Silver Industria
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| Flag of Silver Industria | |
| Motto: Motto | |
| Area Map | |
| Region | Secularia |
|---|---|
| Capital | Silver Industria |
| Official Language(s) | No Official, English de facto |
| Leader | See Government |
| Population | 200 Million+ |
| Currency | Silver Dollar |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Contents
History
Coming Soon
Geography
The Republic of Silver Industria is located on an artificial island built on an inactive, underwater volcano. Approximately 100 feet of multiple types of materials, ranging from reinforced concrete to sand and other natural materials, were added to the volcano until finally the island poked 15 feet above the water. The island was originally an almost perfect circle, but districts have begun adding onto the islands to help accommodate the growing population and keep land prices from skyrocketing. The island is roughly growing in a triangle shape; with the southern half expanding outwards while the northern half is expanding north. This is also due to the northern districts' increasing number of skyscrapers, which allow more people in a smaller area.
To the northeast of Silver Industria lies the Elaion Islands, a chain of volcanic islands (although six of the eight main volcanoes are dormant). Thousands of years ago, the volcano Silver Industria rests on, as well as multiple other underwater volcanoes, use to be part of this volcanic chain, which stretches across the ocean. Due to the geological activities, the Elaion Islands are rich in natural resources, ranging from fertile farmland to minerals and the largest island, Elaion, also possesses a large oil reserve.
Government
Silver Industria’s government is officially called the Political Bureau of Silver Industria, although it is most often referred to as the S.I. Politburo or just the Politburo. Due to the nation’s youth, a fully functioning government hasn’t been established. Currently the nation is ran by the seven tycoons that created Silver Industria, although few complaints about their policies have ever surfaced. Many believe that at least five of the seven leaders will be elected in the first democratic elections, which would be over the 2/3’s majority needed to create new policies or destroy old ones. The first democratic elections were supposed to take place five years after the nation’s official founding, but the Elaion War erupted just a month before the elections and they were canceled. The war ended quicker than expected but not long after, Silver Industria became highly involved in another war, actively supporting a nation’s independence from Silver Industria’s primary rival, Northfrost. Not only this, but a massive arms race has erupted on the Elaion Islands between Northfrost and Silver Industria that could escalate into war with even the smallest incident. The current Politburo has announced that the first election should be held within the next year or two, depending how on the current situation with the Northfrost Empire plays out.
Demographics
Silver Industria is an extremely diverse nation. With over 70% of its population growth coming from immigration, SI can boast having citizens from hundreds of nations across the world. Despite high immigration levels, the government has never added an ethnicy poll onto censuses. When questioned about it, the Politburo stated "There are no different nationalities in this nation. All citizens are Industrian and they shall all be regarded as Industrians."
Religion is scarce in Silver Industria and churches and temples are rarely seen due to land availability and government policies that regard religious buildings as businesses due to the transfer of money. The Industrian Constitution also outlaws any national religion, passing religion-based laws, or preferring one religion to another. These policies are rarely challenged due to the few Conservatives within the Politburo and District Governments. The last census revealed that 82% of the population doesn't believe that there are gods, spirits, or any other superstitious entities. 13% said they don't believe in gods but are still superstitious. 5% are religious, with 2% of that Buddhist, 1% Christian, 1% Muslim, and 1% Other.
Languages
Due to high immigration rates, Silver Industria is home to nearly one hundred different languages. All official documents are recorded in the four most common languages according the last census, which is currently English, Spanish, Swedish, and Russian. There is still some debate over this, as Russian only won by 1% over Mandarin, and no language recieved over 60%. English is the most common language and is usually used de facto for businesses. In the category of native languages, no single language has even 25%.
Economy
Capitalist Paradise
Silver Industria was created as a haven for businesses and people to escape the horrors of war and corrupt governments. The government has almost no business regulations to allow companies to expand and act freely. Taxes are kept as low as possible, spiking only with the outbreak or threat of war or during major national projects. The minimum wage is the the main business regulation, although some greedy company owners want it dealt away with. The minimum wage is adjusted at the beginning of every year to deal with inflation and the national economic status. Besides the annual change, the minimum wage is allowed to be adjusted in case of national emerges or serious financial disasters. For companies making over $1 billion in profit a year, the minimum wage is slightly increased at the rate of $1 per $5 billion of profit at a maximum of $15 above the national minimum wage.
Welfare State?
A currently controversal issue is whether Silver Industria should be a welfare state. With an approx. 20% increase in income tax, the government could pay for many private expenses such as community colleges, public school (which is already mostly free except for lunches and occassional class fees), much cheaper insurance, federal assistance on healthcare, and free dental care. Opponents say that this increase in income tax would be stealing from the people, as not everyone attends college and aren't regularly injured or need dental work. Although the Politburo has already announced that a minor increase in income tax over the next few years to increase the welfare budget, it will not be near enough to reach welfare state status.
Culture
As with most other things, immigration greatly effects this category. The hundreds of different nationalities have created a severely diverse culture, although many believe that these different cultures will gradually blend together to form a unique Industrian culture. Skeptics say that continued immigration and additional cultures coming to the nation will prevent this from happening and gradually the exact opposite will happen, as there will be too many cultures to merge. Whatever the outcome, a familiar trend has begun to arise in music on the island. Different forms of rock music, such as hard rock, metal, death metal, etc., has become extremely popular throughout the nation. Dozens of internationally famous metal bands have sprung from Silver Industria, and some consider SI the "Homeland of Rock".
Sports
Industrians have become increasingly interested in sports, with over 20 stadiums being built within the last two years alone. Before this sports explosion, there were only 12 sports stadiums on the entire island and most of them were multi-purpose stadiums used for concerts and other events. The main two sports are Football (American) and Soccer, although other sports such as Baseball, Dodgeball, Golf, and Tennis are becoming more common. There are currently four "official" sports leagues, the National Football League, the Industrian Soccer Association, the National Baseball League, and the Industrian Dodgeball Federation. Other popular leages are called "major leagues" and district or city leagues are called "minor leagues". To become an official sports league, the league must have at least two stadiums in each district plus a tournament stadium in the Capital District.
