Prairie Collectives
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| Flag of Prairie Collectives | |
| Motto: Grain grain grow away! | |
| No Map Available Yet | |
| Region | The Pleiades |
|---|---|
| Capital | Collective City |
| Official Language(s) | Bigtopian, others |
| Leader | First Labourer Paul Olson |
| Population | 2.5+ billion |
| Currency | Labour credit |
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Federation of Prairie Collectives is a nation in the Pleiades. It is a decentralized neo-communist state, taking advantage of high-speed information networks and efficient transportation links to create an advanced post-capitalist society where the basics of life are provided, and the luxuries are not far away so long as work is done.
Government
The Collectives are governed independently by direct democracy and generally benign Collective Councils. Each has its own unique system of law which cannot be overridden by the central government; however, as part of the Federation, each collective is mandated to collect taxes on behalf of the central government, to provide for mutual defense, and (generally) to coordinate with other cooperatives on projects larger than a single cooperative; the last clause has drawn fire for its vagueness, and much recent exploitation by the central government to pass legislation otherwise prohibited by the separation of powers in the Constitution.
The federal government of Prairie Collectives consists of a parliament of two bodies; the directly elected House of Labourers, consisting of members elected from ridings apportioned by population, and the indirectly elected House of Managers, consisting of the Chairmen of the Collective Councils, along with the Opposition Leader of each Collective Council.
The de facto Head of Government is the First Labourer, chosen by the majority party in the House of Labourers, however, the position is not as strong as the Prime Ministership of other nations.
Domestic Policy
Personal freedoms are highly valued in the federation, as without them the various collective governments might quickly lose individuality to a totalitarian union of "Soviets".
Political freedoms are prized, but somewhat limited. What can best be described as the major political parties in the Collectives are loose coalitions of regional and special interest groups that politicians may or may not be a part of. Over a third of the House of Labourers were elected as independents.
Economic policy is based on a philosophy of moderation. Corporations are allowed, facing variable levels of regulation, though recently the government has allowed them more freedom.
The central government has taken sharp criticism for its efforts to bolster the economy, often coming at the expense of the environment. At one point, pollutant levels in Collective Lake exceeded those of the Aral Sea, but re-regulation and extensive funding for cleanup programs restored the environment.
More recently, a major crime wave swept the nation, following the opening of the free market on human corpses. Restricting sales of human organs did not stem the tide, however, and the government, not wanting to erect prisons, chose to authorize concealed weapons permits, a policy that seems to have had some success. Recent boosts in education funding across the Collectives have also reduced overall crime rates.
Foreign Policy
The Collectives have no current plans to join the United Nations, as internal issues have been difficult enough to coordinate. Its relations with other organized states are cordial; with failed states the Collectives is willing to commit both economic and peacekeeping aid.
Economy
The economy of Prairie Collectives is based most simply on the concept that "time is money." The basic Labour credit is essentially a timecard for a citizen. Most goods and services in the country are tailored to an individual on a 40 credit weekly salary. High-demand occupations, such as research chemists and novel writers, are alloted more than one credit per hour worked -- though under no circumstances can any individual earn more than 168 credits in a week, including all other considerations. As food, clothing, housing, and medical care are available free of charge to Collective citizens, credits are only used to purchase luxury items.
Symbols
The Prairie Collectives Flag consists of two horizontal bars, one of red, symbolizing the blood of the working class, and one of gold, representing the bounty of the fields. A gold stalk of wheat and a sickle, is placed in the upper hoist. Overall, the motif shares much with flags of Communist states.
The national animal of Prairie Collectives is the Prairie Dog, a burrowing rodent. The dogs live in underground colonies in the vast stretches of open land in the Collectives. While the species has certain protections, the population is managed to avoid conflict with crop farmers.
Culture
The Collectives spend a great deal of effort promoting the arts, regional and ancient language, and other cultural pursuits. Minorities are well represented in mass media programming as the result of subsidies.
Perhaps the most distinctinve trait shared by all Collectives is an admiration for games of chance. This, plus the tax rates and social safety net, has resulted in Collectivists having little to lose at the tables. With more casinos per capita than almost any other socialist state, it has become a mecca for left-leaning gamblers across the sector.
