[Proposal] Regional Currency Act - Feather

[Arlo]

Jesus can we not have taxes on a community forum

I have enough real taxes to keep track of. And I hate seeing the word PAYE anywhere

[Drewlantis]

Because it will be a major part of the region, being inclusive of salaries, and even potentially delegated admin access. 

To begin with it will be ad-hoc, but as things progress with it there will be requirements for regulation of it.

During the CU I also proposed this as a working draft:

Regional Economy ActThe Cosmic Council of Lazarus enacts:PART 1 — PRELIMINARY1: Purposes
The purposes of this Act are to establish the –
(1) Regional currency.
(2) Regional banking system.
(3) Regional treasury.
(4) Taxation system.
(5) Miscellaneous Provisions.

2: Terminology
PAYE: Pay taxes at the point of earning income. 

3: Commencement
This Act comes into operation upon passage.

PART 2 — TEXT1: Regional Currency
(1) The Currency or Legal Tender of the Celestial Union of Lazarus shall be named 'X'.
(2) The Committee for the Interior shall be responsible for securing the Currency or Legal Tender.
(3) The Committee for the Interior, aided by forum administrators and moderators, will manage transactions.

2: Regional Banking System
(1) The Regional Bank of Lazarus shall be named 'Y'.
(2) The Committee for the Interior shall oversee banking operations.
(3) New bank accounts will receive a 'X' 25,000 starting bonus.

3: Regional Treasury
(1) The Regional Treasury shall be named 'Z'.
(2) The Committee for the Interior shall oversee salaries for government employees.
(3) The Treasury, on behalf of the Cosmic Council, will set salaries for government employees.
(4) The Committee for the Interior shall have the ability to appoint a treasurer:
A. The Treasurer must be a member of the Committee of the Interior.
(5) The Treasurer in their absence can have their duties performed by:
A. Bishops or Clerics designated by the Treasurer. 
B. Forum administrators or global moderators.

4: Taxation System
(1) The annual regional tax rate shall be 'A' on salaries.
(2) Taxes will be deducted on a PAYE basis by either:
A. The Regional Treasury in the case of government salaries.
B. The Regional Bank in the case of other income.

5: Miscellaneous Provisions
(1) Awards and Prizes shall have taxes deducted on a PAYE basis.

Based upon the existence of this impending proposition, it is evident that the bill in question for establishing a regional currency is not just an additional regional aesthetic.
Building on this knowledge I would be against the wording of the current bill as 1) it doesn't fully capture the purpose for a regional currency and 2) it would require either the subsequent monetary bills to be written in such a way to be easily established concurrently with this one, or they would have to be written to assimilate the aspects of this bill and then to replace it (per parliamentary procedure).

This makes it seem as though it simply would be more efficient to hold off on passing this bill in favor of passing your more fleshed out and complete bill, which I would fully support as well btw.

[New Rogernomics]

That is not the bill.

Nor were all the ideas in that intended to be passed on. It was a discussion document that never passed or went to vote. 

This is the bill, as in the first post: 

 

Regional Currency Act - Feather

Proposed by: @"New Rogernomics" 

Section 1. Purposes
(1) The purposes of this Act are to:

a. Create a regional currency for the purpose of promoting culture and unity; and
b. Celebrate and revel in our mutual love for a certain phrase by making it our regional currency.

Section 2. Commencement
(1) This Act hereby decrees that the regional currency of Lazarus is to be known as the "Feather", with the symbol "ƒ".

(2) This Act comes into operation upon passage.

Note: This is not a high priority, but adding it to the pile of proposed legislation.

[New Rogernomics]

Jesus can we not have taxes on a community forum

I have enough real taxes to keep track of. And I hate seeing the word PAYE anywhere

Um, that's not what is being proposed.   :lol:

[Sheepshape]

I still haven't really seen a solid argument for why this is needed (aka, why we can't just start using the currency without legislating it first), but since others don't seem to have the same concern, I do have some suggestions if we're looking at passing something along these lines.

Regional Currency Act - Feather

I don't think "Feather" is needed in the title of the bill. It can just be called the Regional Currency Act.

Section 1. Purposes
(1) The purposes of this Act are to:
a. Create a regional currency for the purpose of promoting culture and unity; and
b. Celebrate and revel in our mutual love for a certain phrase by making it our regional currency.

This section seems pretty extraneous. It's self-evident that the purpose of an act named the Regional Currency Act is to create a regional currency. I also don't love the language of "our mutual love for a certain phrase", it's a weird way to put that. I think this whole thing can be removed.

Section 2. Commencement
(1) This Act hereby decrees that the regional currency of Lazarus is to be known as the "Feather", with the symbol "ƒ".
(2) This Act comes into operation upon passage.

It's not necessary to say "this act does X" - you can just say X. This is perfectly sufficient:

(1) The regional currency of Lazarus will be known as the "Feather", and will use the symbol "ƒ".

As for the second line... just delete it. All bills come into effect upon being passed and signed, unless they specifically contain language that states otherwise.

I think it's also a good idea to add some language about what this regional currency means. Will citizens be required to adopt it as their national currency in-game, or as their RP currency when RPing on the Lazarus forum? It's not actually clear from the current draft what the impact of having a regional currency is.

So I suggest the following revised version (specific phrasing can probably still be improved):
 

Regional Currency Act

Proposed by: @New Rogernomics

Section 1. Regional Currency
(1) The regional currency of Lazarus will be known as the "feather", and will use the symbol "ƒ".

Section 2. Use and Functions
(1) The feather will be used on the Lazarus forum for purchases from RP stores, for transactions with any installed banking add-ons, and for pseudo-monetary transactions between nations. The feather will hold no actual monetary value.
(2) Nations of Lazarus are encouraged to adopt the feather as their in-game and roleplay national currency. No nation is required to adopt the feather, and its use may not be required for citizenship or to hold government office.
(3) Nations may be offered incentives to adopt the feather as their national currency. Incentives can include gifts of feathers, special user group colors or badges, and other similar rewards.

[Cormac]

I have nothing really to add to Sheepshape's suggestions, which I think are good suggestions.

I would ask though that you be sure to include a line break after each section and after each numbered subsection.

[Drewlantis]

That is not the bill.

Nor were all the ideas in that intended to be passed on. It was a discussion document that never passed or went to vote. 

This is the bill, as in the first post: 

 

Regional Currency Act - Feather

Proposed by: @"New Rogernomics" 

Section 1. Purposes
(1) The purposes of this Act are to:

a. Create a regional currency for the purpose of promoting culture and unity; and
b. Celebrate and revel in our mutual love for a certain phrase by making it our regional currency.

Section 2. Commencement
(1) This Act hereby decrees that the regional currency of Lazarus is to be known as the "Feather", with the symbol "ƒ".

(2) This Act comes into operation upon passage.

Note: This is not a high priority, but adding it to the pile of proposed legislation. 

You misinterpreted my post.

The reason that I am against your currently proposed bill is that if you are looking to introduce another bill further down the line that would cover the topic more extensively then the currently proposed bill is redundant. When referencing parliamentary procedure, the passage of this bill only to have the topic more extensively visited by a later bill would be pointless and just cause headaches (which is why in Parli Pro, when such a thing occurs the new legislation almost always includes phrasing that nullifies or amends conflicting or incomplete, yet related, legislation).

My suggestion (based on years of experience in parliamentary procedure) is that if you are planning on ever proposing a more extensive bill covering the implementation of monetary policy, that you scrap this bill and focus on the more expansive version. If you are not then I would be more supportive of your current iteration of the bill.

This bill, while a great idea (which I support) makes the regional currency seem more like an RP than a mechanics element. Does that make sense?

[Ryccia]

I oppose this bill, but I am not opposed to a regional currency. Rather, this should be an administrative affair only, as it is a tool that may or may not be kept forever. I recall once that we had something of the sort back in TSP, but it was taken away, perhaps due to technical issues. The government should not get involved in forum mechanics, as it has no business regarding currency.

[New Rogernomics]

I oppose this bill, but I am not opposed to a regional currency. Rather, this should be an administrative affair only, as it is a tool that may or may not be kept forever. I recall once that we had something of the sort back in TSP, but it was taken away, perhaps due to technical issues. The government should not get involved in forum mechanics, as it has no business regarding currency.

This feature is not going away and will likely be kept forever, especially considering it is regularly updated.
The only thing being asked is to confirm a regional currency, which somehow you are opposed to?  :blink:

[Cormac]

I'm just going to note that if we ever did want to change or get rid of the currency, all we have to do is repeal this bill.

I'm not sure a bill is needed, but I don't see any harm in it either. Maybe it will lead to some positive legislative stuff later on.