85:2 - the only sensible option. Good poets will be able to sell their poems and live by them. And there is no point in supporting bad poets with tax money. Bad poets can still get normal jobs and do their bad poetry in their free time - like I do :-)

I almost managed to miss today too, good thing I woke up in the middle of the night for no reason that I can discern. With the computer still on, no less (I certainly wouldn't have booted it).

The decision is clear, artists and poets will have to support themselves on their own, or have a real job and do their artistry in their free time if they can't.

==== Overview ====
Civil Rights: Excellent (71)
Economy: Weak (20)
Political Freedoms: Very Good (74)

The Free Land of Gogan is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its restrictive gun laws. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 305 million love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, socially-minded government is effectively ruled by the Department of Education, with areas such as Law & Order and Religion & Spirituality receiving almost no funds by comparison. The average income tax rate is 28%, but much higher for the wealthy. A small but healthy private sector is dominated by the Pizza Delivery industry.

The government has adopted a more thrifty attitude to administrating the country's needs, anti-government political posters adorn every building like wallpaper, people take government jobs for the frequent flier miles, and there's a shortage of swinging hot spots as land development grinds to a halt. Crime is totally unknown. Gogan's national animal is the Goglodyte, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Gog.

Gogan is ranked 721st in The North Pacific and 17,611th in the world for Happiest Citizens, scoring 11 on the Relative Cheerfulness Rating.

==== Issues ====
20 hours ago: Following new legislation in Gogan, people take government jobs for the frequent flier miles.
20 hours ago: Following new legislation in Gogan, there's a shortage of swinging hot spots as land development grinds to a halt.
The overview has been updated following the last decisions made.

Blood Banks Running Dry (issue 86)
A violent and rather messy stampede of Goglodytes during a parade in your honour has brought widespread media attention to the shortage of blood, plasma and platelet donors in Gogan.

1: "Blood donation should be compulsory!" argues Konrad O'Bannon, a spokesperson for the Gogan Blood Donors' Association. "We can't expect citizens to come flocking to donate blood just out of the goodness of their hearts, so the government should take the matter into its own hands. If we could maybe require healthy citizens to... let's say... donate blood every three months, we wouldn't have such a problem with shortages. It'll require more funding to organise and carry out, yes, but your people are worth it, aren't they?"

2: "Don't listen to that devil worshipper!" preaches Robin Shiomi, a Jehovah's Witness. "It isn't up to us to decide what should be done, it is God, and only God, who decides what someone should do with their blood. I'd rather die clean and go to Heaven, thank you very much! We must heed this Gospel and ban blood donations now! Of course some people will die, but they will be rewarded in the afterlife for obeying His word."

3: "You're kidding, right?" burbles anaemic patient Brian Song from a hospital bed. "I'm not going to let some closed-minded priest tell me what I can and can't do with my blood! But I don't think people should be forced to give blood; they just need incentive, that's all. Like money. Trust me, any kind of 'Gogs For Blood' scheme will have them almost begging to donate. It's the only humane way to ensure that people like me are getting the care we need. If you're worried about funding just get it from those religious nuts... they're not helping anyone with it."

4: "I have an even better idea," says Max Schultz, a prison officer. "How about we force every healthy prisoner to donate blood? It's about time they gave back to society what they've taken away in the first place. If we do this we won't have to beg the law-abiding citizens of Gogan to take time out of their day to give blood. It's not like these thugs are really doing anything for us, so missing a pint or three won't matter, am I right?"

==== Public announcement ====

86: 3

86:3 - makes sense to offer money for such an important service.

Issue 86: Dismiss.

Also, I missed it, but I composed a small haiku for the previous issue:

Issue Eighty Five:
Write your poems on your own.
I vote option two.

(Obviously I can't actually vote, but "I would vote option two if I had a time machine" didn't fit the meter.)

Issue 86: Dismiss. I was going to go for 3 until the last sentence. I'm concerned about how Nationstates could respond to it.

Also, every time I see the title of this thread, I'm reminded of the Arena in Oblivion: 'Let's find out! LOOOWWER the gate!' etc.

Then again, if you had one, you should have said "I will vote for (option) 'two' (yesterday)".

Either way, your will was strong enough to go through regardless.

Alright, we'd better hope the healthy portion populace somehow figures donating blood might be a good idea, as we will be dismissing the issue.

==== Overview ====
Civil Rights: Excellent (71)
Economy: Weak (20)
Political Freedoms: Very Good (74)

The Free Land of Gogan is a huge, environmentally stunning nation, remarkable for its keen interest in outer space. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 310 million love a good election, and the government gives them plenty of them. Universities tend to be full of students debating the merits of various civil and political rights, while businesses are tightly regulated and the wealthy viewed with suspicion.

The medium-sized, socially-minded government is effectively ruled by the Department of Education, with areas such as Law & Order and Religion & Spirituality receiving almost no funds by comparison. The average income tax rate is 23%, but much higher for the wealthy. A small but healthy private sector is dominated by the Pizza Delivery industry.

Anti-government political posters adorn every building like wallpaper, people take government jobs for the frequent flier miles, there's a shortage of swinging hot spots as land development grinds to a halt, and the government has cut its subsidies for all special interest groups. Crime is totally unknown. Gogan's national animal is the Goglodyte, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the Gog.

Gogan is ranked 5,058th in The North Pacific and 120,815th in the world for Highest Police Ratios, scoring -9 on the Orwell Orderliness Index.

==== Issues ====
15 hours ago: Following new legislation in Gogan, the government has cut its subsidies for all special interest groups.
The overview has been updated following the last decisions made.

Where There's A Will There's A Tax (issue 87)
After the vast fortunes of a recently deceased oil tycoon in Gogan were left to a small cactus plant, citizens nationwide have been asking the same question: should the inheritance tax laws be changed?

1: "Every time I see a stupid rich kid having an easy ride of life with money they did nothing to deserve, I go into a jealous rage and start punching walls," says economically disadvantaged individual Tim Chicago. "Abolish inheritance entirely! If the government takes the inheritance then we can spend all that cash on things that make ordinary people's lives better, like education, social welfare, and attack helicopters."

2: "This is a disgusting breach of my human rights," says Jack Wall, heir to an international widget empire. "Just think of all the poor families who have spent their lives scrimping and saving with the dream of passing on a modest luxury yacht to ensure the security of their children's children. All that sacrifice, all that toil, all those long nights working their fingers to the bone setting up offshore accounts - it brings a tear to my eye. Inheritance tax has got to go!"

3: "Surely we can arrange some sort of compromise here," says comfortable knitwear fan Naki Hernandez. "Yes, it's true that some people exploit the system - but a lot of people rely on inheritance for their basic support! Why don't we just set a sensible ceiling on how much you can inherit? That way you get to keep the family farm, but not the five mansions and the oil refinery."

==== Public announcement ====

87: Dismiss... all options are bad.

Yup. Dismiss Issue 87

Dismiss.

I like how as we've become more experienced with the game we've begun just rejecting more and more.

Issue 87: 2. Presumably, income tax was already paid for that inheritance, so having an inheritance tax is a form of double taxation, which doesn't make a ton sense to me. Also, if you blow all your money you don't pay an inheritance tax, so the tax kind of disincentives saving.

...and thereby incentives spending (and/or investing) which again boosts economy. Saving large amounts of money takes it out of circulation and thereby decreases the overall economic activity. So it's OK to disincentive saving, from an economic point of view.