NationStates Jolt Archive

I have just submitted a proposal and i would like you to read it and tell me your views, and maybe approve it.
http://www.nationstates.net/cgi-bin/index.cgi/43610/page=UN_proposal/start=105

Thank you Emperor Khoda

Small Companies Advertising
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.


Category: Free Trade
Strength: Significant
Proposed by: Khoda

Description: Smaller Business' are not making enough profit because of larger corporations, these corporations are bringing in loads of money and every day and the smaller companys (Mainly family run business') are not making enough money.
I propose that Smaller Business' get free advertising so that they can compete in the markets.
This free advertising will allow companies to grow, and more business' will be started up and the economy of UN countries will grow.
All inudstries that are family run will be affected. The smaller countries which have joined the UN will be able to grow at an increasing speed.
If you vote for then:
Smaller Companies will get free advertising

If you vote against then:
Larger companies will swallow up the smaller companies and the economy will begin to fall.

Approvals: 0

Status: Lacking Support (requires 143 more approvals)

Voting Ends: Tue Jan 27 2004

We do not agree with this because we don’t like to discriminate something because it is successful.

Your proposal also does not define what is meant by a large and by a small company.

Our minister of language and culture informs me that there should be no apostrophe (‘) after ‘business’ (it should be businesses) unless you are describing something belonging to businesses.

Desdemona,
UN representative,
The Back New World

Well my spelling and grammer isn't that good.
Small: Family Business
Large: Corporation
Thankyou

That has to be stated in your proposal for it to be effective.

It is also possible for family businesses to earn more then corporations. I feel it would be better to base it on earnings rather then ownership.

I suggest that you get more feedback and then submit your proposal again.

Desdemona,
UN representative,
The Back New World

Well my spelling and grammer isn't that good.
Small: Family Business
Large: Corporation
Thankyou

Anything inbetween? Also, what about a company started by a family that grew up to be a massive corporation, but is still run by the original family? Also, define corporation. And what about small businesses started by friends? Really, there should be an actual definition like "small business is any company worth less than $xxxx or equivalent".

Plus, any further definition needs to be in the proposal, not just on the boards. So please, if you submit it again, add in these things. Although even if you did I don't know if I'd support it, because I'm not sure of the argument. In addition it wouldn't work in my country because I (accidentally) banned private enterprise.

We can foster small business through incubator programs, tax forgiveness to offset startup costs, low interest government secured loans, job fairs and training.

The ads you speak of would not be truly free. They would either be paid for out of taxes, or their necessary costs would be borne by the advertising agencies, the media, and their personnel who would be going unpaid for their work.

I do not support it as it is dicriminating against someone's hard work :( :wink:

The Rogue Nation of Greenspoint feels this issue is one that should be handled by the individual nations and not addressed by the U.N.

James Moehlman
Asst. Manager ico U.N. Affairs

The economy will not fall if you have lots of big companies, :)

This is not going to work, because it is anti-competitive. Free advertising to small business? Sheesh. If they can't compete, then they can't compete. Remember, every "big" business was once a small business. You don't start a company from nothing to multi-national corporation in one day.

ebay was started in someone's garage selling his own things, wal-mart was just a store in Arkansas, Mcdonalds was just a single store in Indiana, Microsoft was just a small company Bill Gates started to write software.

It's a testament to their genius, marketing, some luck and the system of capitalism that made these companies very big and very rich. Bad companies go bankrupt and die. That's a good thing, it creates more efficiency in the market and produces more goods and services for less money.

Come on, do you really want to go to a "mom and pop" store and pay 20% more for the same loaf of bread and gallon of milk or wouldn't you rather go to Wal-Mart? Come on, tell me you'd rather pay more money for the same products, I dare you.

"Free advertising" is just retarded. All advertising involves some expenditure of resources. If the business advertising does not foot the bill, then someone else willl, whether he wants to or not.

Come on, do you really want to go to a "mom and pop" store and pay 20% more for the same loaf of bread and gallon of milk or wouldn't you rather go to Wal-Mart? Come on, tell me you'd rather pay more money for the same products, I dare you.
I would (I’m assuming that a mom and pop store is a family business) but I don’t see why anyone else has to.

Desdemona,
UN representative,
The Back New World

The United Socialist States of Digit4lis, a newly independent nation, wishes to introduce itself to the world stage by entering the debate on this issue.

The USSD's economy is based on products manufactured in plants owned and operated by the workers and are controlled by the Central Ministry of Goods and Services.

And because quality craftsmanship is a trademark of a worker's pride, and not fear of competition, there is no competitve market. With no competitive market, there is no need for corporate advertising. Since the CMGS does not spend money on advertising, products made in USSD plants and factories are less expensive.

If the powers that be see fit to grant the United Socialist States of Digit4lis membership to the United Nations, our ambassador would be obliged to vote against such a resolution.

Though if it were rewritten with numbers proving a that such a resolution would lighten a financial burden from the individual. IE: proving it to be more cost effective than other small business programs, we may be inclinded to change our stance.

Our Minsiter of Foriegn History would also like to point out to our esteemed colleague Theseus that McDonalds' first store was located in the Chicago suburbs of Illinois, not Indiana.

I'll re-write the law when i get time.

I'll re-write the law when i get time.


Good, :wink:

Heres the re-written law, add more as you please:
The Law Re-Written:
Larger companies and corporations are taking too much control of the economy of small and large nations causing smaller companies (Mainly Family Business’s) to go bankrupt or fall short of there earnings making it almost impossible for small business’s to survive on such an income.
If these businesses were given free support in the form of advertising paid by the government (Tax Payers money) then the smaller businesses would have a chance of surviving.
Of course there would have to be a few cut-off points and regulations.
1. A business can only have this support if:
Financial advisors of the company say they are struggling
Family Run business – No employees outside of immediate family
Business is officially ‘bankrupt’ and they are unable to attract customers

2. A business can not have this support if:
Financial advisors of the company say they are making a healthy profit
More than 10 people are working for the company

3. A committee is formed and a member of the committee must inspect company and look at financial report.

Khoda, you're setting your barriers too low. You can't even help a convenience store with this one.

1. A business can only have this support if:
Financial advisors of the company say they are struggling
Family Run business ? No employees outside of immediate family
Business is officially ?bankrupt? and they are unable to attract customers
"Yeah, I'm duh advisor of dese fine peepul, and dey deserve yaw support" Who decides what counts as an advisor?
No non-family employees? So I can't hire some high school kids to wash dishes at my restaurant? Gotta have the 8-year-old twins working the dinner rush?
Advertising for bankrupt businesses? They've already proven they don't really know how to compete in the market. You want to toss government funding their way?

2. A business can not have this support if:
Financial advisors of the company say they are making a healthy profit
More than 10 people are working for the company
Again with the advisors. Who defines healthy? And these rigid numbers just don't work, Khoda.

Small business is more than mom-and-pop stores. A successful brokerage might run through millions of dollars with only three employees. A failing restaurant might emply 50. You've totally excluded small industry, typically 50-500 employees, who are the producers of new goods in your nation. And you've picked advertising as the cure-all for the problems, which frankly it isn't. All you're doing is providing an extremely targeted subsidy for a very small group, and you're feeding a group (the advertising business) who may not need it at all.

I don't happen to think that this belongs on the international stage at all, Khoda ... but if you're interested in feedback for feedback's sake, go back and write a more general proposal to help out small business with subsidized loans or tax credits. None of this would even apply in about half of the governmental systems in NationStates, but nobody's stopping you from posting about it.

*Excuse*Im only 15*excuse*

Maybe the law should just be left. It could work if a ystem like the EU was put in place.

It's still a retarded idea. There's no valid reason to force people who don't care about that company to subsidize its advertising.

*Excuse*Im only 15*excuse*

Since you are only 15, maybe you should understand the laws of economics and finance before you start doing corporate welfare resolutions. =)

The Holy Republic of Dalichae would suggest that while it's clear the author of this proposal clearly has the best intentions- the proposal is economically not feasable.

A company grows and prospers or fizzles and fails simply on the strength of its marketing plan and implementation. With the right product and the right price, any company can succeed.

Healthy competition breeds success, growth and prosperity. That's what makes Capitalism the most lucrative economic model ever implemented. Giving free advertising gives small businesses a crutch, and only prolongs the inevitable- if the product is bad, the price is wrong, the implementation poor, all the free advertising in the world won't save it.

You also must consider who will pay for this free advertising. The cost would be shifted to taxpayers. And if you raise their taxes to pay for this advertising, they will have less money to buy the goods and services from those very companies you propose to assist. Not to mention newspapers, magazines, television, radio and all other venues which rely on advertising dollars to succeed will suffer enormous finanial burdons, as no doubt the government would be forced to put advertising price controls in effect if this law were passed.

So while your heart is clearly in the right place, the proposal cannot succeed. We of the Holy Republic of Dalichae however wish you luck in your future endeavors.

With so many problems in societies the world over, and indeed global crises, _Myopia_ feels there are better things we could be spending money on than advertising.