized, high quality rural healthcare, great encouragement to not smoke or drink, and plenty of job opportunities regardless of where in the country they live because I also recovered every single region.

The people love me, and it's not just because I fully nationalized Heart of Sordland.

[nocturne perch]

I got all that too, and more. Honestly, your preference for immediate growth sounds a lot like some kind of capitalist. A true Rayne of the people would just give them free housing in their first term and wait to do electronics in their second*.

[devout mason]

Well, I'm more of a statist than a Malenyevist, considering I also vetoed the WRA, took all the arcasian aid and Symon didn't leave me.

[nocturne perch]

By Nur, I've been debating a Sollist this whole time! Shame on me for not checking the flair.

[devout mason]

Gloria Tory is my VP, because I'm very committed to women's rights!

[nocturne perch]

Also, how did you keep Symon on a planned run?

[devout mason]

I wasn't Malenyevist enough for him to leave and I achieved full economic recovery.

[nocturne perch]

Do you know if he checks the political compass for determining if you're a Malenyevist or is it based on your dialogue with him?

[devout mason]

I think it's the compass, and if you're too left at a certain checkpoint he leaves. I think I managed to be right enough for him to stay by vetoing the luxury and alcohol taxes.

[nocturne perch]

Funny, considering he's the one who drafts those bills.

[devout mason]

Well opposing taxes, at least symbolically because I limit my vetoes, makes you more capitalist.

[nocturne perch]

Didn't you say you taxed everything?

[devout mason]

I did. The taxes passed. I just vetoed them knowing they would pass anyways.

[devout mason]

Increased taxes on large corporations, small and medium businesses, Value Added Tax, Tax Tobacco, Alcohol, and Luxury, and finally fixed Tax Evasion. +10 budget goes a long way to fulfilling your dreams

[nocturne perch]

But at the cost of 76% inflation and no free housing (even Soll wants free housing). I don't envy Symon during your next term*.

[devout mason]

Eh, the real number is probably no higher than 12% Ekonomist bases that number on how Malenyevist you are, not the actual state of your economy.

[nocturne perch]

The game actually scripts the Ekonomist to inflate the inflation based on how Malenyevist you are?

[devout mason]

Yup. In a different run I saw that at 149% or something like that.

[nocturne perch]

Hilarious

[quiet reef]

I never had to deal with any of this stuff

I just did whatever the ekonomist said was good