SB 115-28 Atlasian Steel Act (Tabled)

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I opposed this last time and I'll oppose it this time. All steel nationalization does is force the government to undertake a bad investment.

Once the issue with the South is resolved, I'm just going to submit my NAFTA fix-it bill. That and a more aggressive approach to China on the trade issue will help domestic steel. This won't.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

As the author of this bill, I will respond to the neoliberal nonsense posted above shortly.

If you think opposing nationalization across the board is neoliberalism, I don't know what to tell you. This bill is opposed by Peace Party members and noted non-neoliberals Christian Man and Scott, not to mention the non-neoliberal Federalist Party Senators and Yankee.

Neoliberalism is contemporarily used to refer to market-oriented reform policies such as "eliminating price controls, deregulating capital markets, lowering trade barriers"

Refusing to acknowledge the failures of the “Free Market” and burying our heads in the sand as to its consequences is a common thread of neoliberals, yes. There’s a very simple choice before the Senate; The Status Quo, which has seen a decline in our industry, our steel jobs, and the communities which they support, or they can pursue change. The government can step in do it’s job: correct the errors and violence of the so-called Free Market, which has made the steel industry one of its many victims. I’ve heard no concrete alternative presented, rather that we shouldn’t dare to do anything to protect Atlasian industry, because that would be “radical”, “centralism”, “anti-liberty”, or “authoritarian”. This claptrap aside, one must do nothing more than ask themselves: Who do you trust to exert influence and authority over the commanding heights of the economy? The private monopoly capital bosses who are accountable to none, or the elected government of this Republic, which answers to and works for the people. This is fundamentally putting our industry in the hands of the people.

In addition, I would briefly add that nationalization of our steel is a matter of national security. We’ve just faced a great assault on our union, an attempt to destroy and usurp the constitution: War was a very real possibility. In the event that another future secessionist movement sparks violence, and attempts to leave the union do we want to leave vast quantities of Atlasian steel lying around for seizing by a rebellious government? I think not. With full control over our steel, that will not be a concern. When voting on this bill, Senators must consider how much safer this will make Atlasia.

I suppose Scott is an Ayn Rand stand-in for opposing this? Yankee has also addressed your POV but you seemingly ignore that to retread what has been already addressed and confronted.

Scott opposes it for different reasons you do. He thinks it is a bad investment and offers other solutions to solve with the problem (or promises to do so). You oppose it for different reasons, like nationalization being ethically wrong or being a stepping stone towards a dictatorship and it being bad for customers which I all have said is simply not true.

Scott supposedly is of the opinion that domestic steel is done, has failed and cannot be saved and that this is why the government cannot help revitalize the steel industry. That's a completely different reason of why he opposes it than why you do. This doesn't make him an Ayn Rand-like one.

But I would appreciate if you stop referring to Scott or the user who recced a post Christian Man in making a conclusion of how Peace Party thinks over the issue. We have 7 (officially 8 but i'm excluding R) senators.

I never said steel "cannot be saved," I said that there's no evidence nationalization would work or not end up costing tens of billions of dollars.

And Chinese steel, honestly, sucks:

American steel manufacturers are held to a set of standards created by organizations like The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) that determine the appropriate chemistry mixes for different types of steel. These standards are intended as a safety precaution to ensure the right quality of metal is being used for the right product.

Companies in China are producing steel at a faster rate, flooding the market and dropping prices. It is produced at a rapid rate and it is not held up to the same quality standards as American steel. There are anti-dumping laws in place by the World Trade Organization to prevent foreign companies from exporting, or “dumping,” goods to the United States at either prices too far below the domestic price or when they flood the market with an excess quantity that is beyond the normal competition. This situation has lead to trade wars headlined by tariffs between the United States and China.

[...]

A good example of Chinese steel quality issues leading to potential danger is the Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco, California. The lower quality of the foreign steel was discovered in 2013 when a seismic test led to the discovery of 32 faulty rods that had to be replaced; they had been corroding in a large pool of water. This is especially problematic since the bridge practically connects two major fault lines, one of which was the cause of the big earthquake in 1989. A metallurgist testified that the Chinese steel was poor quality, and prone to embrittlement, which is why the rods cracked; during construction 750 panels cracked during welding and had to be replaced.

There have been a large number of reports of Chinese steel quality issues. Between 2011 and 2012 eight bridges in China, using Chinese steel, collapsed. In 2008 an earthquake struck the Sichuan province, and in one steel school that was poorly built, 700 children were crushed to death.

China's steel industry isn't doing better because they produce better steel, it is because they're violating WTO anti-dumping policies by flooding the market with a cheap, inferior product. I'm not at all opposed to government investing in steel. In fact, we passed a law requiring that all public infrastructure projects use non-imported steel. I view this as a trade issue, and China's membership in the WTO doesn't help when they're not playing by the same rules.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Aye

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Aye

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

It's been requested that the bill be tabled. I'll make a motion and request a second to do so after this vote ends, and then we'll vote on that.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

A vote is now open on the following amendment. I will remind the senate that amendment votes last 72 hours (3 days) and it is your responsibility to vote within the allotted time. You should not rely on the Senate officers to allow extra time as this is not an official practice and you are accountable if your vote is not heard.

[

]
AN ACT
To democratize the steel industry; amended from Senator Utah Neolib's amendment

Be it enacted by the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia

Quote
Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Atlasian Steel Act.

Section 2. Democratization

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

2. The establishment of the DFW (Democracy for Workers) shall be established in order to establish the right of unionization, as well as to create a democratic workplace in which workers have a direct say on profit, spending, promotions, etc.

4. The government of the DFW shall be cooperative, operating in a similar manner to businesses within Lincoln under the Consumer Protection Act. Former or current workers can be elected by regions to represent their businesses.  This will essentially reform the Board of Directors to prohibit those who are not invovled with Atlasia Steel.

5. The labor directors, consumer directors, and security and environment directors shall be elected by the workers although the president has the authority to allow the EPA and/or NSA to become involved in cases of extreme corruption, economic mismanagement, and/or violence.

6. The term of a Board director shall be four years. [/s] [/s]

Supposedly this is the amendment in question, then Laki motioned for a table. This is very confusing, partly because the formatting is a bit screwed up here.