NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm just wondering. I'd like to have compassionate citizens and help them as much as it is possible. However, i don't want to spend 100% income tax on that. Any chance of anything like private charity, private social welfare, or something of this sort?

I'm just wondering. I'd like to have compassionate citizens and help them as much as it is possible. However, i don't want to spend 100% income tax on that. Any chance of anything like private charity, private social welfare, or something of this sort?

I'm sure there is. But honestly if you answer the issues that way, your nation will turn out that way. And if there isn't an issue yet, you're more than welcome to write one of your own! :)

I'm sure there is. But honestly if you answer the issues that way, your nation will turn out that way. And if there isn't an issue yet, you're more than welcome to write one of your own! :)

Seriously, I haven't seen a single one talking about private charity or social welfare. I played a while and all I have seen supporting social welfare were "Should hospitals/schools/etc be funded?" kind of issues. Or "X people demand help/funding"

I'd just like a clarification, are there any issues to make my country devoted to social welfare but at the same time not spending or even decreasing the country's income tax percentage ?

You control your nation's government, and so any direct action you take is usually limited to passing laws and/or providing direct support. Your citizens grow to reflect your ideology, so if they don't see the government bothering to help the needy, they'll tend to think they shouldn't have to, either.

I'm pretty sure there are issues that increase compassion without increasing taxes, though. They just might not be what you'd expect.

;13639161']You control your nation's government, and so any direct action you take is usually limited to passing laws and/or providing direct support. Your citizens grow to reflect your ideology, so if they don't see the government bothering to help the needy, they'll tend to think they shouldn't have to, either.
But what if a nation is democratic enough that its goverment already reflects the ideology of its citizens, instead? In that case, it might not "need" to help the needy by spending money raised through compulsory taxation, because they were already being helped very adequately by private charity: That's actually how things are supposed to work in St Edmund but, like Polukinthulatestussia, I haven't yet seen any issues that would let me reflect the fact properly in the nation's stats...
(I've occasionally felt tempted to try writing an issue along these lines myself...)

But what if a nation is democratic enough that its goverment already reflects the ideology of its citizens, instead? In that case, it might not "need" to help the needy by spending money raised through compulsory taxation, because they were already being helped very adequately by private charity: That's actually how things are supposed to work in St Edmund but, like Polukinthulatestussia, I haven't yet seen any issues that would let me reflect the fact properly in the nation's stats...
(I've occasionally felt tempted to try writing an issue along these lines myself...)

Go ahead and do it :) Chances are if its uniqwue and doesn't go against the no-no's it'll be edited slightly and added to the system que

But what if a nation is democratic enough that its goverment already reflects the ideology of its citizens, instead?


What's needed is a nation democratic to the extent that there is no meaningful distinction between "government" and "citizen."

Compassion, equality, low crime, and 0% taxes go together quite well. (http://www.nationstates.net/page=display_nation/nation=the%20loyal%20opposition)

Note that it will take about a year on one's fifth or sixth nation to finally get it right. :D

What's needed is a nation democratic to the extent that there is no meaningful distinction between "government" and "citizen."

Compassion, equality, low crime, and 0% taxes go together quite well. (http://www.nationstates.net/page=display_nation/nation=the%20loyal%20opposition)

Note that it will take about a year on one's fifth or sixth nation to finally get it right. :D

2 things bother me:

Why does it take so long? Perhaps i should write some issues =S...

And second thing - the country you mentioned is dedicated to social equality. Not welfare. Isn't private social welfare( e.g. favourizing private social welfare organisations and giving them an easier life ) considered social welfare, not equality?

Why does it take so long?


Because it takes a while to get a large sample of the issues that already exist, and observe their effects. The game also seems to alter statistics in small increments, tending toward more stable levels over the long run; the longer a nation exhibits a particular characteristic, the longer it will probably take to change the characteristic by changing issue positions.

This actually reflects nicely the difficulty in establishing or changing social and cultural norms in real life.


And second thing - the country you mentioned is dedicated to social equality. Not welfare. Isn't private social welfare( e.g. favourizing private social welfare organisations and giving them an easier life ) considered social welfare, not equality?

Welfare and ("private") charity are both modes of wealth redistribution, and are thus built upon the assumption of class distinctions, inequalities, and conflict. My approach is different because it focuses on building and sustaining equality on the basis of individual self-sufficiency. In such a state where each individual begins at a basic level of self-suffiency, redistribution through taxation and social welfare or "private" charity becomes unnecessary. The problem is not wealth, but rather the ownership and control of wealth. Thus, the solution is not economic ("social welfare") but is, rather, political ("social equality") in nature.

My conviction is strongly influenced by anarchist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism)/libertarian socialist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism) ideology, especially by the general concepts of mutual aid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_aid_%28politics%29) and the cooperative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperatives).