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[Ghazkull]

seeing as to how we dont come to a conclusion maybe we should kick the planet name issue back to our GM? ^^

[TankKit]

Yeah, I also say we let the GM decide on which name to use.

[Ardas]

Welp, looks like our citizens can't make up their minds, so I will give you three choices - Concordia, Philadelphia, or Terranova. All three relate either to peace, brotherhood or novelty of the new planet, concepts that people who left Earth had on their minds as they went to start afresh.

Sorry Taricus, but Lingua Latina is alive and well in the world still, unless you get something else that sounds convincing.

[Taricus]

Firstly, t(o.ot) to Latin.

Secondly, Concordia sounds good, better than the other tow choices.

[TankKit]

I like Concordia.

[Ghazkull]

Concordia i suppose...choice between plague and pestilence

[hector13]

I Concordia. Hah.

[Rahx]

I Concordia. Hah.

Very punishable.

[Ardas]

TURN 1

Concordia Global News: In the series of the recent announcements by magistrates all over the planet and speculated to be the case by many for weeks now, the Colonial Assembly has finally called itself into existence, once the confirmation that Earth Array went dead, with no information that the home planet is either receiving or sending any signals. Even with direct tightbeam messaging, messages took…

This was it. The umbilical was cut, humanity was finally given a test of survival outside of the womb of Solar System. Even with Earth being outside reach or travel, the sheer fact that a messages were sent and received meant that humanity remained united, at least in theory. The many colony ships that flooded Concordia over the decades were a proof that the mother planet was alive, and that the human race was truly an interstellar species. This changed as the flow of immigrants slowed down, then ceased some decades ago. Even before the nebula, the communications were growing erratic, as the situation on Earth was growing unclear. Then finally, silence.

Yet, the old loyalty to Earth prevailed in many places, and even now many towns and provinces on the planet retained Earth cultures and ethnicities in self-preserved enclaves, while more cosmopolitan cities gave rise to new, more uniform human culture, that created customs and fashions hitherto unknown. All of this was due to change.

The council chamber of the self-governing province of Landing Point was the gathering point for the Assembly. Some people clamored to call it a Senate and be done with a pretense of a helpless autonomic colony, which in fact was self-sufficient for almost a century. The anticipation was thick, so much that it could be cut with a knife.
The central podium was taken by the head councilman of Landing Point, who appeared to be the speaker for the first ever session.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! This is the first ever assembly of independent and autonomous planet of Concordia! Neither through strife, nor violence have we arrived at this point, but through sheer necessity and the will to survive out in the frontier, where humanity is yet to build its true home away from Earth.

So far, each province on the planet has been autonomous and behaved as an independent unit, albeit followed the same principles and obeyed the same treaties that bound people on Earth. The UN Colonial Charter is, as it was before, the source of both authority but also of conduct. As we move ahead into the unknown, let us not forget these foundations and remember, that the freedom and security of every human being, regardless of creed or appearance, is paramount to our success and existence.”

Currently on the agenda are:
- Name of the new polity (Republic, Commonwealth, Federation, Etc)
- Constitution of the polity
- Government and positions
- Budget setup

Planet: Concordia
Temperate Continental, Heavily Terraformed, Earthlike conditions

Population 3.6 Billion
Planetary Development Index: 0.9
Corporate Revenues :  $18,000 Billion
National Economy: 1.0
Stability: 90/100

Budget:
N/A

And we are off! I will be producing player sheets and game info in googledoc, but in the meantime, get started on this, there should be plenty for you to do. For now, all players are senators, and those without declared parties are marked as Independents.

[Jerick]

Hendrick gently applauded the head councilman's speech as he believed was expected of him. His eyes swept across his fellow 'senators'. He'd had thick files of everything that could be easily learned about each of them memorised. In terms of his aims they were a mixed bag. Many of them were strong supporters of scientific progress but just as many were crusaders against corruption. But in terms of corporate representation ship building and space exploration were the main attendants. To him it looked very much like someone was pulling some strings to guarantee a particular result from this meeting. Namely an extensive effort to spread into space and recontact Earth. He understood this desire. He himself was curious as to what was happening on humanity's homeworld but he would rather it didn't divert resources from his goals.

His main reason for coming here was to secure extensive research grants and prevent troublesome laws being passed. If there was too much money going to efforts to talk to Earth and traveling to other worlds there would be less for him and his research. Still, expansion meant more markets and more opportunities for revenue. If it could be done on a large scale as cheaply as possible it would suit him well.

He remained silent mulling over his thoughts. He had no reason to speak first. He would interject when he felt it was appropriate.

[TankKit]

Spoiler: Here's some maths so you know how much money we should have to spare for the budget. (click to show/hide)

3.6 billion pop = $36 trillion at 100% tax rate.
Let's assume we're not taxing our people of ALL their money and that we're instead taxing them a roughly average 25%. This means we have $9 trillion in taxes, $2.5 billion per million people.

Social Spending and Public Order cost a total of $1.5 billion per million people for basic necessities and security, leaving us with only $1 billion per million people to spend - a total of $1 trillion in taxes per year. Presumably there are no other current expenses like armies or anything like that, so we effectively have complete control over how this money is to be spent.

Alexander applauded the speech alongside many of the other attendants. In the silence that followed as the various senators looked at each other, he stood up and, hands clasped behind his back, began to talk.

"Fellow senators. We have long ran this world in the name of Earth but, with the news that we have now lost contact with that planet, we are forced to severe ourselves from it completely for our own sake. As such, there are a number of important decisions we must now make, and I would like to begin this assembly by proposing my own solutions to these decisions.

Firstly, the question of what our new country shall be named. This is a simple question with a simple answer - as it is made up of multiple autonomous, almost independent states, I propose that we name this country the Commonwealth of Concordia.

Secondly, the question of our constitution. I believe that the laws present in the UN Colonial Charter and our Commonwealth's own laws, as well as the laws set by individual states, and the precedence set by previous major rulings, form enough of a written constitution that it need not necessarily be codified. Instead, I suggest that we reform the various laws that govern our nation and it's various states into a few comprehensive documents.

Finally, the question of how our new government shall be ran. I believe that our current form of governance is more than suited to the task of governing this Commonwealth - however, it does have one fatal flaw. In times of extreme emergency, we may not have the time to come together to vote on the various matters that come to our attention, nor even be able to all meet together for each assembly.

In such an emergency, a more centralised government would have a considerable advantage over us. To ensure the safety of our people and limit the damage caused by such a disaster, a propose the introduction of a new law. In the case of a disaster scenario, the Speaker may call all Senators to this council chamber immediately. Once more than 50% of the Senators have arrived at the council chambers, an emergency vote may be called to elect one of the Senators present to the position of Emergency Dictator. If more than 50% of the total number of Senators, including those not present, vote for the same person, then that person will assume the role of Emergency Dictator until such time as the Senate decides that the emergency is over. If the first vote does not lead to a person being chosen, it shall be repeated until it does. The Emergency Dictator shall of course be given only the powers necessary to deal with the emergency, and will have no legal control over who occupies the seats of the Senate.

I am sure you are now wondering why this is necessary. Well, quite simply, we have no idea what happened to Earth, and any number of events could lead to disaster for our Commonwealth. No matter how unlikely, if such an emergency does take place I can assure you that our Commonwealth will be much better off if we already have a plan for what to do and ready-made restrictions on the power of the Emergency Dictator that ensure the safety of our current governmental system."

With that said, Alexander unclasped his hands and sat back down. He had more to say, of course, as he had his own ideas for how the budget should be spent, but for now he was content to get this decision out of the way first.
((You might want to update the title again to show that it's Turn 1,))

[Ghazkull]

It was odd really, putting a bunch of corporate magnates in charge of government. Like putting a bunch of foxes into a henhouse. But Zhang was not about to complain. Already favourable legislation was brought forth and so he preferred to sit silently and watch the proceedings, occassionaly taking a sip out of a flask filled with the ever more rare and thus expensive earth whiskey.

Looking around he began pondering where in this he could find political allies for big business. There were of course the other magnates, most of them potential rivals due tot he similiarity of business. It was curious how all of them where called upon as Independent Senators, including himself. The Centralist Party was the most natural ally, their platform of military expansion meant big business for him, their large government approach however, could cause some issues.
The Rationalists, so far seemed at least a potential ally, although it remained to be seen where their economic policies took them.
Out of all of them the PPP was probably the most useful one. Minimum economic regulations and no arms regulation spoke of record winnings.

As the Speaker of the Rationalists began talking about his "dictator-paragraph", Zhang briefly wondered whether there hadn't already been coalition talks between the rationalists and the centralists...

[Kakaluncha]

After clapping dies, Angleia rises on her seat.

"Fellow senators, first of all I would like to appreciate the efforts all of us have gone to mantian order in this time of crisis. We may, or may not discover what has happened to our original planet, but humanity will live on in Concordia!

For the name of the planet, I will disagree with my collegue. A Commonwealth implies even if allied, that the states don't neceseraly have to work alongside their companions. We need to be united, like the old United States of America was. A strong federal government that regulates the autonomous states of this planet. For that, my proposal for our planet's name would be the Concordian Union, certainley a less pompous name than 'Commonwealth of Concordia', and it inspires respect and authority.

Regarding our constitution, I see no problem with using the same laws the United Nations once created. In any case, I believe that the Government should create the same laws for all states, and then vote in favour or against any addition or extraction proposed by the states. That way, the states can work out which laws apply to them, and which ones affect them.

Spoiler: In case you didn't understand (click to show/hide)

 The Government intially applies the same laws for all states. Then these states work out laws they should add or remove. These proposals are send to the Senate, which votes in favour or against their proposals. If they vote in favour, the laws of said state will be edited to include the proposal

On the topic of the goverment, I believe I already stated my opinion, but I will repeat myself. This Senate is effective, and encourages our freedom of speech. But, unlike my previous collegue, I'm against allowing anyone power hungry enough to declare themselves as a dictator. WOuld this person answer to a higher power? How could one ensure that said dicator is a puppet of the Senate, and not viceversa?

In fact, I believe we should empower the Senate, so that it may regulate the autonomous states. The states would be allowed to have their own cultures, but they all would need to answer to the Senate, and all of its variants. So I propose this Senate to fight for a Federalist approach!"

Angleia sits down, with a proud smirk, thinking about the economy.

[TankKit]

Alexander frowns and stands. "I believe my colleague misinterpreted my speech. No one person would be able to simply say they are the Dictator in a perceived emergency - that would be a foolish and easy to abuse system. At least half of the senate would have to agree to it after the Speaker announced an emergency assembly. Already there are multiple blocks between a would-be dictator and emergency power - first the Speaker, elected to his position by the wider Assembly, would have to believe the situation dire enough to necessitate an Emergency Dictator. Second, at least half of the Assembly would have to agree on one of the Senators present. This is not even mentioning what restrictions will be placed upon the Emergency Dictator when the time comes to write its status into law.

As for our government's name... I don't truly see how either name is better or worse than the other. Names don't inspire respect or authority on their own - the actions taken under that name do."

Alexander then sits down once more.

[Taricus]

(The Tax rate assumes we're not taxing businesses, and that an individual person only provides 1k in tax money. It'd be far, far more effective to take the corporations at 30% and not tax the population at all, since we'd still have far more money.)

After Angleia spoke, Adjran Tra rises to address the senate, making a show with grand, bombastic gestures to further emphasise his stature and speech.

"My fellow senators, comrades and people of Concordia. Whilst the senators before me have raised important points and valid concerns, Their solutions only raise more problem and issues than they solve. The confederate option provided does nothing to alleviate bureaucratic and leadership inefficiencies to our great world, our great nation! Should we bind our hands with local autonomy and then require ourselves to actively elect a dictator? My friends, this option is a farcical answer to our governmental issues! It is essentially a dictatorship parading as a democracy! The Federal option is no better! To tie ourselves down to the horrendous legacy of the old american nation; it's vast inefficiencies in government and it's bloated, useless states! To similarly tie down the laws of the people of Concordia as a whole to one stubborn state unwilling to move with the times would mark us all as a backward and moronic nation!

To both these, I propose a better way, a better option. A centralised state; One Senate and One Assembly, One Cabinet and One Set of laws, applying to any and all Concordians! With such a government, we would not need any dictator; for our Chancellor would have the power and quorum to act swiftly and ably in an emergency without having to elect a dictator for life! To further solidify the legislative's power over legislation, we codify our law as civil law; There can be no justice when force of personality and rhetoric are what determines justice instead of actual investigation and finding the truth!

And for those of you seeking to rename this government, this ruling polity of our beautiful and great world, I ask you, what purpose would it bring? Concordia has been the name this planet has borne for a long time, why would it not suffice as the name of our government? It is simple, yet elegant and powerful. It describes who we are and where we're from succinctly and clearly. My friends, we need no new name, for the one we have grown into, moulded and adopted encapsulates our spirit and tenacity in a poignant manner!

With a flourish did Adjran Trabow, before taking his seat once more.