SENATE BILL: Pacific Emergency Stimulus (Law'd)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The VP may declare the amendment as having been adopted.

[Sopranos Republican]

With no objections filed, the amendment has been adopted.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So what now?

[President Tyrion]

I'll have another amendment for this soon.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Broadly, I want to see us tie this money to specific goals. I know some regionalists may be up in arms over this, but I think it's the best way to make progress. I'd also like to explore providing businesses incentive to return/hire/whatever in the region, and drop their tax rate which is apparently entirely too high compared to other regions, pass their constitution, all while providing them with the capital to get this done. Maybe we should send someone like Oakvale down there to help them along?

By providing the money to the region now, the Federal government may even see a profit from the loan in the future if we are able to get them turned around. A healthy Pacific is good for all of us, and I intend to make that my dying wish should I not be around for another term.

[PJ]

Broadly, I want to see us tie this money to specific goals. I know some regionalists may be up in arms over this, but I think it's the best way to make progress. I'd also like to explore providing businesses incentive to return/hire/whatever in the region, and drop their tax rate which is apparently entirely too high compared to other regions, pass their constitution, all while providing them with the capital to get this done. Maybe we should send someone like Oakvale down there to help them along?

By providing the money to the region now, the Federal government may even see a profit from the loan in the future if we are able to get them turned around. A healthy Pacific is good for all of us, and I intend to make that my dying wish should I not be around for another term.

Bold: we already did this.
Italicized: This is something I've been looking into, and I'm currently torn on what to cut. We are currently discussing the budget.
Underlined: Currently discussing this, and it is likely to pass. How exactly would this tie into the stimulus?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Broadly, I want to see us tie this money to specific goals. I know some regionalists may be up in arms over this, but I think it's the best way to make progress. I'd also like to explore providing businesses incentive to return/hire/whatever in the region, and drop their tax rate which is apparently entirely too high compared to other regions, pass their constitution, all while providing them with the capital to get this done. Maybe we should send someone like Oakvale down there to help them along?

By providing the money to the region now, the Federal government may even see a profit from the loan in the future if we are able to get them turned around. A healthy Pacific is good for all of us, and I intend to make that my dying wish should I not be around for another term.

Bold: we already did this.
Italicized: This is something I've been looking into, and I'm currently torn on what to cut. We are currently discussing the budget.
Underlined: Currently discussing this, and it is likely to pass. How exactly would this tie into the stimulus?

Just my general musings.. it has nothing to do with this.

I guess the problem is, I don't know what you all have done to get the ball rolling. I am on your side though in terms of wanting to get you the money though, so I am not trying to come across as critical at all. I just want to make sure we do this thing the right way. I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to see a thriving Pacific again.

[PJ]

Broadly, I want to see us tie this money to specific goals. I know some regionalists may be up in arms over this, but I think it's the best way to make progress. I'd also like to explore providing businesses incentive to return/hire/whatever in the region, and drop their tax rate which is apparently entirely too high compared to other regions, pass their constitution, all while providing them with the capital to get this done. Maybe we should send someone like Oakvale down there to help them along?

By providing the money to the region now, the Federal government may even see a profit from the loan in the future if we are able to get them turned around. A healthy Pacific is good for all of us, and I intend to make that my dying wish should I not be around for another term.

Bold: we already did this.
Italicized: This is something I've been looking into, and I'm currently torn on what to cut. We are currently discussing the budget.
Underlined: Currently discussing this, and it is likely to pass. How exactly would this tie into the stimulus?

Just my general musings.. it has nothing to do with this.

I guess the problem is, I don't know what you all have done to get the ball rolling. I am on your side though in terms of wanting to get you the money though, so I am not trying to come across as critical at all. I just want to make sure we do this thing the right way. I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to see a thriving Pacific again.

How about simply stating which causes the bills should go towards? A certain portion towards unemployment/job creating programs, a certain portion towards reducing the deficit, etc.

[tmthforu94]

An amendment:

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[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

That is the goal I think we want to reach on this. Where it needs to go, what to use it for, etc.

Additional, we can discuss giving you tax breaks and tax holidays at the federal level that you cannot do at the regional to allow businesses to hire again and the like until you get to a certain level of employment, which I never thought of because I had 4 classes today and have been here for too long tonight.


If I wasn't dead tired tonight, I would dive into it now, but I will get more into detail tomorrow.

[Potus]

I'm the author of this amendment and the next few to come and I've been given permission to speak in their defense.

Fritzcare includes a federal payroll tax. That payroll tax is currently levied on both employers and their employees. This is an obvious deterrent for employers to hire new people. The Pacific region is facing astronomical unemployment and measures must be taken at the federal level to incentivize job growth. Suspending the employer payroll tax does just that.

Families in the Pacific region are no doubt in awful shape. The economic climate with extraordinary tax rates and a government willing to put 80 billion dollars on the credit card has led to tough times for them all. Providing a payroll tax break for these individuals is not just good moral sense, it's also good economic sense. The payroll tax reduction will free up consumer spending and allow companies to drum up more business. This is also indirect aid to the Pacific government in the form of sales tax revenue.

The spending approach currently outlined in the stimulus plan is stimulus in name only. The nature of a stimulus plan isn't shoveling tax payer dollars into an 80 billion dollar whole and hope some of creates a job here or there. The nature of stimulus spending is that it needs to focus on getting money directly into the economy, not into the regional government. By taking measures to drum up economic activity, this tax relief actually provides stimulus to the economy of the Pacific region.

Economic growth is the key to solving the Pacific's budget problems. With a top tax rate of 30%, they are squandering any good the stimulus money would do them. Passing pro-growth measures to increase tax revenue and reduce government dependence will work wonders for the Pacific budget. That's economic stimulus. The current plan is a tax-payer funded plug in an 80 billion dollar hole.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

My understanding is that the Fritzcare payroll tax is solely on the employee.  I do agree nevertheless that it is a major economic burden.

[Potus]

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Excerpt from the Fritzcare Act.

[President Tyrion]

Tmth's amendment is friendly, and I applaud Mr. Keaton on his work.

I will say that it's certainly reasonable to state that "shoveling" money at the problem isn't a tenable short or long term solution, if I'm understanding your meaning of the word. We need to promote responsible growth.

I also applaud both our President and my Governor for engaging in a dialogue on the issue. I'll be happy to see what Duke brings to the table; his tax law expertise is incredibly valuable. 

[Sec. of State Superique]

I would like to remember you guys that despite that not being booked in our budget, as SoIA, I've activated the SEDZI Act and we are currently supplying the Pacfic with more than 65 billion according to previous GM Griffin Estimates.

[Oakvale]

Hello Senators,

The President has appointed me as the managing director of his Save The Pacific Project to act as a liason between the administration, the Senate, and the Pacific government throughout its recovery effort. With that in mind, I humbly request that this bill be amended to grant my office as Managing Director of the project some oversight powers over the appropriation of stimulus funds. I think we can all agree that such money should come with strict conditions attached, not least passing a functioning Constitution. As is, the committee proposed in the bill would, I fear, be prone to gridlock.

If I were to be granted such oversight powers I would of course look forward to reporting regularly to the Senate and White House on the progress that we're making in the region.

I should also note that as Managing Director of the project I applaud Senator's Tmth's recently proposed amendment to this bill as exactly the kind of help the Pacific region needs.

[tmthforu94]

Another amendment:

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I still think clause 1 can be simplified, but I want to get Oakvale's involvement taken care of first.


Also, Tyrion and Yankee - I accidentally overwrote the above amendment, so I had to redo it. Therefore, the wording may be slightly changed. To clear up any confusion, I ask Senator Tyrion to please read it again and accept it as friendly.

[President Tyrion]

Alright, so first my housekeeping:

tmth's first amendment, with respect to payroll taxes, is friendly.

tmth's second amendment, with respect to Oakvale, is friendly.

[President Tyrion]

Is the "Save the Pacific Project" currently legislated, or do we need to create Oakvale's position in this bill?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am planning to just make this a mega-bill and get the ball rolling.

[President Tyrion]

I would like to remember you guys that despite that not being booked in our budget, as SoIA, I've activated the SEDZI Act and we are currently supplying the Pacfic with more than 65 billion according to previous GM Griffin Estimates.

What? I don't think the Pacific meets all of the requirements to become a SEDZ.

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#3 is relevant here. I don't think that the median income (per capita, I assume) is lower than $21,000.

[Potus]

Has the median income requirement been changed since the Basic Income Guarantee was implemented? I mean, a couple with a child makes more than $21,000 a year. If there has been no revision of the median income requirement, then the stimulus bill ought to waive that requirement.

Does the enactment of SEDZI mean that we are spending 65 billion dollars off the books? That would mean we're running a deficit.

[President Tyrion]

Has the median income requirement been changed since the Basic Income Guarantee was implemented? I mean, a couple with a child makes more than $21,000 a year. If there has been no revision of the median income requirement, then the stimulus bill ought to waive that requirement.

Does the enactment of SEDZI mean that we are spending 65 billion dollars off the books? That would mean we're running a deficit.

The median income requirement has not been changed, and I think that's something worth addressing. Because of the Basic Income Guarantee, such a median income threshold is almost essentially literally impossible to undercut.

This stimulus bill technically does not need to touch that median income requirement, however, as we can classify it as a top-down stimulus as opposed to classifying the whole region as a SEDZ.

I believe that Superique's interpretation of SEDZI would in fact authorize $65 billion of spending. However, SEDZI isn't a blank check, and I don't think it should be interpreted that way, so I'm not sure that the spending is actually happening.

In any case, we are actually currently running a deficit. Since the last budget, we have increased spending by quite a bit, via Nixcome and various smaller bills, so we are quite comfortable in deficit mode.

[President Tyrion]

Do note that SEDZ payouts are capped at $15 million.

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Furthermore, from the Pacific Crisis Stimulus Act, we actually amended the SEDZI Administration section, but still included the following clause:

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This implies, to me anyway, that we would still need to provide Senate approval before the SoIA can relinquish the funds.

[Potus]

More spending isn't the answer. If we gave some massive sum of money to the regional government, it still wouldn't affect any real, longterm economic growth. Shovel ready jobs are very rarely shovel ready. The conversation here can't revolve on how much we're going to spend and how we're going to spend it, especially when we are running a deficit. There are more fiscally responsible and more effective forms of stimulus, such as more tax relief.

Any regionalist concerns with the federal government bailing out a regional could should be quickly dispatched if the stimulus revolves around tax relief. It isn't spending the other regions' tax dollars on any sort of program. It's letting Pacific citizens keep their own money. No other region would be financing the tax relief. It would be more effective, avoid the concerns of other regions, and also be more fiscally responsible.

I've said this before, we have a growth problem. Our attention need to be on growing the Pacific economy, which in turn provides higher revenues for the Pacific regional government. A direct regional bailout, which is what the proposed spending is, should be leveraged to encourage a reduction in taxes and improve the business climate. I know the Governor has said they're working on it, but the taxpayers need assurance that their money isn't being spent on an irresponsible, ineffective Pacific bailout.