Vote Purple State/Marokai Blue in June!

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Hypothetically speaking, you win and have to replace Marokai on the Supreme Court. What kind of justice will you nominate to the court?

Even more importantly, how are you intending to replace yourself as GM. I think most people here can agree that there are few people who could do half the job you do as GM. So do you have a poster i mind? Several? Will you assure us that the position as GM won't fall back into the state it was in before Brandon, and later you, took over and reserected the office?

Oh and good luck to you both obviously. I'm sure that you guys will take this one home.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Certainly, the hiring of one's brother to be Attorney General is not in itself improper, as that brother may have superb qualifications befitting the office. Still, we make the judgment call that our elected officials should avoid not just impropriety, but the appearance of impropriety.

I feel this is important, not because I am afraid that you will go "rogue," but because it sets poor precedent. As someone who thinks you've done a fine job as GM (and would likely do a fine job as President) I again re-iterate the call to avoid the appearance of impropriety, set a resignation or inactivity date, and set a standard for future GMs.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Hypothetically speaking, you win and have to replace Marokai on the Supreme Court. What kind of justice will you nominate to the court?

Even more importantly, how are you intending to replace yourself as GM. I think most people here can agree that there are few people who could do half the job you do as GM. So do you have a poster i mind? Several? Will you assure us that the position as GM won't fall back into the state it was in before Brandon, and later you, took over and reserected the office?

Oh and good luck to you both obviously. I'm sure that you guys will take this one home.

Thanks Swedish We're going to do our best.

Certainly, the hiring of one's brother to be Attorney General is not in itself improper, as that brother may have superb qualifications befitting the office. Still, we make the judgment call that our elected officials should avoid not just impropriety, but the appearance of impropriety.

I feel this is important, not because I am afraid that you will go "rogue," but because it sets poor precedent. As someone who thinks you've done a fine job as GM (and would likely do a fine job as President) I again re-iterate the call to avoid the appearance of impropriety, set a resignation or inactivity date, and set a standard for future GMs.

Le sigh.

As I've said this is not real life. It's completely and utterly silly to talk about "the appearance of impropriety" as a serious concern in an environment where we are all personally involved in the game, and when Atlasia is a fictional nation we all play in for our own enjoyment. How does it set poor precedent? What could possibly happen that will taint the line of Game Moderator for now and ever? Him deciding to run for office does nothing to ruin everything he does and what future GMs will do. This isn't cronyism, and that comparison is entirely inapplicable.

I have taken some simple steps of my own, for example, I will not rule on cases concerning elections. That would be a complete conflict of interest I will not try to brave. But expecting Purple State or I to step down just to run a campaign is unfair and unrealistic.

If some people are intent on accusing him or I of bias or impropriety, how I would respond is how I have always responded. If I am biased, tell me how. If Purple State is being improper, how does it affect his job. Again, this is atlasia, a game, a fictional nation where potatoes run for office and Opebo is a county name. The standard Purple State has set for GMs will not be remembered as how he decided to run for office, but his amazing dedication to the job and how he revitalized a long neglected post in Atlasia to turn it into the most highly respected position in the game and be elected 2009 Atlasian of the Year.

What I want people to focus on during this campaign is our work ethic, our accomplishments, our dedication to Atlasia, our vision for the government, our ideas and our proposals. I don't want people to waste time focusing on nebulous concepts of what they think is "improper" or just feels yucky. I only find our "precedent" a bad thing if future people who follow in our footsteps do their jobs badly. But that's not our problem.

Now.. if you have questions about the campaign or about our future policies, I will be happy to listen and respond. I want you to support us and I want to do everything I can to get anyone in Atlasia to support this ticket because they want activity and hard work in office. But your concerns on this topic have been answered and you know where we stand on them. Thank you.

[Vepres]

Hypothetically speaking, you win and have to replace Marokai on the Supreme Court. What kind of justice will you nominate to the court?

Even more importantly, how are you intending to replace yourself as GM. I think most people here can agree that there are few people who could do half the job you do as GM. So do you have a poster i mind? Several? Will you assure us that the position as GM won't fall back into the state it was in before Brandon, and later you, took over and reserected the office?

Oh and good luck to you both obviously. I'm sure that you guys will take this one home.

Ebowed would be a good choice

[Purple State]

Purple State, I have a big problem with you serving as GM while running for President, and I have a bit of an issue with Marokai remaining on the Court while running for VP as well. I know you mean well, but I can't see how you can realistically be expected to be impartial while serving as the guy who literally defines the game universe when running for the leader of said universe.

That said, assuming those issues are resolved I'd love to vote for the two of you. I'm only sad that if you win Atlasia won't ever have as good of a GM.

This is to reply to Mr. Moderate as well.

I promise to step aside when President afleitch appoints my successor.

I fully understand your concerns and I am not opposed to stepping down or being replaced as GM if the President or two-thirds of the Senate feels that my campaign creates the potential for impropriety. However, given how early this campaign was announced, the last thing I want is for the Office of the GM to lay dormant for two months. If you have any ideas about how to address this situation, please PM me and we can discuss your thoughts further.

Hypothetically speaking, you win and have to replace Marokai on the Supreme Court. What kind of justice will you nominate to the court?

Even more importantly, how are you intending to replace yourself as GM. I think most people here can agree that there are few people who could do half the job you do as GM. So do you have a poster i mind? Several? Will you assure us that the position as GM won't fall back into the state it was in before Brandon, and later you, took over and reserected the office?

Oh and good luck to you both obviously. I'm sure that you guys will take this one home.

There are obviously names I have in mind, but any real search for a replacement would be, I believe, a bit presumptuous. I still have to win this thing.

As for a rough outline of any future GM, I believe they must be both active and unbiased.

The job of GM is really just that, a job. It's tough work, especially when you are first building your credibility and very few people take your stories seriously. Future GMs need to be willing to put in the effort, day in and day out, to follow developments in the game and create relevant news to make things interesting and exciting. You need to be active to know what is going on and what sort of stories are best for pushing the game forward.

That brings me to the second key element. I use the word unbiased, rather than neutral, for a very specific reason: the GM shouldn't be neutral. At times you will need to decide that one policy is better than another or that a decision was harmful or beneficial. You need to be willing to call people out for failing to act. But that doesn't mean that personal motives or biases should ever come into the job. News needs to push the game one way or another, but it shouldn't reflect subjective standards.

Of course, these two factors rest on one very important tipping point and that is respectability. Future GMs need to be respectable Atlasians that the people trust and are willing to follow on issues ranging from the economy to foreign affairs to regional news.

[Lief 🗽]

Strongly endorsed! I'm just sad to potentially lose a great GM and a great Justice.

[Fritz]

Personally, I see no problem at all with both of you maintaining your current posts during this campaign.  And I hope that you will.

[President Mitt]

Endorsed.

[Bacon King]

I don't really see a conflict of interest with MB running, honestly, considering that the Supreme Court here isn't really the distant, quiet, and universally impartial body it is IRL. Still, I don't really like the idea of the GM running for President without first resigning his post. Not that I think PS will do something inappropriate, but it's a bad precedent to set.

But, to hell with it. I'm on board. Here's a quick sig banner I made! (five thousand hours in MSPaint)

[Marokai Backbeat]

Paint is a bitch, BK, I know The rose in the banner in my signature took forever.

Maybe we should have a banner contest!

[tmthforu94]

Maybe we should have a banner contest!

I'm in!

[yougo1000]

Maybe we should have a banner contest!

I'm in!

[Bacon King]

Wait, did you actually draw that rose with MS Paint or is my sarcasm detector broken? That must have literally taken hours.

My quick little banner actually wasn't made in paint. I used a technique I invented once when I was making drawings for t-shirt designs: draw on computer paper with a black sharpie, take picture with phone in good lighting, transfer from phone to computer, save it as a 16-color bitmap so it doesn't look like a photo, then touch up in MS Paint as necessary. Didn't get the awesome-looking feel of the stuff I've done before like that, but eh, I was rushed

But I'm in too; I'll do something better for the banner contest.

[Purple State]

A banner contest sounds like an excellent idea! Let's have entries open until Thursday, May 6 at noon EST. Then I will open a poll for all Atlasians to vote and the winning banner will go into my sig for the rest of the campaign.

Let's see what you all can do!

[Marokai Backbeat]

I believe we will have our first policy goals up within the day or next. Signifying that Purple State and I are a team, we collaborate with each other on our thoughts, but each of us primarily focuses on one area. Purple State gives his main focus to game reform, and I give my main focus to domestic policy. Each is what we consider our main expertise, but that does not and will not prevent us from having our proposals in our opposing areas of responsibility.

We will continually give very detailed policy plans throughout the campaign. We're putting everything we have into the campaign very early on and will not let up!

Stay tuned.

[Obnoxiously Slutty Girly Girl]

Personally, I see no problem at all with both of you maintaining your current posts during this campaign.  And I hope that you will.

Of course you people wouldn't- allowing this blatant conflict of interests benefits you and your ticket. Duh.

Both of these individuals should resign their posts immediately if this presidential ticket is to be taken seriously.

[Badger]

IF Purple State shouldn't serve as GM while running for president, I sincerely hope it can be arranged for it to be in the form of a temporary hiatus/leave of absence/sabbatical/whatever for the duration of the campaign rather than a potentially permanent "resignation". Regardless of our many differing views and preferences in the upcoming presidential race, I suspect almost everyone would like to have PS continue as GM if he's not elected president.

[Vepres]

Vote Purple State!

Because really, who needs an active GM anyway?

[Marokai Backbeat]

I think others are capable of doing the job, Vepres. Especially since there has been such a wonderful example laid out by Purple State in the job already, there is an easy framework to follow. It's silly to expect Purple State to be GM for all eternity.

[Badger]

I think others are capable of doing the job, Vepres. Especially since there has been such a wonderful example laid out by Purple State in the job already, there is an easy framework to follow. It's silly to expect Purple State to be GM for all eternity.

Losing PS as GM has been my one reservation about supporting this ticket (which I still do). But Blue makes an excellant point here.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I think others are capable of doing the job, Vepres. Especially since there has been such a wonderful example laid out by Purple State in the job already, there is an easy framework to follow. It's silly to expect Purple State to be GM for all eternity.

Losing PS as GM has been my one reservation about supporting this ticket (which I still do). But Blue makes an excellant point here.

Better that he can retire from the position to the Presidency than to obscurity.

[hawkeye59]

If Afleitch doesn't run, we're guaranteed to win, pretty much

[Marokai Backbeat]

If Afleitch doesn't run, we're guaranteed to win, pretty much

If Afleitch has taught me anything, it's to take nothing for granted.

[Purple State]

As Marokai alluded to earlier, today we will be rolling out two pillars of our platform to give you a taste of our intentions if elected. This post that I have written involves game reform for the Department of Forum Affairs. Marokai will post a document he has written on getting our economy back on track in the post-recession world.

We welcome any and all questions and comments.

Game Reform: Streamlining Forum Affairs

We currently face a crisis in the fundamentals of the game that, if left unaddressed, can create the opportunity for confusion and decay in our institutions. This problem is not one that can be solved by a presidential decree or a simple resolution, it is not one that any individual can solve on their own.

The Department of Forum Affairs has become too big and too complex for most Atlasians to understand and we can only fix this problem with a sustained, collective effort to streamline and simplify the process.

The guidelines for the two divisions of the DoFA, the Census Bureau and the Department of Federal Elections, are scattered throughout the game and Wiki. Some pages meant to centralize this information are woefully out of date and may actually mislead Atlasians that genuinely wish to learn the system. This not only makes our game increasingly difficult to manage effectively, but it also discourages new members from getting involved.

Before I go any further, let me give you a visual image of exactly what I mean when I say that our system is too complex and too scattered. The chart below is a representation of those parts of the Atlasian Constitution (not even looking at the statute) that govern the DoFA:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

There are at least 11 clauses in our Constitution that impact the DoFA and have been amended at least once. Of those, 4 have been amended more than once. This doesn't include the clauses that have not been amended, nor does it go into the various changes to the statutes that the DoFA must understand and abide by. This wouldn't be a problem if it were all labeled correctly and centrally located. It is not.

Such a system is untenable and so we must respond with urgency. If elected, my first act as President will be to call for the creation of an emergency DoFA reform task force empowered by the Senate to streamline the system. This task force will first identify and remove redundancy and contradictions within the system, as well as compile a single document that clearly and comprehensively centralizes all DoFA related statutes. That compilation will the be placed on the Wiki and in the first post of every DoFA thread henceforth to provide ease of access.

Once this job is complete, the task force will be given the job of ensuring that all Wiki sections dealing with the DoFA, including amendments to the Constitution, provide correct information and are labeled properly.

Some of you may ask if this is possible. They say the system is too big to change! They say the problem is too large to fix! They say we don't do "comprehensive" well! But I know that this can be done, because I have done it before.

[Marokai Backbeat]

The 3-Pronged Attack on Unemployment

Domestic Policy (Economic)

The issue of continuing and future unemployment is a grave one for Atlasia. Though unemployment is improving slowly but steadily because of the government's recovery efforts, such as the Atlasian Relief & Recovery Act, among other things, we cannot take our eye off the ball now.

There are three critical things related to unemployment that we must address, and I believe that this ticket is the best team ready to tackle the issue from day one. First, is fueling employment so it continues to grow each month. Second, sustaining employment so all our efforts are not in vain. Third, defending employment from future recessions, so we never have to deal with such crippling unemployment numbers again.

Fueling. Sustaining. Defending.

Today's policy release concerns the first stage of this plan, fueling employment further, and over the coming weeks we will craft and release our policies on the other elements of this plan.

To fuel employment, there are two avenues available to us: Temporarily easing the burden on the private sector to expand more easily, and direct involvement.

First, we would completely revise the Social and Economic Development Zones policies that have been completely avoided in this recession. The policy as it stands is too vague and ill defined, and only focuses on easing the tax burden, which we believe in insufficient. By defining the requirements for establishing SEDZ, by things such as median income levels, crime, amount of businesses closed, population size, and/or unemployment levels, we can more effectively implement them and direct them to more needy areas.

(For instance, giving preference to the Mideast region, as it has the highest unemployment rate.)

We can further streamline the process by having the Senate implement them directly and work with regional governments on their own, instead of outsourcing the establishment of SEDZ to regional governments and splitting the responsibilities in half. No more will SEDZ be a neglected tool in our economic arsenal due to red tape and ill-defined requirements.

That is just the part of the efforts to fuel employment, we can take further efforts within these SEDZ to spark much more growth on our own. First of these efforts is a new program we will push for called "Atlasia Works." Atlasia Works will be a program within all SEDZ designed to transition people off state assistance and misc. types of welfare.

A project that will enroll local employers (excluding cross-regional or international chains) willing to participate that seek to expand their business, Atlasia Works will allow eligible individuals, by requirements such as being on any form of means-tested assistance benefits for 6 months or longer, to seek jobs from employers enrolled in the program within the SEDZ to get them back to work. The government will subsidize up to 80% of the wage of the employee for the employer seeking to expand, but immediately unable to do so, for up to two years.

This program will dramatically and safely expand employment and allow for the further development of communities which is the point of the Social & Economic Development Zone policy.

(Such a program is not actually unheard of. The state of Florida, breaking out of character for a moment, instituted "Florida Get Back To Work," a temporary program which would subsidize up to 95% of wages for employers who seek to expand without the immediate means to do so for people in extended bouts with unemployment. If Florida can do it, we can too.)

Secondly, we will push for broader efforts nation-wide. We believe that normal businesses just need a little help during the fight with unemployment, and can expand on their own if only their burden on hiring was eased. We seek to implement generous hiring incentives for small businesses by giving businesses that employ less than 200 individuals $5,500 tax credits for each new individual they hire.

For big businesses and small businesses alike, however, there is one more effective tool we can used to fuel the growth of employment; a payroll tax cut. For any Atlasian business that hires, after a year upon the passage of the law, a new employee that has been out of work for more than 30 days, that business is exempt from Social Security payroll taxes on that employee for one year.

We believe we have an effective and detailed plan for fueling employment in Atlasia and ensuring that we will always have high levels of employment. But this is just one element of our plan to fuel, sustain, and defend employment, and the next stage of our plan, sustainment, will be released promptly.