Economic Growth, Taxes and Budgets

[Dan_Franco 4]

I think it would really interesting to add economic functionality to the game, Where the government has objectives to achieve like, Economic growth, low unemployment, stable prices, balanced budgets, low state debt etc. These kind of achievements will make elected people more accountable and can work well for building a  political environment on the island.

 

The Governor and any elected representatives could have the power/ability to do things such as;

Setting Budgets

By calculating the government revenue, they can then change spending on current policies or create new policies. An example could be a spending scheme for unemployment benefits, where the governor can propose changes to the spending. This would make political campaigns more interesting I think.

Taxes

Taxes could be introduced or removed by political figures, i.e. Income tax, Corporation tax, Property Tax etc. where the governor can propose changes to these levels and introduce new ones in order to maybe balance the budget.

Interest rates

By maybe having a central bank on the island, where a committee votes every few weeks to change the islands interest rate can make a more dynamic economy as it will change how much money people will save or spend in their bank accounts, making people potentially better off or worse, making in-game loans more expensive or cheaper... just change things up.

Housing Projects

Following the idea of budgeting, I think if the governor can allocate money for new housing projects or for expanding the town square etc. I think it would work for people looking to buy new houses or flats.

 

These are just a few ideas that I had, wondering what people think or whether you have any additional ideas to this one!

Thanks

[LuciousTimes 1,249]

With the political aspects of the game not yet fully thought of, these are definitely great ideas!

[Anonymous_Citizen 75]

51 minutes ago, Dan_Franco said:

I think it would really interesting to add economic functionality to the game, Where the government has objectives to achieve like, Economic growth, low unemployment, stable prices, balanced budgets, low state debt etc. These kind of achievements will make elected people more accountable and can work well for building a  political environment on the island.

 

The Governor and any elected representatives could have the power/ability to do things such as;

Setting Budgets

By calculating the government revenue, they can then change spending on current policies or create new policies. An example could be a spending scheme for unemployment benefits, where the governor can propose changes to the spending. This would make political campaigns more interesting I think.

Taxes

Taxes could be introduced or removed by political figures, i.e. Income tax, Corporation tax, Property Tax etc. where the governor can propose changes to these levels and introduce new ones in order to maybe balance the budget.

Interest rates

By maybe having a central bank on the island, where a committee votes every few weeks to change the islands interest rate can make a more dynamic economy as it will change how much money people will save or spend in their bank accounts, making people potentially better off or worse, making in-game loans more expensive or cheaper... just change things up.

Housing Projects

Following the idea of budgeting, I think if the governor can allocate money for new housing projects or for expanding the town square etc. I think it would work for people looking to buy new houses or flats.

 

These are just a few ideas that I had, wondering what people think or whether you have any additional ideas to this one!

Thanks

 

This would work, as long as the taxes weren't chosen by the governor. I believe the allocation and division of funds are necessary for a realistic political environment, but I believe taxes should be set by the game. For example, if a Communist party takes power in a server and decides to place a 100% tax rate on businesses, what would happen? To my knowledge, players are not allowed to transfer character information (wealth/career/etc) from server to server, so tax-choosing would lead to an economic crisis.

[Dan_Franco 4]

Just now, Anonymous_Citizen said:

This would work, as long as the taxes weren't chosen by the governor. I believe the allocation and division of funds are necessary for a realistic political environment, but I believe taxes should be set by the game. For example, if a Communist party takes power in a server and decides to place a 100% tax rate on businesses, what would happen? To my knowledge, players are not allowed to transfer character information (wealth/career/etc) from server to server, so tax-choosing would lead to an economic crisis.

 

I understand what you mean, however if the people vote them in they will be able to vote them out again, if they raise taxes to high levels. I do think tho that there should be a maximum tax threshold that the government can do... like maybe 80%? Plus I think economic crisis would make the server extremely entertaining and interesting.