Anyone interested in a President Forever FOFC Game?

[Wolfpack]

What the hell, I'm in:

Candidate: Rawley "Wolf" Pack
Home: North Carolina
Party: SkyDogpublicans

Leadership--3
Integrity--5
Experience--1
Issues--3
Charisma--2
Stamina--2
Debating--4

Abortion--CENTER-RIGHT (No Legal Abortions, except to save mother's life or rape)
Same-sex Marriage--CENTER-RIGHT (Marriage is between one man and one woman)
Affirmative action--RIGHT (Abolish all affirmative action programs)
Immigration--CENTER (Legal immigration is fine, but immigration laws must be obeyed)
Balanced budget--CENTER (Balance lowering deficit with other priorities)
Military--CENTER-RIGHT (Increase, but look to be more efficient)
Business Tax--CENTER-RIGHT (Decrease slightly, to spur investment)
Military Intervention--CENTER-RIGHT (Only if our national intrest is threatened)
Campaign Finance--RIGHT (No campaign reform needed)
Personal Income Tax--CENTER-RIGHT (Reduced taxes across the board)
Ecology--CENTER (A balance between enviromental and economic policies)
Public Health Care--CENTER (Public for the poor and the elderly, the rest private)
Education--CENTER-RIGHT (School Vouchers for lower income students)
Renewable Energy--CENTER (Both renewable and non-renewable energy must be adequately resourced)
Free Trade--RIGHT (ALL markets must be open)
Social Security--CENTER-RIGHT (Let workers privately invest some of their payments)
Gun Control--RIGHT (Ownership is constitutionally protected, no gun control)
Terrorism--CENTER-RIGHT (We should not hestitate to use military force against terrorists)

[sterlingice]

You should put a link from here to the other threads that are part of this game like the debates

SI

[SirFozzie]

Workin on it. I have to create four debates.. (well, 3 debates.. and the Monster Raving Loonies coffieklatch, which will be most fun). I will link the threads afterwords

Finished the SkyDogpublicans and Wigocrats questions so far.

[SirFozzie]

The SkyDogPublicans

The Wigocrats

The Colossal Squidependants

The Monster Raving Looneys

[JeeberD]

You mean we actually have to discuss the issues? Crap, I'm in trouble...

[AgPete]

So if the rumors are true and a lot of conservative posters have liberal posters on their ignore list, and vice versa, how are you ever going to have a Presidential debate?

[SirFozzie]

well.. the game handles the SCORING of the debate.. but I dunno, would be fun to run it here

[Dutch]

WTF? I didn't have to type all that crap in the debate thread???? Damnit!

[snaps pencil]

[SackAttack]

No, Dutch, that's once a Presidential candidate has been chosen.

To make it through the primaries, you still have to participate in the board debates

[samifan24]

So we are doing primaries and then the game decides or other FOFCers decide? I'm a little confused as to how this whole thing will go down.

[General Mike]

So it's too late for me to sign up?

[SirFozzie]

Once we get to the actual campaign, we'll input the stats on President Forever, and have each campaign (SkydogPublican, Wigocrat, Colossal Squidependant and the Monster Raving Looneys), tell me where they want to campaign, what they want to do for issue ads, etcetera etcetera.

[SackAttack]

sami, I think FOFCers decide who the game gets to decide between.

[SirFozzie]

Mike: As long as the Primaries haven't gone up.. feel free to declare yourself.. but be forewarned.. your fellow members may not like gate crashers

[General Mike]

Candidate: General Mike Ritschel (SkyDogpublicans)
New Jersey

Leadership: 4
Integrity: 4
Experience: 1
Issue Familiarity: 4
Charisma: 3
Stamina: 1
Debating: 3

Platforms:

Abortion
Center-Right: No Legal Abortions, except to save mother's life or rape

Same Sex Marriage
Center-Left: Civil Unions (ie, "In everything but name...")

Affirimative Action:
Center-Right: Affirmative Action programs only in certain cases

Immigration
Center-Right: Reduce legal immigration, crackdown on illegal immigration

Balanced Budget
Centrist: Balance lowering deficit with other priorities

Military Funding:
Centrist: Keep the same, but look to be more efficient

Buisness Tax:
Center-Right: Decrease slightly, to spur investment

Military Intervention
Center-Right: Only if our national intrest is threatened

Campaign Finance Reform
Centrist: We need to put more power into smaller donor's hands

Personal Income Tax
Center-Right: Reduced taxes across the board

Ecology
Centrists A balance between enviromental and economic policies

Public Health Care:
Center-Left: Universal health care, doesn't matter whether public or private

Education
Left: No vouchers, significant increase in spending

Renewable Energy
Centrist: Both renewable and non-renewable energy must be adequately resourced

Free Trade:
Center-Left: Some industries must be protected

Social Security
Center-Right:Let workers privately invest some of their payments

Gun Control
Center-Left: Ban certain guns, and require background checks/registration

Terrorism:
Center-Left: We need to fight the cause of terrorism, economic and social injustice

[SackAttack]

So, Mike, how do you square a reduction in the business tax, "to spur investment," with raising taxes on the rich? You think the rich just stick their money under a mattress?

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

So, Mike, how do you square a reduction in the business tax, "to spur investment," with raising taxes on the rich? You think the rich just stick their money under a mattress?

Oops, I better change that.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Oops, I better change that.

Candidate flip-flops on the issues...strike one.

[Ryan S]

Since I am basically President of this place right now I thought I would toss my hat in the ring. (or maybe I am the Vice President )

I will run for the SkyDogpublican nomination:

Leadership - 3
Integrity - 4
Experience - 1
Issue Familiarity - 2
Charisma - 4
Stamina - 2
Debating - 4

Platforms:
Left: Unrestricted access to abortions
Centrist: Retain marriage as is, but explore civil unions
Right: Abolish all affirmative action programs
Centrist: Legal immigration is fine, but immigration laws must be obeyed
Center-Right: a Balanced Budget amendment to eliminate the Deficit
Right: Need to significantly increase to meet new threats
Right: Significantly decrease (Business tax)
Right: We can and should use our military might to further our own interests
Right: No campaign reform needed
Right: Reduce taxes on the rich
Center-Right: Economic Policies must come before enviromental policies
Right: Completely privatize the health care system
Center-Right: School Vouchers for lower income students
Center-Right: Coal and Oil should be our main concerns
Rights: ALL markets must be open
Right: Let workers privately invest all of their payments
Right: Ownership is constitutionally protected, no gun control
Right: Terrorism can only be stopped one way. Military Force.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Candidate flip-flops on the issues...strike one.

He's late to the party and thinks he's a general and thus reminds voters too much of Wesley Clark. "Steeee-rike! .....two."

[tucker342]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

So, Mike, how do you square a reduction in the business tax, "to spur investment," with raising taxes on the rich? You think the rich just stick their money under a mattress?

well they sure aren't using the extra money from Bush's "tax cuts" to create jobs now are they?

[SackAttack]

You're not thinking logically. You don't just go down to the job store and say "Hey, I'd like to buy three full-time jobs and an illegal immigrant to do the cleaning."

The money gets invested, whether it be in an established company like Microsoft, or an up-and-coming company that has some product or idea that may be useful in the marketplace. That investment money, in turn, allows that company to expand, and hire more people in order to create the product they sell, which in turn gives them greater sales capacity, which equals greater revenue, which can then be plowed *gasp* right back into the company.

But it doesn't happen overnight. By the same token, cutting the taxes on the middle class and lower class aren't an instant panacea either. It takes time for the money to get back to them, and for them to then re-inject that money back into the economy.

You know the saying "a rising tide lifts all ships"? It's applicable here, too. A tax cut for businesses and the wealthy will have the greatest long-term effect, while short-term tax cuts on the lower and middle classes will have a more immediate effect, but with less lasting impact. Cut taxes on everybody, and everybody benefits.

Thing is, you have to balance that with the proper spending cuts. Cutting taxes and raising spending just exacerbates the problem that got us into this mess in the first place, and raising taxes to compensate for higher spending isn't the answer, either.

There's not a country in the world that has taxed itself into prosperity, and even Communist China realizes this - there was a news story the other day to the effect that they're lowering taxes on the wealthy and businesses in order to stimulate economic growth in rural areas, as well as to keep themselves in power.

Imagine that.

[Barkeep49]

All this assumes that the money will be invested well. While I have faith that those with true need know how to truly spend money wisely, the idea that the top 1% can suddenly create more jobs with just a little more money is absurd. A rising tide may lift all boats but far too many people have been stranded ashore looking at yaughts.

[SackAttack]

Perhaps, but nowhere is there a guarantee of prosperity. Human fallibility ensures that some ventures will always fall flat on their faces. It may be a case of mismanaged money, it may be a case of the market not being ready for the product, or it may just be a faulty idea in the first place.

Investment money cannot fix any of those three problems. If the person running the company is incompetent, all the investment money in the world won't magically create jobs.

And again, I stress, it's not an instant thing. Investing $5 million in venture capital isn't going to reduce the jobless rate instantaneously. Fifty investors each investing $5 million? Probably won't either, but it will help. Companies don't spring fully formed from the head of Zeus. It takes time, effort, and yes, venture capital to get them up and running.

Only then do the fruits of that labor begin to take shape, and even that doesn't happen overnight. Yeah, you could create 100,000 new jobs in a month, if you wanted to. Just open 5000 new McDonald's.

But would you really argue that the population is better off with 5,000 new burger joints than with higher-paying jobs that might take a little longer to come to the market?

[Barkeep49]

Fozzie: Are you using the '04 scenerio in terms of how many debates and such there are?

[SirFozzie]

yes

[Barkeep49]

Actually despite this being past the deadline I would like to argue that. I have no problem with people failing. People deserve to be more successful than others based on ability. However, when such a large segment of the American population never have a chance to get education and get higher paying jobs, when there are, as a certain Senator said, two Americas then this is a problem.

I am glad, however, to join you in recognizing our failure to do meaningful job training in this country.

[samifan24]

SirFozzie,

I'd just like to say thanks for one of the most creative, interesting and engaging games I've enjoyed here on FOFC in quite a while. Thanks.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Barkeep49

Actually despite this being past the deadline I would like to argue that. I have no problem with people failing. People deserve to be more successful than others based on ability. However, when such a large segment of the American population never have a chance to get education and get higher paying jobs, when there are, as a certain Senator said, two Americas then this is a problem.

I am glad, however, to join you in recognizing our failure to do meaningful job training in this country.

Sure. The two most important things the government should be providing are a strong national defense, and quality education for its citizenry. It's when you start getting into things like national health care, government management of retirement funds, etc, that I start to take issue. The government doesn't belong in every facet of our lives. Are there areas where it can be of immense value? Yes. Are there areas where government intervention can result in the anti-Midas touch? Also yes.