Difference between revisions of "Listeneisse Economy"

Revision as of 07:59, 29 October 2005

Listeneisse > Economy

A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Automobile Manufacturing, Information Technology, and Arms Manufacturing industries... (NationStates, 18 Oct 2005)

Key Industries and Businesses

Automobile Manufacturing

Sector led by Galafort Automotive Corporation

Galafort Automotive Corporation, Ltd., was now producing a great many vehicles in different classes:

• Charger is a sports model popular model among men and women that liked to drive manual shift (though an automatic was also available, it was often frowned upon by serious carbuyers as a "tame" version of the car).

• The upscale Destrier is a luxury model for the successful businessman or woman.

• Palfrey is an economy model popular among young people, especially women and students. It had an optional hybrid electric model. This hybrid was unaffordable by most students, but it made a good commuter car for its fuel efficiency and good parking.

• Sumpter is the minivan usually for a light cargo fleet, but commonly outfitted for the family. It was also the vehicle selected by the Royal Postal Service for a new fleet vehicle, using a hybrid electric motor for urban delivery models.

• Courser is the SUV 4x4 model, designed for off-road conditions. A higher end version is being pitched for military use, but the military had not comitted to change their light truck fleet yet.

Galafort still does not have a strong light or heavy truck line. Foreign imports and models built under license still dominated that market. This is a strong start. The nation had its own brands. Small Listeneisse flags started flying from radio antennae on the highways.

Information Technology

Listeneisse invested early in information technology, breaking up a powerful foreign monopoly that was interested in their proprietary technology and spurring domestic businesses to embrace open standards.

Personal computing is widespread, as are miniature radios, which are issued to all citizens.

Telecommunications, including automated telephone systems, are a strong suit of native corporations, led by Clairaudiant, Ltd. and Sprite Phone, Ltd.

Royal Personal Radio Systems

Listeneisse offers all citizens (and foreign visitors) free personal radio sets which tune to government channels. News, classical music, and a pop station. There are also possibilities for advertizing if you are a vendor or contractor to the government. Many are a more deluxe combination radio/GPS system available at surprisingly reasonable costs. Personal Radio Systems are not to be confused with Citizens Band (CB) radios.

There are government video surveillance cameras throughout the nation, and Internet security monitoring.

The space programme, with launch facilities mostly run by the Air Force, is highly funded by private industries. It is focused on commercial ventures such as communications and surveying satellites. There is also a large weather and GPS satellite network.

GPS Satellite Network and GPS Systems

Listeneisse has its own GPS satellite network. The false rumor is so that it lets the Kingdom find anyone in the nation. That's not actually the case, since it's just a reciever. But it does allow anyone the ability to find their own way about the Kingdom with hardly a chance to say they are truly lost.

They are commonly rented out to tourists travelling into different cities, the Perilous Forest National Park, the deserted Wastelands, and other excursions. Also popular with delivery fleet drivers, such as pizza boys and the ubiquitous unlicenced "gypsy" cabbies. High end models are popular as additions to or including mobile telephones and wireless PDAs, allowing salespeople to track precise driving directions between client visits, along with all their account data. It seems to be a government-private partnership, with the government helping people develop the desire for GPS with the low-cost model, and then a commercial firm selling the upgraded GPS systems with fancier features. Teens, having no curfew and quite used to independence, commonly meet for dates or spontaneous rave parties based on Lat-Long coordinates.

Arms Manufacturing

A growing segment of the private market, even though the Kingdom of Listeneisse still has a relatively small military force. It had grown large when the military budget was higher. It has now shifted to export arms to other states. Mostly to those needing assistance defending from hostile external nations. The government is heavily involved in approving exports. It cannot be done simply for profit. The cause for export is carefully scrutinized.

Key Defense Contractors

Astralabor Rocketry & Missile, Ltd.

• Letter to Frederick Marshal, sub-Minister for External Affairs, Interstellar Realm of Hyperspatial Travel, for joint venture into Theatre Missile Defenses - background on Astralabor Rocketry & Missile, Ltd., a major defense systems contractor in Listeneisse. Or... was it supposed to go to the Allied League?

Castle of the Galleys Shipwrights, Ltd.

• A Stranded Battlecruiser -- Request For Comments (MT) - Mr. Tristan Straussburg, Director of Engineering, Castle of the Galleys Shipwrights, Ltd., Kingdom of Listeneisse, tried but failed to sell a new design of guided missile battlecruiser to the nation of Tarlag. Now, they hope to see if they can attract buyers to a revised design, and have opened the plans for the vessel up for comments by other navies and naval architects.

Weapon Systems

* Listeneisse Weapons Systems

Basket Weaving

A traditional strong factor in the economy, based on coastal reedbeds, Listeneisse's baskets were often used in fashion, home decorating, shopping, and general storage. Companies prided themselves on centuries of heritage, yet usually sported both traditional and modern designs.

Woodchipping

Pulp wood products such as plywood, newsprint and paper are small but significant parts of the economy. However, they are energy-intensive compared to their economic output.

Uranium Mining

Often lambasted as one of the original reasons the Perilous Forest became damaged, after mining tailings polluted rivers. The sector is small but steady. The Kingdom of Listeneisse has never openly declared that it has nuclear weapons, but continues to cite that nations are permitted to use nuclear weapons as a means of defense.

It is well-known Listeneisse has nuclear power plants and nuclear-powered attack submarines.

Entertainment and Sports

Jousting

A very popular sport in the country is jousting.

Martial Arts and Dueling

Martial arts and dueling are also very popular.

Soap Operas

Listeneisse's famous soap operas often featured ethnically diverse casts. There are standing government awards to those programs who feature actors portraying minorities in a positive light.

Cricket

There is a significant and growing professional league, which recently opened to the new territories of Canardia, Basse Chanticleer and Haut Chanticleer, as well as Lothian and Galis. This has led to a new division of teams to allow for older teams to regularly play the newer teams. Old rivalries still exist, but now new competition has been tossed in to the mix.

They call it "Listeneisse Baseball" to capture foreign television markets, but to everyone else, it's pure cricket. On the amateur level, most cricket leagues maintain the traditional rules, but 1-day cricket rules are the format of the professional leagues, mostly to appeal to television audiences.

Automobile Racing

Formula One racing and open-road rallies are the most popular. The nation created its own Formula One race track recently to the thrill of national audiences (though not so thrilling to those who live near the buzzing track).

Stock car and traditional drag racing are not as popular.

Instead, there are technological races on the open plains of Canardia for land-speed records and solar-powered vehicles.