Post Archive
Region: Libertatem
Possible, but more than likely it's people who joined and saw the word "war" and "defeat communism" but then realized this was a game about solving issues.
Miencraft, Pevvania, Condealism Envoy Unit One
Anyways, what I wanted to happen is happening. Sans a few folks, all the really stupidly named nations are CTEing... now that I'm back recruiting will be a priority again.
This is good! A nice automatic clear-out of all the dead nations and non-contributors is what we need. Even if we drop down to 100 nations or lower, our recruitment run was successful, because it brought several new, active contributors to the region.
Miencraft, Kings Island, Hallo Island, Condealism Envoy Unit One
Islamic Comintern has been bombed to the ground.
Comintern Members Down: 1
Comintern Members to Go: 16
Kings Island, Humpheria In Libertatem, Condealism Envoy Unit One
Well, here we are - fighting for the forces of democracy against the authoritarian left, just like the old days.
Personally, I liked our period of peaceful retirement, but it's like Ronald Reagan said in his California Gubernatorial Inauguration Speech: "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again."
Miencraft, Pevvania, Hallo Island
With 3 Hallo/ 1 Abs/ 1 NV, Hallo Island has been elected Chairman.
I thank my voters, and I promise this board term to be productive and effective. We will continue and expand the war on communism/authoritarianism, and continue to strengthen Libertatem's government and infrastructure. I promise efficiency, transparency, and strength.
Miencraft, Humpheria In Libertatem
If there's one thing correct about your accusation, it's that our mistake was the same as Reagan's - but the terrorists we supported and refused to bear arms against during my Presidency were the regions associated with the Comintern and Antifa! This is a mistake we will not repeat.
In the words of Winston Churchill, "The Fascists of the future will call themselves anti-Fascists." Our goal is, and has always been, to roll back the destructive influence of totalitarianism and defeat the organizations that have replaced fascism with more fascism. But rest assured - when this Comintern falls at the hands of democracy's proponents, and the Fleet becomes shipwrecked on the shores of regional sovereignty and liberty, the destruction of the fascists will come next.
Pevvania
What, too strongly worded?
Not in the least
I can vouch for Hallo island as having honesty and integrity, and I am excited to see the transparency his chairmanship and future endeavors will bring.
Cool! That's what was going on. 5 more days until I can join in.
Actually, I think I'll use this puppet here. And make it permanent, this time.
Finally. Yay!
Pevvania, Condealism
What a coincidence, that this raid happened on the firate day of LeftExpo.
LeftWhatpo?
It's this forum thread the left regions on nation states do every year where they get together and talk about god knows what.
Oh.
Excuse me, the first day.
Sorry, I accidentally clicked on the move button to Islamic Comintern.
What a productive day! We tagged Islamic Comintern and saved The Hyatt Islands from a Communist invasion.
Good work to the 20+ REATO operatives (including Steam Mercs) and several others from different regions who volunteered to fight against imperialism.
But we still have a lot of work to go, so if all available WAs could move a nation to The Hyatt Islands to endorse the delegate, please do so. TG me for the password.
Kings Island, Condealism
(fundamentalist) Islam is an ideology of hate, yet the socialists am all too keen on allying with them. Well deserved tag.
Hell yeah!!!
Pevvania
I encourage all citizens to begin writing and proposing legislation. I eagerly await seeing what our fresh minds in Libertatem can accomplish, and I reccomend that they get started in politics early! I welcome the new generation of Libertatemites, and would like to see their ideas for our great region.
Kings Island
I am proud to say my nation's first military operation was the protection of our glorious region's close allies, The Hyatt Islands, and Wovenland has now got a taste for Commie blood.
Of those 20+ operatives, the IRU has lent six. Not bad for our first real operation in more than half a year.
Pevvania
Thank you! I plan to announce the formation of a new party and a legislative agenda for said party as soon as I gain citizenship.
If we have a precedent for citizenship transfers (I can't quite remember where our region stands on that), I'd like to replace my main nation with this one on the citizenship register.
Regardless of whether or not I'm able to do that, I would also like to announce that I seek membership in the Reaganist Libertarian Party. (And in case it wasn't already obvious, ACOP is more or less disbanded.)
Citizenship transfer are by precedent allowed.
Welcome!
Excellent job guys!
Later on today I'm going to put up some proposals for review. Any legislation still in waiting or that has not been presented yet, today is a good day to present it.
Congrats to Hallo on becoming chairman!
New citizens: next time board elections come around, give it a shot! It's a great place to get involved!
Sure.
Seems spqr has returned. But has he matured? =P
FRAUD Act
Future Regional Activity Unfair Discourse Act*
Section I
Purpose of the Act
Subsection I
Clarify specific laws on puppet use
Subsection II
Address voter fraud
Subsection III
Foreign puppets
Subsection IV
Citizenship
Section II
Clarify specific laws on puppet use
Subsection I
Any nation classified as a Citizen is entitled to the use of puppets
Subsection II
Said puppets ARE NOT Citizens, and do not have voting rights nor the right to stand for public office
Subsection III
Puppets of foreign, non-citizen nations, when not officially representing a foreign region, may not apply for citizenship
Subsection IV
Citizens are entitled the ability to exchange citizenship between the nations under their control, but only if the receiving nation is also eligible for citizenship
Subsection V
All public offices and ranks shall be transferred along with their respective nations
Section III
Address voter fraud
Subsection I
Any Citizen may have only one vote in any office or legislative election or referendum
Subsection II
Only Citizens of Libertatem may vote in any office or legislative election or referendum
Subsection III
No nation that has resided in Libertatem for less than five days may apply for citizenship
Subsection IV
Any nation convicted of voter fraud will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by the sitting Attorney-General
Section IV
Foreign dignitaries
Subsection I
Foreign nations acting on behalf of any foreign entity must identify themselves as dignitaries to be granted proper rights
Subsection II
These puppets must identify themselves as foreign dignitaries to the manager of internal affairs before being granted citizenship
Subsection III
After having residency for at least ten days, these nations may apply for citizenship
Subsection IV
If a foreign dignitary retires from their diplomatic position before they are eligible for citizenship, yet remains in Libertatem in an unofficial capacity, their required residency period will be lowered to no more than five days unless granted citizenship by the board
Section V
Citizenship
Subsection I
Only Citizens may hold office and vote in public elections, they are not required to do either
Subsection II
One must be a resident by at least five days before being eligible for citizenship
Subsection III
Citizens who wish to stand for public office must identify their World Assembly if any nation to the President or Manager of Internal Affairs
Subsection IV
Once attaining office, they must inform the President or Manager of Internal Affairs the location of their World Assembly nation whenever relevant
Subsection V
After the residency requirement is met, a nation must notify the Manager of Internal Affairs
Subsection VI
The Manager of Internal Affairs will keep a public list of Citizens, and will manage the status and list of Citizens appropriately
Section VI
Annulment of Citizenship
Subsection I
Every Citizen has the right to renounce their Citizenship
Subsection II
Once renounced, their Citizenship can be restored upon an application to the Manager of Internal Affairs followed by enduring the five day waiting period once more
Subsection III
Alternatively, an individual that has renounced citizenship may bypass the five day waiting period, at the Board's discretion
Subsection IV
Citizenship of a nation can be revoked by the Manager of Internal Affairs or President, on the grounds of treason or other grievous violation of the law[/box]
Authored by [nation]Humpheria[/nation] and signed into law by [nation]Pevvania[/nation].
*Act amended by [nation=short]The New United States[/nation] on 27th of June 2014. Amended material highlighted in bold.
Some simple changes, lowering citizenship requirements. Changes underlined.
Changes in bold and underlined
The WAR Act
Section IV
Establish official guidelines for the government of Libertatem, when handling SC proposals and votes
Subsection I
The President shall be given the discretion of voting on SC proposals and votes however they wish, and shall be trusted to vote in a fashion that benefits Libertatem
Subsection II
The citizenry of Libertatem are entitled to vote on SC matters however they wish, except in the event of an SC liberation on a region captured by Libertatem
Section III
In the event of a SC liberation against a region captured by Libertatem, it will be considered treasonous and punishable to the highest degree of Libertatem law to vote "for" unless explicit instructions to vote "for" are given by the incumbent President
Do we have to vote on these or did you just push them through with executive order?
I believe it was an executive order. Assuming that's correct, I will shortly apply for citizenship.
https://youtu.be/HaZpZQG2z10
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/bitburg.html
Given the opportunity to pay his respects to the victims of the Holocaust at concentration camps like Dachau, Ronald Reagan instead decided it much more important to lay wreathes on the graves of Waffen-SS members against the very public protests of thousands of Holocaust survivors like Elie Wiesel. In an attempt to contain the uproar against him, Reagan eventually relented upon his visit to Germany and visited Bergen-Belsen, leading Menachem Z. Rosensaft to say, "Today we say to them that they can either honor the memory of the victims of Belsen, or they can honor the SS. They cannot do both. And by entering Bitburg, they desecrate the memory of all those who were murdered by the SS, and of all those whom they pretended to commemorate here at Belsen."
I guess it's true, scratch a Republican or a right-"libertarian" and you'll find a Nazi!
Industrial City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkbr0uTKpkM
I made this for y'all so you better appreciate it. Especially you, [nation=short]Pevvania[/nation].
Well, the joke's on you, because I like The Offspring.
Are you implying someone doesn't?
Post self-deleted by Trf Submarine Group I.
Here's a line of questioning that minimum wage advocates cannot answer.
A: The minimum wage should be X!
Q: Why?
A: Because it'll raise wages for poor people!
Q: OK, if a minimum wage of X would result in higher wages, then why don't you want a minimum wage worth 100X?
A: 100X?! That's ridiculous! That would cause unemployment.
Q: So if a minimum wage that high would cause unemployment, at what point does the minimum wage not cause unemployment?
A: Umm, well.. It's... Uh... YOU'RE A FASCIST WHO HATES POOR PEOPLE!!!
Vote on them, sorry I'll make clear next time.
Just out of interest, how does increasing the minimum wage produce unemployment?
Put simply, raising the cost of hiring displaces marginal workers, because businesses often cannot afford to increase the wages of employees that produce less than their co-workers. Therefore, the minimum wage is a price floor that hurts lower-income workers and non-whites that have lower productivities. Being Classically Liberal puts it this way: "seeing as the minimum wage is a price floor which is set above the market equilibrium price, which is where the quantity of labor supplied equals the quantity of labor demanded, microeconomic theory predicts that there will be a surplus of unsold labor, which is called unemployment." - https://www.facebook.com/notes/687788521255573/
The counter-argument to all this is that any negative effects of minimum wage increases are offset by multipliers resulting from increased consumer spending, with workers using their pay raises to put money back into businesses, meaning that they can hire more people, improve productivity and so on. But this strikes me as a very 'trickle-down economics'-based argument that fails to make an obvious connection: a business cannot gain more in revenues from paying their low-skilled workers more if they can't pay them at all.
Another often-cited argument is that wages would not rise without minimum wage laws, but this seems to be fairly obvious, since 99% of workers earn above the minimum wage. Capitalists must compete for a worker's labour as much as a worker must compete to work for the capitalist, which is why companies must pay employees close to the value of their labour in accordance with supply and demand.
The minimum wage is essentially a price floor that punishes young, black and poor workers for producing less. For this, it is a monstrous tool of the bourgeoisie and the state that has destroyed entire communities of people. This is all not just true in economic theory, but the empirical evidence supports this as well. If you want to help the workers and poor people, fight for a $0 minimum wage.
85% of studies on the minimum wage have shown job losses and reduced job opportunities for low-skilled workers: http://www.socsci.uci.edu/~dneumark/min_wage_review.pdf
Employment Policy Institute study on the subject:
http://www.epionline.org/studies/sabia_05-2006.pdf
http://www.epionline.org/study/r144/
A good introductory video on the minimum wage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct1Moeaa-W8
Some other articles: https://www.facebook.com/notes/being-classically-liberal/empirical-data-shows-the-harmful-effects-of-minimum-wage-laws/661156887252070
https://www.facebook.com/notes/676139835753775/
Kings Island, Condealism
Wouldn't it all be easier if you just had central planning, eh?
Happy independence days guys, if you know what i mean 😉😉😉
did i misread or did you mistype your first sentence or are there actually people that think the only reason a business making billions of dollars in profit can't afford to raise wages is because of minimum wage?
counting $0.50 above minimum wage also seems like it's cheating. you're also ignoring that a lot of minimum wage jobs have high turn over and are not the kind ones you can really have a wage dispute over. the reality is that depending on region there can be anywhere from 2x to 10x more unemployed people than jobs and the competition between workers for jobs is stronger than the competition between capitalists for workers. to thinks the guys that put up advice on how to claim benefits in their break rooms are fighting tooth and nail against each other to hire unskilled labour at the lowest possible wage when there are 10 more people that will take their place they can pay is delusional.
i also struggle to understand the other arguments. i found a post from a manager on the subject and it was very interesting. apparently he was debating with a guy and the guy was legitimately shocked when he was told that no if minimum wage was halved he would not hire twice as many workers. in order to maximize profit he is already working with the least workers he can get away while still running the place. if he has 3 janitors and 5 cooks and has to pay them $7.25 is he going to go hire 6 janitors and 10 cooks if we get rid of minimum wage? of course he isn't. he would be, in his own words, be a bad manager if he wasn't already getting rid of excess labour. i really can't understand why he would hire more workers than he needs to just because he could pay them less.
Well perhaps if there was less regulation and costs imposed on businesses by the federal government then perhaps they could afford to pay their employees more
Pevvania
Yeah, those Chinese sweatshops are really struggling to find labour. It's absolutely not as if anybody in the third world is forced to choose between earning less than three dollars a day or starvation, is it? Oh, wait. It is.
Hallo Island
I mean, considering the fact that less than three dollars a day is a significant improvement over absolutely nothing, especially in countries where absolutely nothing is the norm...
Pevvania
But what it does prove is that there is little to no competition amongst employers for workers. If you wanted people to work for you, you wouldn't offer them pay as awful as that.
You're using the example of sweatshops (often the only viable source of income) to prove that there isn't competition.
Well, of course there isn't going to be competition for employment if the only means of employment is sweatshop labor; everyone's going to be flocking to them anyways because that's the best income they have. There's no need to compete for something that you're guaranteed to get.
Also, "awful" is really, really subjective. I literally just said that it's a great improvement over what they would normally make. Just because we think it's bad doesn't mean they don't see two dollars per day as a blessing.
but why would they?
if the argument is that minimum wage puts the wage above what their market worth would actually be then surely the result of repealing minimum wages laws would be that their wages would fall back into line with the value of their labour (i.e. down)? and like i said, companies that make literal billions do it as well, they are not being strangled by regulation and wish they could pay higher wages but just can't those poor souls. it is not an "afford" problem.
exactly our point
I'm sure they are very grateful for the pittance they make-after all, without it they'd be dead. But these sweatshops are a result of your capitalist system. The produce they make goes to rich first world countries and is sold at a price much greater than production cost and yet somehow those who actually make the product still earn so little.
Two dollars a day is an awful wage, even if the alternative is death. What you're trying to say here is that because of two awful options one of them is worse than the other the other must therefore be good, which is clearly BS.
Hey guys! Whaddya think of this eh?
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/30/cuba-first-eliminate-mother-baby-hiv-transmission
Ah, the advantages of a system that works for the good of the people, and not to line the pockets of the upper echelons of society.
Businesses know that they can't pay their employees crappy wages because of competition. Businesses have to futher themselves and in order to do that they need employees. Businesses have to make a certain percentage or they go under, and when you increase regulation and increase costs to run said business, it causes companies not to be able to pay employees as much. If you cut back regulation and restrictions and abolish minimum wage, businesses would pay whatever other competition would for jobs.
Post self-deleted by Alyakia.
i don't feel like you actually addressed what i said. what government regulation is so big that a $5bn profit company cannot raise wages? why do you think there would be fierce competition for mostly unskilled labour when there are 10 people for every available job?
and again, isn't the fundamental point here that the problem with minimum wage is that it makes them pay more than they would otherwise pay, causing unemployment somehow?
The meagre wages offered by sweatshops often lead to domestic spending and eventually wealth, as was seen in the Asian Tigers (Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan).
So far as wages in developed countries are concerned, the minimum wage is a non-issue. In a truly free market workers would be allowed to form company unions (they currently can't in the US).
In such an economy the negotiations between employers and unions would lead to wages being set at the market price.
Why do you think the only available areas of employment are in giant corporations?
Unless of course, you are like Wal-mart, and lobby for the minimum wage increase, just so you can eliminate competition, and maintain a monopoly.
Employment follows the line of supply and demand. If there is a heavy demand for something, wages would increase. If there is a low demand, wages do not. And regardless, having a job in a low demand situation is better than having nothing.
But then you completely miss the entire purpose of competition:
When competition is occurring, quality of pretty much everything rises because one would need to get ahead of their competitors; produce better goods for less, and you will sell more and make more money.
Without competition, you just get stagnation because nobody's trying to improve over anyone else, which is the driving force behind a capitalist economy: everyone has to be better than everyone else to get ahead, and those who can't do this fall out and have to go try something different.
With employment, if there is literally only one option that is literally infinitely better than the alternative, of course they're not going to change anything because, 1) it works, 2) there's no alternative so there's no reason to change anything, and 3) everyone is doing this.
I mean, sure, sweatshop conditions are bad compared to what we know, but compared to the alternative in the areas in which they exist they're a godsend. Otherwise they wouldn't be there in the first place.
It seems to me like you didn't actually read Pev's argument.
he seems to be using the predominate argument against minimum wage. if he isn't then what he said makes no sense/
What?
Hi, thought I would provide you guys with some helpful advice! ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQGZ0A5t7Yk
so when supply massively outstrips demand, there is no reason to increase wages? cool, can't wait to see all the wage increases that will come when we are free from government regulation.
because if smaller businesses are less likely to be able to increase wages regardless of minimum wage they are of questionable relevance to "well if government regulation specifically the one saying they need higher wages than they might otherwise get was gone they could afford to increase their wages"
look at the video he linked
It is not just about billion dollar corporations, there are small businesses that get destroyed by it.
Miencraft
Arguably more so than the large ones.
and what is your proposed solution? there is a reason the living wage is called the living wage. welfare? inhuman super workers with 3 jobs?
Most people who are under the minimum wage get a raise within the next six months.
Plus, if Thoreau could reduce his expenses to less than $10,000 a year, I don't see why it's not possible for anyone else too.
Also, many people do take 2 jobs.
As i have stated before, get rid of regulation, make to where starting a business is not like getting a kidney stone removed. Do you know how much you have to spend on licenses and property to get going? Not to mention when the tax man comes rolling around. So if you make where it is easier to create a business, then more jobs are created.
Miencraft, Pevvania
i'm not familiar with the name. i do remember there was one guy that tried going poor as an experiment and it was fine... until his family got sick and he had to quit the experiment. not realizing that actually poor people do not have the option of deciding to not be poor anymore when serious difficulty come thus making the experiment basically useless. is that who you mean?
The guy who did the mcdonald's experiment is that who you are talking about?
The government ought to focus on employment, not wages. After all, it's not exactly utilitarian to attempt to increase the standard of living for those who can find employment at the expense of those who can't.
Large companies like Walmart can afford higher wages, yes. But small businesses cannot. The decline of local business has caused massive unemployment and restricts the ability of middle class individuals to open businesses and improve their lives.
https://dummidumbwit.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/575042_504320486270904_1139964968_n.png?w=640
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/64/76/5a/64765af6fc513155d3815821a183b3c1.jpg
But there's also a reason minimum-wage jobs pay as low as they do; you're not supposed to make a living off of them. You're supposed to use them as extra income while you go find a better job or get skills to move along.
Wonderful debating there guys but...
Is there anyone for/against my proposed changes?
I am against them all. They are bad. I hate them.
I'm for them.
Ave Libertatem, devoted to liberty and individual rights and protections from encroachment by the state!
...unless, of course, you disagree with the State of Libertatem.
(you do realize that we didn't ban dissenters in TI or NK, right?)
so the plan is to just hope there's a constant stream of kids to do them? because someone needs to do them and not everyone can move up, be that due to their skills or the economy or otherwise.
You didn't ban dissenters in NK? Hilarious.
Love it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI6a7WySFsU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5rVD_TXrjo
https://www.youtube.com/user/xaxie1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38K9X5PMLRU
Hey, why is Rothbard Communities not banjected yet?
Because we don't do that here.
As if typing the letters H I L A R I O U and S somehow makes an argument.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFCRYgNIV4o
We're nice people, you know. Really just out to help the poor. Seriously, you ought to join us-just lay down your arms, change your region name, add a bit of red and gold to your flag, maybe a hammer and sickle, make a few changes to your legislation and I'm sure our regions could get on fine, living in wonderful harmony.
BTW, saw one of you guys posted "The 'truth' about Karl Marx" by your lord and saviour Stefan Molyneux, just thought I'd put these out there:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlpQPR9j7yU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN5OjzEfQmI
I don't doubt that you're nice people, but does communism really help the poor? I mean, quite a few poor farmers died in the Great Leap Forward.
Of course it helps the poor. It's just a touch unpleasant for the excessively rich who can afford to lose a little bit.
Quick answer is "yes, obviously"
http://i.imgur.com/sYBPnCR.png
http://i.imgur.com/GPn3dXG.jpg
stats from "Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution" by Robert C. Allen.
http://i.imgur.com/hUoNzy3.png
stats from "North Korea: Markets and Military Rule" by Hazel Smith, p.33
also Cuba has been verified by WHO as having fully prevented HIV and syphilis transmissions from mothers to their children. that's an incredible medical achievement, and was accomplished without a profit motive!
From?
The Chinese government attempted to boost steel production by forcing farmers to build and work in local mills. As a result, crops were left to rot in the fields.
Estimates of the ensuing deaths from famine range from 20 to 46 million, most of whom were poor farmers and laborers. I very much doubt the newly wealthy beurocratic class starved.
Assembled with Dot's Region Saver.
Written by Refuge Isle.