Talk:Shattered (Map Game)/@comment-26044830-20180312223521

United States of America
 * Government
 * Inauguration of President Paul: On 20th January, President-elect Paul was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, replacing Elizabeth Warren. With the proportional vote system in place since February 2032 (also part of the backstory), Paul faces a potential scandal within the Republican Party that might lead to the downfall of their own party. The Libertarians are the largest third-party with the party having a minority seat in the Congress so far and that he doesn't want to make them the replacement of the nearly 200 year old party after winning out as one of the two parties, including the Democrats in every election.
 * Intervention against China: The Congress votes narrowly against intervening in China out of fears that supporting neo-Maoists would lead to another Cultural Revolution and supporting China would've meant that the President-For-Life would continue on ruling the country and not having democracy. Supporting Tibet and East Turkestan/Uyghurstan ((I prefer Uyghurstan, East Turkestan is biased and favours Russian imperialism in the Chinese region)) would also brand the US' reptuation by China as supporting insurgents but we should also maintain a good relationship with India as well. Other nations will get to decide whether they should intervene, for now the US is still watching at the closest eye should any changes happen.
 * Military
 * Military Budget Increased: President Paul passes next year's budget to have the military budget raised by 150% of this year's budget and mainly devote that towards researching into military technology such as better drone technology, insect-scale surveillance cameras and exoskeleton armour. Many fear that the post-default US economy and the ongoing so-called War Against Automation, along with excessive loaning once again would lead to a second default and an economic collapse from further funding the military for little purpose. One political commentator said the following: "Why are we increasing the budget of the military? The military is already large enough to handle on it's own maintenance. Cut it down."
 * Investment into Drone Technology and Exoskeleton Armour: The 150% increase of that budget goes to researching more technologies for the military next year. The said technologies are being researched of.
 * Greece: The US government intervenes in Greece and publicly decided to support the old government - mainly because they have ties ever since Turkey tried to invade Cyprus in the early 2020s and the radical fascist/neo-nazi Golden Dawn members have suspicious ties with Russia. This was also an attempt to increase their influence once again since their decline in the 2020s by letting Middle Eastern powers dominate in the Middle East rather than themselves. Over 30,000 soldiers were deployed into battle in the region, along with a 10-size fleet, including one aircraft carrier to distract any potential enemy.
 * Economy: Bad. The US also loans more money once again since the mid-2020s to keep the budget up. Fractured_stock_crash_thingy.jpeg
 * Fall 2033 Stock Crash: Both the Chinese and US stock markets crash in the fall of 2033 (or autumn 2033) as a result of the Chinese Civil War. As a result, unemployment rates soar to 25% within matter of weeks following from September to December 2033 since the year 2025, leading to the creation of the SSP signed by President Paul. Demonstrations of UBI protests by left-wing protesters also rapidly increased in major cities starting at December, calling for the Paul administration to pass a low UBI rate system of an estimated $20 per week at minimum to the unemployed. The UBI system failed to pass under President Warren due to uncertainty whether the economy of the US could handle it or who benefits and who doesn't (wealthy people are initially excluded in the second pending bill) and President Paul had anticipated the hope of tackling unemployment back to 10% at such an unrealistic rate through his own program.
 * Self-Sufficiency Program (SSP): Also by the name of Ryanomics by the media (similar to how Reaganomics was called upon), an unpopular program that is supposed to tackle unemployment and poverty that is rising in the United States through state welfare instead of applying a UBI system. State welfare ensures that there will be free medical services around the nation without the need of paying, but that also come at a high cost. The SSP is also encouraging companies not to further automate the industry and instead encourage laid-off employees to return and also invest into expanding domestic industry with labourers. But the unemployment rate remains 25% and the Second Automation Boom is about to happen soon which could raise the unemployment rate up to 32% to 35% within a matter of months of that boom, no matter how long the delay would be.
 * Research and Technology
 * Lunar Colony Plan: Many doubt this is going to happen, but NASA hasn't been receiving the necessary funding to establish a lunar colony due to an ongoing economic crisis that led to further budget cuts, meaning that an American lunar colony would be given up to SpaceX and other US-based private space companies as a result. SpaceX is seen to be heading towards a very ambitious project to launch a mining colony by 2040, something unrealistic that Elon Musk likes to go across but they have made a lot of use with reusable rocketry and better equipment over the last 15 years in development - so it might be possible, but with an ongoing economic crisis, probably this will take a while to get necessary funding.
 * Home™: Smart speakers are also gaining a lot of consumer popularity in the early 2030s since their introduction in the late 2010s, but they are controversial due to potential threats that intelligence organisations would gather data and use them when necessary, especially those manufactured/designed by other companies over other regions. Transparency in the United States is considered to be one of the worst by now.
 * Quantum Computers: It's still being invested and slowly commercialised, although economic funding hindered the project to transition this into a commercial product for most US companies to profit.
 * Automation of Workplace: With the turndown happening on a global scale, every company must turn towards automation. Machines that work fast enough are starting to take over much of the domestic industry of the US as it was proven to be cheaper to install and produce the same yield as a whole human worker team. Some turn to hydroponic farming and other not vulnerable jobs such as newly created jobs by the government to keep up with the increased rate of automation. Then suddenly on June 2033, a bill was proposed by President Paul to heavily regulate automation, artificial intelligence and robotics from further penetrating industrial-level jobs. The Congress, led by Democrats refused heavy regulation of robotics, saying that this would mean 'going back to an inefficient past'. Uncertainty of employment grows with the stock market crash by the end of the year with the upcoming Second Boom expected to happen somewhere in the mid-2030s, with new generation of machines working more harder than ever than their predecessors in the 2020s to lay even more jobs off from factories.
 * Diplomacy
 * Iranian Opposition/Republic Coalition of Iran: We would like to secretly aid you in the Iranian CIvil War to topple down the theocratic republican government. We won't give you any demands but we only want an open and good relations with you in condition to these terms so that we will fund and give you the necessary equipment and arsenal to fight against the regime.
 * China: We don't want to end up in a messy situation.
 * Chinese Rebels: We can't fund you minority groups because of China and that we have other concerns but we do support your cause of independence.
 * Greece: The US fully intervenes in Greece as Russian operations have being sighted in the Aegean Sea, including possible insurgents rising up in the region by sending in a fleet into the Mediterranean and also sending in thousands of troops into the frontline. Operatives in Greece also rapidly increased with agents disguised as Greek soldiers and trained for six months (this move sucks the most but this region is gold) moving into the war-torn region in uncovering other operations by Russia, Turkey and other powers' intents in the region, by ensuring that the old government remains in place through gaining an intelligence edge - they could keep the information they want until it's time to expose them, along with the Greek government being convinced that they are under constant threat and need protection. (More details on the military section)
 * Kazakhstan: We don't support or improve relationships with members of the Turkic Pact.
 * Israel: Being a monarchy is giving us a headache. (But ok but Big Brother keeps watching you if you try to be a monarchy)
 * Denmark: Your turn is gay.
 * Philippines: Nothing. Good.
 * Switzerland: Nothing. Good.
 * Brazil: For God's sake (you never read my replies when it comes to me replying to your doorstep), we don't have any interest in expanding NATO into major powers like Brazil, we do potentially acept Mexico and smaller powers in the North American region but not you - it'll be like saying India should join NATO - but that isn't geographically sense and we don't allow major powers to become members asides from the US itself, i.e. me. We will only accept military alliances or a defensive pact with you. We could negotiate association status but not member of NATO.