[OOC]Prepare for much info you probably don't want or need
. This is my nation declaration, I should have an island drawn up soon but for those trying to envision it this is basically a 500k SqKm version of Howard County MD instead of the actual 658 SqKm [/OOC]
Nation: Wilkonia
Government:
Executive:
Constitutional Monarchy, however the monarch retains and wields power much in the form of the late 18th century and early 19th century. Parliament wields the power of the purse and the right to request a royal audience (as well as authority over all nobles not of the immediate royal house) however direct control of the military remains with the King/Queen and he/she retains sole authority as head of State and Government. The Royal house itself consists, by law, of the ruling Monarch and spouse along with all children of the spouse and monarch only (children of a previous marriage or royal bastards while retaining whatever noble titles they may hold do fall under the power of Parliament and are not of the royal house). Ascension to the throne lies with the eldest born child, regardless of gender, upon their marriage. If the eldest child is not married when the monarch dies a regent shall be elected by Parliament until such time as the heir shall marry. Within five years of obtaining their majority if the eldest child, for whom the throne is held, should still not be wed the line of succession shall pass to the next heir in the line of succession.
Legislative:
Parliament, aside from duties in regards to succession, holds sole power to originate laws (the Monarch may sign or veto but not create) and raise concurrent funds. The land holdings of the Royal House and its income are considered state property. However, they remain in control of the Family and thus are beyond the regulation of Parliament. The Parliament itself consists of one house with members both elected and appointed by virtue of title. Any bearer of a life-title of high order or a royal title, aside from the royal family, sits permanently in Parliament unless recalled by the Monarch or condemned by a court of peers to be stripped of said title. These titles are greater than a private title, a private title of high order, and a life title. The parliament elects from among its membership heads of all the executive departments, subject to the veto of the Monarch, as well as a chief minister who presides over Parliament and serves as chief advocate to the Court. They also hold sole power of judicial appointment though not of military appointment. The exception lies with members of the Royal Court of Appeals who are appointed by the Monarch without control of Parliament.
Judiciary:
The Judiciary is founded upon the principals of common law (as brought along within my personal household) and is served by three levels of ascending courts. The first is tribunal of fact only, the second of law only, and the third a national court of appeal for both fact and law. All residents, not just citizens, retain the right to trial, but not trial by jury. Thus most cases are handled as an audience with county-level justices of the peace who are appointed by the county council therein. Appeal would be to the court of fact then to the court of law and then to the national court. In cases where petition is granted by the Court of the District (Court of fact) the case may first be heard by them, also in all cases whereby the maximum sentence is death or life imprisonment shall always begin in the Court of the Royal District. Any appeal to the next court, the Court of Appeals for the District shall be on the basis of the law argued and applied alone. Final appeal to the Royal Court of Appeals, whose members by virtue of judgeship hold royal title, shall be free to review both fact and law under dispute.
In all cases involving citizenry of the nation appeal may be made directly to the Monarch and he or she may, by law, grant an audience to judge the case. All such decisions are final and may not be appealed save that any sentence of death must go immediately before the Royal Court of Appeals.
International Relations
Wilkonia is a member of the Old Boys Network though its alliegance is principally to the MESS, of which details will likely be forthcoming. Though the existence of the MESS is known details of how it arose are not.
Economy:
Resources and Sectors:
GDP is roughly 750Bn (USD) principally centered on pharmaceuticals, heavy manufacturing/mining, agriculture and fishing, financial services, and general retail services in descending order of percent of GDP. The island is home to the largest silver deposits yet discovered and has lesser, but still notable, holdings of coal, bauxite, iron, copper, and zinc. Oil is not readily available on shore though offshore drilling has produced enough to supply the naval trade and defense needs of the island with more being brought online currently.
Power and Transportation:
Electric power remains principally coal-fired however planning has restricted plants to limited points on the island and has imposed strict emissions curbs. As such electricity is not readily present in rural Wilkonia while being still subdued in the cities and decently sized towns due to cost and market factors. Nuclear power is not widely available hwoever there is one existing nuclear station serving near the Fulton/Rocky Gap area with two more under construction. Long-term plans call for a total elimination of coal-fired plants to be supplanted by nuclear.
Transportation remains largely by rail with relatively level gradients outside of the central highlands and certain costal bluffs regions. Intra-city transit is heavily reliant upon above ground light-rail and trolleys with inter-urban rail lines run by multiple companies. Private automobiles remain a viable but not all too common commodity mostly for the upper-middle and upper class. Lack of readily available petroleum products (or cheap enough electricity to make alternatives viable) has restricted wider adoption.
Principal roadways, however, are fully paved and animal transport is reliable for short distance personal transit and freight. Commercial and industrial long distance is handled almost exclusively by ship and rail while medium and short distance is the province of inter-urban and intra-urban short line railroads of which there are 27 operating in the nation (to go with 3 national rail companies).
Government and Taxes:
The National Budget dedicates roughly 10% of the GDP to military expenditures with a total national budget encompassing roughly 17% of GDP (taxes on individual and corporate income amount to 85% of all tax dollars). The tax system is a progressive model with an absolute income floor based upon regional cost of living for individual and family incomes. The national government designates 22 administrative zones (commonly referred to as Districts) for tax and governance purposes. Within the given districts the National Revenue Service annually calculates the cost of living average for the district both for individuals and families. This value serves as the boundary point for the 0% rate, that is all income up to the cost of living mark is tax-free. Thereafter the tax rate increases at 5% per 10,000USD annual, that is earnings between 0 and 10,000 over the COL are taxed at 5%, those from 10-20k are taxed at 10%, and so forth. This continues until 40k-50k over COL (taxed at 25%) after which the rate increases by 5%for every 5,000 over the COL thus 50k-55k is taxed at 30%, 55k-60k at 35% and so forth until the rate reaches 75% where it is finally capped (this is for incomes of 100k over COL and upwards).
There are no exemptions or credits in the system excepting the minimum cost of living floor based on family size (The NRS calculates cost of living floors for individuals and families from 2-7 members which serves as the maximum floor). While there is no exception for charitable contributions in annual income there is in the estate tax system. As there is at 95% estate tax on all wealth passed to descendants above 100K this in turn has lead to massive grants upon death.
Corporate taxes are structured similar to individual incomes however there is no COL floor but rather the tax rate does not climb faster after the 25% rate and the rate caps at 60%. For private companies they are taxed as individuals thus leading to greater incorporation rates and thus greater national monitoring (as all publicly traded companies must divulge annually the state of all financial assets and liabilities as well as compensation figures for all board and executive members).
Military:
The Armed Forces of Wilkonia are divided into two broad categories and three branches of service. The major division is into Royal and National Forces. The Royal Forces are under the direct and immediate control of the Monarch. They swear an oath of personal loyalty and serve as the detachments charged with guarding the Royal Presence wherever he or she may travel. They consist of a naval, air and land branch number in total roughly 10,000 members of the 395,000 total armed forces of Wilkonia. The remaining forces are divided amongst the Army (215,000 personnel) Air Force (65,000 personnel) and Navy (110,000 personnel including one brigade of Marines comprising 7,000 total members). The Navy itself consists of 10 Columbia-class (Virginia-class) nuclear submarines, 30 Friaxis-class (Burke) Destroyers, 13 Patuxent-class (Ticonderoga) Cruisers, 6 Patapsco-class (Kirov) Nuclear Cruisers, and 3 Andreneas-class (Nimitz) Nuclear Carriers.
The forces themselves are divided into 2 active patrol groups (1 CVN, 2 CGNs, 3 CGs, and 3 DDGs) the remaining DDGs are typically formed into a surface action group with 1 CG while the SSNs serve on independent patrol. At most times a full patrol group is in port undergoing refit and repairs. The Naval Air Force consists of 4 full carrier wings (2 aboard ship, 2 training at home) of 48 birds comprising Wilkonian variants of the F-14D, the S-3, the EA-6B, and the E-2C (typical wing comprises 36 F-14Ds, 3 S-3s, 3 E-2Cs and 6 EA-6Bs). This accounts for 192 of all jets available currently. The Air Force holds all remaining 108 and is slated for all future production increases until it reaches total parity with the Naval Arm. It consists of 36 F-22 variants, 24 F-16 variants, 24 B-1B variants, 12 F-15 variants, and 12 B-52s. Future production runs are expected principally to increase F-22 and F-16 variants with F-15s being retired and additional B-1Bs slated. Final budget for the last fiscal year was 76.2 Bn.
Future Notes:
Military: The Armed Forces currently comprise roughly 1.3% of the populace. Plans exist to expand total force levels to 2.5% of the populace in concordance with annual GDP growth currently at 5.3%. This process is expected to take roughly 10 years resulting in total force strength of 800k out of a population base of 35 million. The costs of this force would rise to roughly 126Bn out of an anticipated GDP of roughly 1.63 Trillion (dropping to 7.7% of GDP against 10% currently). Principal increases will be in land and air forces (no new naval expenditures aside from replacements are expected under this proposal). As existing fund comprising 32.6Bn directly tied to all sales of silver is held separately for emergency war-funding and is not budgeted for any given year and may not be accessed except by royal decree in times of war.
Transportation: The existence of a rail line covering the entire northern (and rockiest) coast serves to link the production centers of Elkridge, Ellicott City and Mt Airy combined with the southern line linking Laurel , the Naval Base at Fulton/Rocky Gap and onward to Mt Airy serves East-West Transportation effectively. A single North-South line on the East Coast from Elkridge to Laurel serves costal and military traffic while the mid-distance line to the capital at Columbia serves all traffic. Construction is underway for a North-South link from Ellicott City through Columbia to Laurel and an East-West line from the terminus of Jessup-Columbia line through Glenelg eventually joining the Laurel-Mt Airy line North-West of Rocky Gap Naval Base and Fulton Naval Air Station.
I must now admit that this thread is entering new levels of awesome very fast.]
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