NationStates Jolt Archive

If any of you, my fellow capitalists, value the stability of your countries' economies, then I would not merely urge you, but beseech you, vote down the current UN resolution setting a cap on the work week!

Few nations could possibly have much to gain, and service-oriented economies, such as mine, have so much to lose. I have read many a country's profile, including my own, which says,
"The country is either ruled by a small, efficient government, or a conglomerate of large, multi-national corporations. It is difficult to tell which."
If this resolution passes, countries with policies akin to my own will certainly crumble under the weight of economic repression.
But the reasons this proposal is so grossly inadequate are no wholly ethical, they are also economic. If this the proposed legislation passes, I know exactly how it will turn out. Take for instance the gambling industry, my country's primary source of revinue. Casinos are 24-hour businesses, and if the work week is shortened, these businesses will be forced to hire many more employees, draining income and thus forcing the government to raise taxes and tariffs, affecting the entire world market.
The only thing I can think of that would even make this resolution worthy of becoming such, is if it, along with shortening the work week, destroyed those troublesome workers unions. But I read no such clause in the proposal.

This proposal is mundane. I didn't join the UN to have little green men tell me my people can work for only 40 hours a week. That's nothing. Welcome to life, where people actually have to WORK for a living. I'm not going to pay millions of welfare from the tax money I get from workers. People need to learn that work is part of human nature, the way we now survive. Without it we would just stand around, get welfare, get fat, consume without replacing, etc. Liberals need to quit buying pot with welfare and LIVE. Therefore Dictator LG presents the following counterplan(at the cost of nations rights):

1)We allow nations to set their own average work weeks.

2)We allow workers limited vacation time, set by the nation.

3)We limit welfare to a percentage set by the nation.

4)We make the liberals take a Cannibusaholic Anonymus course so they can use their currently exorbitant welfare checks to buy necesary things for their family, like food, for instance.

5)We allow nations to set a minimum working age.

6)We allow nations to have the right to pick their own labor laws, and set their own limits (see aforementioned resolution).
Then we can all be happy. The liberals can allow the citizens to work for an hour a week and live off welfare, the conservatives beat their sweatshop worker children with whips, the communists distribute everything, and the moderates not give a crap.

"Welcome to the real world, huh baby?"--Cypher
"Anarchy isn't bad as long as we're in control of it."--Magdhans

Dictator LG

This proposal is mundane. I didn't join the UN to have little green men tell me my people can work for only 40 hours a week. That's nothing. Welcome to life, where people actually have to WORK for a living. I'm not going to pay millions of welfare from the tax money I get from workers. People need to learn that work is part of human nature, the way we now survive. Without it we would just stand around, get welfare, get fat, consume without replacing, etc. Liberals need to quit buying pot with welfare and LIVE. Therefore Dictator LG presents the following counterplan(at the cost of nations rights):

1)We allow nations to set their own average work weeks.

2)We allow workers limited vacation time, set by the nation.

3)We limit welfare to a percentage set by the nation.

4)We make the liberals take a Cannibusaholic Anonymus course so they can use their currently exorbitant welfare checks to buy necesary things for their family, like food, for instance.

5)We allow nations to set a minimum working age.

6)We allow nations to have the right to pick their own labor laws, and set their own limits (see aforementioned resolution).
Then we can all be happy. The liberals can allow the citizens to work for an hour a week and live off welfare, the conservatives beat their sweatshop worker children with whips, the communists distribute everything, and the moderates not give a crap.

"Welcome to the real world, huh baby?"--Cypher
"Anarchy isn't bad as long as we're in control of it."--Magdhans

Dictator LG

This proposal is mundane. I didn't join the UN to have little green men tell me my people can work for only 40 hours a week. That's nothing. Welcome to life, where people actually have to WORK for a living. I'm not going to pay millions of welfare from the tax money I get from workers. People need to learn that work is part of human nature, the way we now survive. Without it we would just stand around, get welfare, get fat, consume without replacing, etc. Liberals need to quit buying pot with welfare and LIVE. Therefore Dictator LG presents the following counterplan(at the cost of nations rights):

1)We allow nations to set their own average work weeks.

2)We allow workers limited vacation time, set by the nation.

3)We limit welfare to a percentage set by the nation.

4)We make the liberals take a Cannibusaholic Anonymus course so they can use their currently exorbitant welfare checks to buy necesary things for their family, like food, for instance.

5)We allow nations to set a minimum working age.

6)We allow nations to have the right to pick their own labor laws, and set their own limits (see aforementioned resolution).
Then we can all be happy. The liberals can allow the citizens to work for an hour a week and live off welfare, the conservatives beat their sweatshop worker children with whips, the communists distribute everything, and the moderates not give a crap.

"Welcome to the real world, huh baby?"--Cypher
"Anarchy isn't bad as long as we're in control of it."--Magdhans

Dictator LG

This proposal is mundane. I didn't join the UN to have little green men tell me my people can work for only 40 hours a week. That's nothing. Welcome to life, where people actually have to WORK for a living. I'm not going to pay millions of welfare from the tax money I get from workers. People need to learn that work is part of human nature, the way we now survive. Without it we would just stand around, get welfare, get fat, consume without replacing, etc. Liberals need to quit buying pot with welfare and LIVE. Therefore Dictator LG presents the following counterplan(at the cost of nations rights):

1)We allow nations to set their own average work weeks.

2)We allow workers limited vacation time, set by the nation.

3)We limit welfare to a percentage set by the nation.

4)We make the liberals take a Cannibusaholic Anonymus course so they can use their currently exorbitant welfare checks to buy necesary things for their family, like food, for instance.

5)We allow nations to set a minimum working age.

6)We allow nations to have the right to pick their own labor laws, and set their own limits (see aforementioned resolution).
Then we can all be happy. The liberals can allow the citizens to work for an hour a week and live off welfare, the conservatives beat their sweatshop worker children with whips, the communists distribute everything, and the moderates not give a crap.

"Welcome to the real world, huh baby?"--Cypher
"Anarchy isn't bad as long as we're in control of it."--Magdhans

Dictator LG

This proposal is mundane. I didn't join the UN to have little green men tell me my people can work for only 40 hours a week. That's nothing. Welcome to life, where people actually have to WORK for a living. I'm not going to pay millions of welfare from the tax money I get from workers. People need to learn that work is part of human nature, the way we now survive. Without it we would just stand around, get welfare, get fat, consume without replacing, etc. Liberals need to quit buying pot with welfare and LIVE. Therefore Dictator LG presents the following counterplan(at the cost of nations rights):

1)We allow nations to set their own average work weeks.

2)We allow workers limited vacation time, set by the nation.

3)We limit welfare to a percentage set by the nation.

4)We make the liberals take a Cannibusaholic Anonymus course so they can use their currently exorbitant welfare checks to buy necesary things for their family, like food, for instance.

5)We allow nations to set a minimum working age.

6)We allow nations to have the right to pick their own labor laws, and set their own limits (see aforementioned resolution).
Then we can all be happy. The liberals can allow the citizens to work for an hour a week and live off welfare, the conservatives beat their sweatshop worker children with whips, the communists distribute everything, and the moderates not give a crap.

"Welcome to the real world, huh baby?"--Cypher
"Anarchy isn't bad as long as we're in control of it."--Magdhans

Dictator LG

Um, usually double posting is frowned upon, and certainly sextuple posting is reaaaaaaaaaaaally bad.

Since you sextuple posted, you now have to get kicked in the shin 6 times.

Puh-leeze. Sweatshop conditions kill. Just ban buying drugs from welfare.

The Confederacy of Polish Warriors declares this resolution a beautiful act of legislation that benefits the quality of life for an individual. How is this you capitalists might ask? Simple! I myself do not allow for others to define me by my proffession(sp) I as an individual; practicing free will am so much more than that. I enjoy my work which is a lot more than I can say for alot of people Sure economically it would be better not to have a mandatory 40hr work week or employee rights via workers unions but at what cost to the quality of life? persute of happiness?etc. And most disturbing of all, look how our fast paced economy and environment have affected human behaivior especially in children. Have you not seen the de-evolution of manners, social tact, respect for anything, even basic f**king human compassion for ones fellow man!? This can be directly related to employees having to work way too much in order to obtain a set of materialistic goals because they buy into mindless consumerism that tells them what they need. Also Families now have to have both parents working in order to make ends meet which takes away from quality time with thier children and or each other. If kids do not get the attention and love they deserve because their parents are too busy working and don't have time for them well look at what we have now. This is to me much more of a personal freedoms issue than economic. I mean when your kid is raised in the earliest and most influential stages of thier life by a daycare that to me anyway is messed up. People should have the freedom to raise their families and not be constrained by psyschotic work scheduals. I'm not lazy at all. I work my ass off I put in extra time I'm not paid for often. But not at the expense of my personal enjoyment of life or my family. In closing, I work to live I don't live to work.
Eagerly awiting your reply,
The Confederacy of Polish Warriors

Well, even if this resolution is going to be as 'poisonous' as you think it is, just leave the UN if it gets passed. Simple as that.

I must agree with Levex on this issue. Yes, some socialist nations may whine about "finding true happiness" and "quality of life", but when your country's economy falls through the floor because of this ridiculous cap on labor, what will you say then? Do you really think that, when all your citizens are living in low-income government-sponsored housing and taxes are at an all-time high to pay for it that you will really have, in the end, improved your quality of life?

Although many of the socialist nations may like to deny it, the economy is what is really supporting your quality of life. Sure, you can spend time with your family, but when you don't have enough money to enjoy it in a safe, fun, and comfortable environment, that time is worthless. We should look to Nature, the all-knowing and ever-present, for insight. Species live on die based on survival of the fittest: those who are the most adapted to their environment, or more specifically those who have the advantage, survive, and like it or not disadvantaged genotypes are slowly eradicated.

The same evolutionary phenomenon can be observed in this issue. The companies that require a workweek of greater than 40 hours, and the individuals who work extra overtime to gain extra pay, are at an "evolutionary" advantage. Those who favor a 40-hour cap are simply not willing to do what it takes to gain their own advantage, which causes them to fear extinction.

Healthy competition and adaptation to modern needs is what has driven the advancement of our society since the days of the ancient empires of Sumeria, Egypt, China, and India. This proposed legislation is only a self-protective measure, proposed by those less-productive members of society, who intend to protect themselves from fair and natural competition. Passing this legislation will devastate economies everywhere, unfairly stifle national political freedom, and ultimately impede human progress. As not only a fellow leader in our national forum but as a fellow human, I implore you to reject this legislation.

[Sponsored by the Incorporated Government of Theodonesia]

I am planning on doing just that. I don't want anyone forcing BS about civil rights down my civilians throat(braiinwashing) turning them into slaves.

MY COUNTRY WANTS FREEDOM!!!
and this resolution is a roadblock

Um, usually double posting is frowned upon, and certainly sextuple posting is reaaaaaaaaaaaally bad.

Since you sextuple posted, you now have to get kicked in the shin 6 times.

Puh-leeze. Sweatshop conditions kill. Just ban buying drugs from welfare.

Wow. My internet sux, sorry, kept clicking "post", will happily accept shin-kicking.

Yeah "evolutionary advantage" survival of the fittest eh? So be it then but
that is just the problem! too many are out for themselves stepping on others for personal gain. this objectivism will not work. Are you willing to say screw my children they; will grow up right on their own?! What does it come down to $$$ or life life life? Does a big car or a huge house make you feel better about being a human? Or that you accomplished this "thing" (car, house, money etc... now onward to the other "thing" (marriage, having children..etc) these are not things to own or a massive prestige bonus they are "things" that's all except for marriage and children. The simple stuff in life is what matters; making your wife/ girlfriend /boyfriend whatever happy. watching your children grow up happy and being able to take more than a crummy two week vacation and see places before your 65 and crusty. Why do people have to wait to experiance these things? Hey I work my ass off as a teacher and put in time that I do not get paid for am I going to be rubbed out cause I chose to be a teacher?! ; I hope not and not at the expense of what really matters ...my family and my own life.

The Confederacy of Polish Warriors declares this resolution a beautiful act of legislation that benefits the quality of life for an individual. How is this you capitalists might ask? Simple! I myself do not allow for others to define me by my proffession(sp) I as an individual; practicing free will am so much more than that. I enjoy my work which is a lot more than I can say for alot of people Sure economically it would be better not to have a mandatory 40hr work week or employee rights via workers unions but at what cost to the quality of life? persute of happiness?etc. And most disturbing of all, look how our fast paced economy and environment have affected human behaivior especially in children. Have you not seen the de-evolution of manners, social tact, respect for anything, even basic f**king human compassion for ones fellow man!? This can be directly related to employees having to work way too much in order to obtain a set of materialistic goals because they buy into mindless consumerism that tells them what they need. Also Families now have to have both parents working in order to make ends meet which takes away from quality time with thier children and or each other. If kids do not get the attention and love they deserve because their parents are too busy working and don't have time for them well look at what we have now. This is to me much more of a personal freedoms issue than economic. I mean when your kid is raised in the earliest and most influential stages of thier life by a daycare that to me anyway is messed up. People should have the freedom to raise their families and not be constrained by psyschotic work scheduals. I'm not lazy at all. I work my ass off I put in extra time I'm not paid for often. But not at the expense of my personal enjoyment of life or my family. In closing, I work to live I don't live to work.
Eagerly awiting your reply,
The Confederacy of Polish Warriors

People should also be free to leave their kids at day care, and free to work more than 40 hours a week and do whatever the hell they want. You are not only bashing the economy with this proposition but are also limiting the rights of those who like the work more than 40 hours a week or like to "buy into consumerism." The blade swings both ways and you're only seeing one side of the issue. You may be right from a social welfare point of view but you also contradict yourself saying that by not working as much people will be able to pursue happiness and quality of life will be better. You couldn't be more wrong. This proposition is a disgrace and only serves to further enslave the peoples of the world, as it is there aren't enough civil rights. If you are as concerned about freedom of choice as you claim to be you will vote against this proposition and come to realize that businesses have rights as well. Just as people have the right to quit a business if they don't like the hours. Personal Freedom and Pursuit of Happiness right?

I voted AGAINST the 40 hour work week. Some must work more than that to survive, I in the RL, being one of them.

Go and visit Germany sometime and see how socialism works. shops close at 5:00 and major company workers My father in law works for DEA(a large oil company formerly Texaco) take alot of vacation. Do you see Germany's economy going to hell? check the Euro out sometime versus the dollar and tell me who's economy is stronger? also The DeutchMark was only 2-1 dollar not bad even before the Euro.

Hey I gotta car (99 taurus) a home that I own a wife and two cats plus cable I'm not boasting by any means but I do all this honestly working no more than 40 hours a week. Check Starbucks out sometime and see how many full time employees they have one per store-the manager all the other employees never work over 40 hrs and they get excellent health coverage plus tips everyweek depending on how many hours you work
60$-30$ not bad for not having to work ot. Also. this resolution is not taking awy the employees right to work OT up an extra 40hrs. That's 80 hrs a week. Unless your working at Micky D's tha't totally reasonable.

Hey I gotta car (99 taurus) a home that I own a wife and two cats plus cable I'm not boasting by any means but I do all this honestly working no more than 40 hours a week. Check Starbucks out sometime and see how many full time employees they have one per store-the manager all the other employees never work over 40 hrs and they get excellent health coverage plus tips everyweek depending on how many hours you work
60$-30$ not bad for not having to work ot. Also. this resolution is not taking awy the employees right to work OT up an extra 40hrs. That's 80 hrs a week. Unless your working at Micky D's tha't totally reasonable.

Yeah, it is, cuz if it wasn't then why would it be? And how the hell do you own two cats, that's amazing. They're so expensive.

Go and visit Germany sometime and see how socialism works. shops close at 5:00 and major company workers My father in law works for DEA(a large oil company formerly Texaco) take alot of vacation. Do you see Germany's economy going to hell? check the Euro out sometime versus the dollar and tell me who's economy is stronger? also The DeutchMark was only 2-1 dollar not bad even before the Euro.

This past march I was in europe, (more specifically in Germany) and I can tell you with direct experience that you're filled to capacity with excrement. 1) Deutchmarks are no longer in circulation. 2) The USDollar was at a very significant disadvantage to the euro. iirc...it was something like 1.60 to 1 EU (read: it's a hell of a lot more expensive to be an American in europe than a European in America). Therefore, despite the fact that it looks like fancy monopoly money, it is not in fact play money. The US dollar has been falling for some time (though I haven't checked it in about a month).

It's not surprising that someone working for an oil company would take a lot of vacation. Their's a lot of crony politics cushioning the wallets of large oil companies in the US.

A rather foolish sarcastic reply nerfalot. Can you not refute this evidence?
that's happening right here on America and being that The coffee company is fortune 500; kinda hard to argue eh?

Go and visit Germany sometime and see how socialism works. shops close at 5:00 and major company workers My father in law works for DEA(a large oil company formerly Texaco) take alot of vacation. Do you see Germany's economy going to hell? check the Euro out sometime versus the dollar and tell me who's economy is stronger? also The DeutchMark was only 2-1 dollar not bad even before the Euro.

This past march I was in europe, (more specifically in Germany) and I can tell you with direct experience that you're filled to capacity with excrement. 1) Deutchmarks are no longer in circulation. 2) The USDollar was at a very significant disadvantage to the euro. iirc...it was something like 1.60 to 1 EU (read: it's a hell of a lot more expensive to be an American in europe than a European in America). Therefore, despite the fact that it looks like fancy monopoly money, it is not in fact play money. The US dollar has been falling for some time (though I haven't checked it in about a month).

It's not surprising that someone working for an oil company would take a lot of vacation. Their's a lot of crony politics cushioning the wallets of large oil companies in the US. Duh fool! What I was saying was that two years ago the deutch was only 2 marks to one dollar When the Euro opened it was 1.19 to the american dollar so what's your point? the euro has always been stronger

A rather foolish sarcastic reply nerfalot. Can you not refute this evidence?
that's happening right here on America and being that The coffee company is fortune 500; kinda hard to argue eh?

You'd think so wouldn't you?

I can refute any "evidence" you can find. I just don't feel like arguing over it. Rather than argue, I'll just spew pointless rhetoric about you being stupid. and then be like "you're dumb" and stop wasting my time on tihis.

well done defeated debator! you revert to name calling. The wit just keeps rolling from you.

@honourable Polish warrior,

we are strongy rejecting your argument. We have already laid out our position in the forum "Resolution Up For Vote: The 40 Hour Workweek" and we therefore don´t want to repeat everything here. But your a just mistaken in regard of shop closing hours in Germany. Shops have never closed at 5 pm. Up until 1997 the legal closing hour was 6.30 pm (Mo-Fr) and 4 pm on Saturday.
In 1997 they have been liberalized: to 8 pm (MO-FR) and 6 o´clock on Saturday. Last year was another round of liberalisation up to 8 o´clock on all weekdays. Further liberalisation are under discussion.
However: Socialists are blocking them and are sabotaging this reform process. Unfortunately they still having a lot of power. With there overregulations they have strangulated the German economy. It is having the lowest growth rates of european union.

Sincerely yours

Marc Smith, president of Kybernetia, region Futura

@honourable Polish warrior,

we are strongy rejecting your argument. We have already laid out our position in the forum "Resolution Up For Vote: The 40 Hour Workweek" and we therefore don´t want to repeat everything here. But your a just mistaken in regard of shop closing hours in Germany. Shops have never closed at 5 pm. Up until 1997 the legal closing hour was 6.30 pm (Mo-Fr) and 4 pm on Saturday.
In 1997 they have been liberalized: to 8 pm (MO-FR) and 6 o´clock on Saturday. Last year was another round of liberalisation up to 8 o´clock on all weekdays. Further liberalisation are under discussion.
However: Socialists are blocking them and are sabotaging this reform process. Unfortunately they still having a lot of power. With there overregulations they have strangulated the German economy. It is having the lowest growth rates of european union.

Sincerely yours

Marc Smith, president of Kybernetia, region Futura

Comrades!

This resolution is, simply put, and outrage. The Soviet Union's economy thrives on the 96-hour work week (unpayed Saturdays included), and will leave the UN if this passes. Another case of revisionist Maoists trying to subvert our great nation and prevent the Bright Socialist Future by crippling our economy.

Death to the counter-revolution!

Premier Taras Metanov

80 hours a week is 11½ hours a day, every day. That is, slightly less than half of the entire week. That's a lot, and I think it's high enough as an upper limit. If you need to be running 24/7, hire 2 or 3 shifts of workers, something which most businesses already do. Pay them overtime if necessary.

Two things I would like to say:

1) My country greatly values its civil rights. If a maximum of 40 hours in the work week is forced upon every citizen, certainly those people would not look kindly upon it. Each individual business should have the right to set its own mandatory working schedule, and if that is not an attractive idea to employees, there is a myriad of other companies with very different policies they could leave to work for.

2) As for the Euro vs. Dollar debate, I feel I must point out that a lot of Europeans work many more than 40 hours per week. And besides, the European union encompases a huge portion of the continent, and thus adds the strength of a good variety of individual economies. The UN does not combine countries' economies at all. Now, if a resolution were to be brought to the table regarding that issue, I might support it.

Fellow Lovers of Liberty,

If you care about your national sovereignty, we humbly request that you check out the "Selective Defense Act", a proposal currently before the UN.

Despite our political differences, we believe that you will appreciate the political sanity of this legislation and choose to support it.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

-First Among Equals (C.O.P.)

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