Difference between revisions of "Prairie Collectives"

Revision as of 17:02, 30 November 2006

Prairie Collectives

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	2.19+ 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 used to purchase luxury items.