SB 107-01: Atlasian Steel Act (Rejected)

[S019]

I would like to support this bill, but I believe we need to reduce the usage of steel in general. Producing steel itself releases many carbon emissions, and if we are bringing the steel industry into government ownership, reducing steel production, itself, to deal with this problem would be ideal. If this can be remedied, I would gladly support this bill as I believe steel production can best be reduced by the government and not by the private sector. Also lol at this being communism, if it was communism, I'd never support it, I'm probably actually more capitalist than many of the opponents of this bill, but we won't go there.

I lean against this since if I'm not wrong, this is literally small-scale communism. But I could be persuaded otherwise to support this bill.

I concur with my honorable colleague. Successive Labor administrations have sought to nationalize and nationalize (e.g., taking energy companies under federal control under the Labor Red-Green New Deal). As long as this party stands in the majority, the growth of big government will never end. Nationalization of industry after industry, in this case the steel industry, is a brisk step in the march toward communism.

I am a pretty strong capitalist, but ultimately some issues are bigger than the free market or promoting competition in the market and climate change is one of those issues. It is the most important issue of our time, and dealing with it is imperative, and we are running out of time to deal with it. Sometimes we must put our principles of economic liberalism aside and recognize that sometimes the government does indeed need to intervene in the economy. I agree that we do need to be judicious about when we intervene, because too much intervention can cause economic stagnation, but I do not believe that is where this bill will take us. Also believe me if this was actually communism, I would not vote for it. (Better Dead than Red) Frankly, the post-war period is over, no one is interested in mass-nationalizing anymore. By the 1970s, it had clearly failed and with stagnation setting in, it became clear that nationalizing everything was not the answer, and indeed the neoliberal reforms made to the economy should mostly stay, but there are some exceptions of course. Rest assured that this bill is not going to take us down the path that led to the excesses of the Post-War Consensus.

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Another possible move is to put money into researching hydrogen steel

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2021/01/25/we-could-be-making-steel-from-green-hydrogen-using-less-coal/?sh=17a6f2313e5c

In fact, it has already happened, and if we can pour billions into this, we can become a leader in this new technology while much of the world is still simply dabbling in it: https://www.rechargenews.com/transition/-world-first-as-hydrogen-used-to-power-commercial-steel-production/2-1-799308

[S019]

AN ACT
To nationalize the steel industry

Be it enacted by the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Atlasian Steel Act.

Section 2. Nationalization

1. All steel manufacturers are brought into public ownership immediately upon passage of this act and shall be placed under the control of an Atlasian Steel Authority.

2. To complete the undertaking as outlined above, the Republic of Atlasia shall establish an Atlasian Steel Authority (hereafter ASA) which shall be comprised of all former privately-held steel companies and shall hold a legal monopoly in these sectors.

3. The purpose of the aforementioned ASA shall be the economization of operations and the modernization of production methods to raise safety and efficiency standards across the country, as well as provide steel at a low cost, prevent competitive waste, and co-ordinate research and development in those sectors.

4. The government of the ASA shall be federal and cooperative. In each region will be established a regional steel authority under a board of directors composed of representatives of labor, the consumers, security, and the environment. The number of labor directors shall be four, and the number of directors for all other constituencies shall be two. Each regional authority will elect five representatives to the national board of directors. Two of the national directors elected by each regional authority shall represent labor, and one each shall represent the consumers, security, and the environment.
 
5. The labor directors shall be chosen by a vote of the steel workers; the consumer directors by a vote of the regional legislature, the security and environment directors by the regional executive at the regional level and by the president at the federal level.

6. The term of a Board director shall be four years.

7. The President shall appoint a Chair of the ASA Board of Directors who shall have no vote unless they are equally divided. The Chair shall serve a four year term.

8. All persons owning any of the aforementioned industry brought into public ownership shall be fairly compensated for the sale of said industries to the Republic of Atlasia.

9. Hydrogenated Steel Pilot Project

a. 15% of all steel producers in Atlasia shall be chosen to participate in the Hydrogenated Steel Pilot Project (Hence known as HSPP).

b. HSPP shall run for 10 years, at which point a future Congress shall choose to renew the program, if it was successful, and discontinue it, if it was unsuccessful.

c. These steel producers shall study the feasibility of using electrolyzed electricity to produce pure hydrogen gas and using it in place of "met" coal to produce steel from iron

d. After 5 years, based on the success of the HSPP, steel producers chosen to participate in this program may choose to begin selling the "green hydrogen steel" to other domestic steel producers or to foreign steel producers.

e. If the HSPP is successful after 10 years, and was extended by Congress, a 10 year phaseout of "met coal" steel shall begin. The ASA shall oversee this phaseout and it shall take place in phases:

Phase 0 (complete): 15% of Atlasian steel producers
Phase 1 (Years 1-3): 35% of Atlasian steel producers (additional 20%)
Phase 2 (Years 3-6): 65% of Atlasian steel producers (additional 30%)
Phase 4 (Years 6-8): 90% of Atlasian steel producers (Additional 25)
Phase 5 (Years 8-10): 100% of Atlasian steel producers (Additional 10%)

f. $500 billion shall be allocated to the HSPP over a period of 10 years

g. Appropriations shall be paid for by a 2.5% VAT, which shall raise $80 billion a year

Source for the last numbers: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/23106/1001662-Creating-an-American-Value-Added-Tax.PDF

[S019]

AYE

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Reluctant AYE, I don’t think nationalization is the best way forward, but I support the measures to modernize steel, I expect the right will denationalize it whenever they get back in power anyways.