The Northeast Gazette Presents: A Debate on Northeastern Independence

[pikachu]

Guess I'll be starting this off...

First, I'd like to thank my Lieutenant Governor for moderating this debate.

Second, I'd like to preemptively thank my opponent, Assemblyman Clyde, for so far running a civil and positive campaign so far. This has been a time of increased negativity in Atlasia, so he's been a breath of fresh air in our public discourse.

To put it simply, I believe that the Northeast is better off in its current situation in Atlasia than it would be as an independent state. Now, to be clear, that does not mean I support the status quo of our region and our country. I do think that the next Constitutional Convention should provide for stronger powers for the regions, and I have voted for a devolution resolution in my past. I strongly hope that delegates to the ConCon realize there is a significant contingent of people who want this.

However, I do not believe that there is any particularly compelling reason to be independent. We are already quite well represented federally in Atlasia (check the list of recent federal officeholders from the Northeast I posted in the NFUA thread). Even with our not particularly high amount of powers and enormous statute, we've still managed to have an active region with competitive elections. Our regional economy is on the stronger side of Atlasia, and will almost definitely be stronger in Atlasia than out of it. Of course, there are many more reasons why I believe we're better off inside, but I'll save those for later in the debate. I look forward to a civil and reasoned discussion.

[pikachu]

Pikachu: Would you accept fewer regions (like 2 or 3) if it meant increasing the powers that they have, and do you think that would be the answer to Atlasia's doldrums? I guess, then, if we're talking about increasing regional powers, where do we stop under your proposal and where do Atlasia's powers start? (Same Q I asked Clyde). 

My apologies for the delay, I've been a bit busy irl.

I've been a proponent of consolidation recently, and have come around to the view that it's necessary that we have 3 regions. Of course, this would likely involve territorial changes to the Northeast, but I feel that it's necessary if this game wants to have multiple functional regions, and even in the one particularly functional region (us), we still have issues filling all of our offices. Personally, I'd like us to have more power when it comes to taxes, trade, and regulation, among other things, while relying on the federal government for things like defense, central banking, foreign policy, etc. I do think that a fleshed out devolution proposal is best left for the ConCon.

[pikachu]

Sorry for the late response- it's move-in week, so I haven't had the time to write something particularly substantial until now.

I don't think that we need all the powers because the federal government provides the Northeast several things that help us and our economy. The federal government built the interstates which allow for us to get our food and goods from the rest of Atlasia. The federal government gave us a lot of assistance in the building of a high speed rail system, an enormous undertaking which would've been tough for us to do by ourself. The federal government is responsible for a lot of the welfare that our people receive. The federal government provides for our defense and safety, especially considering that we do have some very high risk terrorist targets which are icons of Western civilization. Ultimately, the federal government, when working functionally, does a lot of good for us, and hopefully, when it functions well again, will continue to do a lot of good for us.

[pikachu]

I guess more questions wouldn't be bad, right?

So to Clyde, how do you plan to keep officeholders satisfied with a setup of just 7 officeholders, considering that almost every Assemblyperson who has served during our time in Atlasia has attempted to run for federal office at some point or another?