306: dismiss. Our education system already recieves most of the government's funds and our citizens are among the best educated ones of the world. No need to change a working system!

306:3 -- Invest in the future, etc.

306:3

With eight votes for throwing money at schools in hopes that this will solve the problem and no more than one for any other given option, that shall be our official policy.

==== Overview ====
Civil Rights: Excellent (68)
Economy: Good (44)
Political Freedoms: Very Good (67)

The Free Land of Gogan is a massive, socially progressive nation, ruled by Doctor Marcin with an even hand, and renowned for its museums and concert halls. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 1.987 billion have some civil rights, but not too many, enjoy the freedom to spend their money however they like, to a point, and take part in free and open elections, although not too often.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent government stops and the rest of society begins, but it devotes most of its attentions to Education, with areas such as Religion & Spirituality and Defence receiving almost no funds by comparison. The average income tax rate is 61%, and even higher for the wealthy. A large private sector is dominated by the Book Publishing industry.

Students are known to arrive at school in their pyjamas, morning coffees are no longer the same since the disappearance of newspapers, only the wealthy can afford monorail fares, and an increasing percentage of the population's youth have homosexual parents. Crime is totally unknown. Gogan's national animal is the Goglodyte, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its currency is the Gog.

Gogan is ranked 4,381st in The North Pacific and 105,283rd in the world for Lowest Unemployment Rates, scoring 18 on the Workforce Participation Versus Theoretical Maximum Metric.

==== Issues ====
2 days 20 hours ago: Following new legislation in Gogan, an increasing percentage of the population's youth have homosexual parents.
The overview has been updated following the last decisions made.

Come On Baby, Fight My Fire (issue 307)
A fire has recently ripped through Gogan City, destroying homes and businesses alike. Now the debate rages as to who should receive the bulk of the relief fund.

1. "The fire burned thousands of ordinary people out of house and home!" wails Jennifer de Jong, an affected resident, "If the government doesn't help the average Joe, then what good is it at all? We need that relief fund to repair the damages! I'm sure the fat cats in the commercial district will pitch a fit, but they're the only ones who could afford enough insurance coverage."

2. "Oh, the wasted money!" moans Declan McAlpin, owner of Basket-case for Baskets. "It was storefronts and restaurants that bore the brunt of the fire, and they're the ones that need help now! Do you have any idea how flammable baskets are? If we don't get the relief we're entitled to, the economy is going to sink. And then where will these citizens be? In a rebuilt house without a job, that's where!"

3. Kayla Mombota, a noted anarchist, is appalled at the whole debate. "Relief fund? Giving money?! Now the government has to choose which social class to favor, and here's the big punch line, there is no right choice! We need to do away with the relief fund altogether, slash taxes and leave the people and businesses to rebuild without government meddling. Yes, there will be some 'I don't have any money' sob stories. Boo-freaking-hoo. It's not the government's job to bail them out because they failed to prepare."

4. "I always said there's an opportunity in every disaster," councils Mark Chandra, your Minister of Underhanded Affairs. "We're not doing so hot in the polls right now. This fire is only going to put more of a strain on us. Now as I remember, the good ol' Minority Leader is head of the Gogan City Oversight Committee. Let's shift the focus onto it being his screw up, have a trial by media and he'll be indicted by next week. The public will burn him at the stake instead of us!"

Secret Police In Gogan? (issue 308)
Anarchists have been covertly putting up anti-government posters all over Gogan. Some of your closest advisors have suggested the implementation of a secret police force to deal with the more... difficult members of society.

1. "Sometimes a government has got to deal with something without having to go through the 'proper channels'," says Xu Longbottom, who does not exist within any of Gogan's records. "It happens sometimes and we have to deal with it. It's not just anarchists either - it's the terrorists, the criminals, the traitors, and the goddamn hippies. With a secret police we can arrest the troublemakers and torture them to find other dissenters without having to worry about fiddly matters like human rights."

2. "Don't listen to that idiot!" whispers Sashona Suzuki, one of your more guilt-ridden henchpersons. "I don't know how you feel about this but I think this would be a bad path for our government to go down. Gogan shouldn't resort to deceit and off-the-record brutality to put away people. A secret police force would ruin our fine nation. It's time our government was candid with its people and let them say what they want!"

3. "Or how about we be candid AND have a secret police force," says Peggy True, your head spy from behind a newspaper with eyeholes cut out. "We could just reassign all the normal police into secret police. The beauty of it is that we won't have to bother solving crimes if it doesn't benefit the government! It's what we've always wanted! Not what the people want of course, but if they complain we can just make them... disappear."

==== Public announcement ====
The third cent-issue-ial Gogan milestone giveaway is running. Get your votes in for a chance at the Gogs in the prize basket. 3 issues left for this round (including these two).

Due to a planned absence during the weekend, you have a while to ponder the current issues. Until Monday evening CET, specifically.

307:4 The most realistic choice?
308:2

307: 1 - tough choice, but I think the bulk of relief funds should go to helping people in need to rebuild their homes; certainly also think relief funds can go to some businesses as well.

308: 2 - a secret police force could have big long-term ramifications.

307: 4

308: 2

307: 4
308: 1

308:2 - This was clearly not intended for a vote; good thing it was made into one anyway.

As for the relief fund, I'll have to give it some more thought.

307:1 - If we have not enough funds to provide equal relief to private citizens and businesses alike, the bulk needs to go to home owners. Rebuilding after a natural catastrophe has to prioritize normalizing living conditions.

308:2 - The government was given the responsibility to administrate our nation by the people, installing a secret police would betray the trust bestowed upon the current system. Let's keep Gogan the free, socially progressive nation it is today.

307.3 - People and businesses alike find ways to cheat the system out of these relief funds anyway. Isn't this what insurance is for anyway?

308.2 - Who's going to police the secret police?

The secret "secret police" police? :-P

Damn, I didn't think of that. It's ok then...

Of course you didn't, they're s-e-c-r-e-t. As are the other [unspecified number] policing levels.