Issues from #021 to #030

#021: Police Consider "Big Brother" Anti-Crime System

The Issue
The Police department is considering installing surveillance cameras in all major public areas, in an effort to crack down on crime.

The Debate
1. "This is a blatant invasion of the right to privacy!" says libertarian web site operator @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Now I can't even go out in public any more without being watched? And you know this is just the beginning. Today there are cameras in city streets. Tomorrow they're peering through your bedroom window."
The Results: surveillance cameras are banned.

Civil rights +6

2. "Hey, I've got news for you," says Police media liaison @@RANDOMNAME@@. "When you're out in public, PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU. These cameras will be extremely helpful in reducing the national crime rate. Frankly, I can't see what the fuss is about."
The Results: all major public areas are watched by police surveillance cameras.

Civil rights -5

Safety +3

3. "This 'slippery slope' argument has got me thinking," says Police Minister @@RANDOMNAME@@. "You know, it would be a lot easier to fight crime if we watched people all the time. Not with cameras, of course. That's clearly an invasion of privacy. But how about a national database of our citizens, coupled with compulsory ID cards and barcoding? It would stop crime dead in its tracks."
The Results: citizens are barcoded to keep track of their movements

Civil rights -30

Political freedoms -18

Safety +3

Safety From Crime +2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#022: Nazi Sympathizers Plan Rally

The Issue
Far-right-wing Nazi supporters plan to stage a rally in the city center tomorrow, giving voice to their violent, racist views.

The Debate
1. "Frankly, I'm appalled that the government can even consider allowing this travesty to go ahead," says prominent Jewish personality @@RANDOMNAME@@. "We can't let these animals broadcast their message of hate. Surely @@NAME@@ is too civilized for that."
The Results: it is illegal to make racist remarks in public

Political Freedoms -8

Averageness -2

2. "It's exactly because we're civilized that we must let the demonstration proceed," says free speech campaigner @@RANDOMNAME@@. "We may not like what they have to say, but in this society, people have the right to argue whatever political view they want, no matter how hateful, selfish, or stupid it is."
The Results: the tenet of free speech is held dear

Political Freedoms +21

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#023: Uranium Deposit Promises To Enrich @@NAME@@

The Issue
Prospecting company Nukes4U has uncovered a large uranium deposit in @@NAME@@'s south-west.

The Debate
1. "This is a terrific find!" claims Nukes4U CEO @@RANDOMNAME@@. "It will provide an enormous stimulus to our economy and create thousands of new jobs. It's win-win! All we need from the government is permission to bulldoze the rainforest that's on top of the deposit."
The Results: the country's famous rainforests are being bulldozed by the mining industry.

Economy +2

Eco-friendliness -2

Tourism -26

2. "You've got to be kidding," says Green politician @@RANDOMNAME@@. "This rainforest is thousands of years old! This country needs more environmental protection, not less. And to destroy the environment in order to mine uranium that then goes into nuclear bombs--well, that really sticks in my craw."
The Results: tourists from around the world come to visit the country's famous rainforests.

Eco-Friendliness +1

Taxes +1

3. "There's no need for an either-or decision," says the government's Minister for Mining, Clear-Felling, and the Environment. "We can preserve most of the rainforest and allow mining of a small part. After all, think of all the good that the money from this uranium deposit can bring to @@NAME@@."
The Results: the mining industry is making inroads into environmentally sensitive areas

Taxes +7

Eco-Friendliness -1

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#024: Budget Time: Accountants Excited

The Issue
It's time for the government to allocate spending for the coming year, and as always, special interest groups are keen to have their say.

The Debate
1. "The state of the education system is, in many areas, simply frightful," says Teachers Union leader @@RANDOMNAME@@. "And even where we are doing well, we could do better. I appeal to the authorities for a substantial boost in funding. Remember, the children are our future."
The Results: a large-scale revitalization of the education system is underway

2. "We won't have a future unless we improve police numbers and rebuild the military," says General @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Oh, it's all well and good to have your fancy education and your nice cars, until some tinpot dictatorship decides to invade. And don't pretend like there aren't any of them in our region. Our number one priority has to be security."
The Results: military spending recently hit a new high

Taxes +1

Political Freedoms -8

3. "Education is nice, but Health and Social Welfare are more important," says celebrity social worker @@RANDOMNAME@@. "This is where the people who really need government help are: the marginalized of our society. If we don't help them, what kind of a nation are we?"
The Results: a well-funded social safety net protects the unfortunate

Welfare +2

4. "Hey, I've got a crazy idea," says noted libertarian and bird-watcher @@RANDOMNAME@@. "How about the government stops taking so much tax from people? Give us a tax cut and we'll buy the things we need ourselves. People need to be weaned off the government teat!"
The Results: citizens are enjoying a recent large cut in taxes

Taxes -4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#025: Cloning Research Promises New Breakthrough

The Issue
Scientists using cloned human embryos for research are on the verge of a medical breakthrough.

The Debate
1. "It's really very exciting," says lab head @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Until now, we've kept very quiet, to avoid being targeted by lunatic fringe groups who for some reason think it's wrong to clone human embryos. It's too early to promise anything, but we hope that one day we will have genetic cures for a whole range of debilitating illnesses. I certainly hope the government will support our work."
The Results: scientists regularly clone human beings for research purposes

Taxes +1

2. "Well, if you have to be part of a lunatic fringe group to object to this barbaric practice, I'm a lunatic," says placard-waving protestor @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Of course it would be nice to cure these unnamed diseases, but at what cost? They're messing with the sanctity of human life. It's wrong, and the lab should be shut down immediately."

The Results: genetic researchers have been expelled

Taxes +1

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

#026: Compulsory Organ Harvesting Proposed

The Issue
A group of emergency room doctors has petitioned the government to introduce mandatory organ donations.

The Debate
1. "It's not as crazy as it sounds," says Dr. @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Every day, people die because we don't have the organs to save them. Well, that and widespread under-funding of the health system. But the point is, if the government allowed us to take organs from dead people, we could save hundreds of lives a year. And come on, it's not like dead people need them."
The Results: organ donation is compulsory

Civil Rights -4

2. "You keep your damn hands off my organs!" says alarmed hospital patient @@RANDOMNAME@@. "They are my organs, and I'll do with them what I like. The government has no right to my body."
The Results: organ donation rates are among the lowest in the region

Civil Rights +20

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#027: Cash for Colons?

The Issue
Hospitals have requested that they be allowed to pay people for donating blood and other bodily organs, such as kidneys.

The Debate
1. "We remain critically short of blood plasma and various organs," says @@NAME@@ One hospital administrator @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Especially hearts. A good heart is hard to find. But if we were allowed to pay for donations, we'd get more of them and could save more lives. Plus the donor takes home a few hundred @@CURRENCY@@s in compensation. Unless it's a post-mortem donation, of course. In that case we'd pay the family."
The Results: college students make ends meet by selling their kidneys

Civil Rights +19

Economy +6

2. "Great idea," says social commentator @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Except for one thing. You know who's going to be selling their organs? Poor people! They'll be so desperate for money that they'll sell their own kidneys. Well, a kidney. This is just another way for the rich to buy themselves a better life at the expense of the poor. It must be outlawed."
The Results: organ donation rates have hit a new low

Taxes -1

Economy -13

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
#028: Cancer Sufferer Demands Euthanasia Bill

The Issue
Dorothy Terwilliger lies immobilized in a hospital bed, unable to move. She has end-stage cancer, and wishes to end her struggle against death. However, laws prevent her doctors from obeying her wishes.

The Debate
1. Dorothy and her family are campaigning for a "Dying with Dignity" bill, to change this situation. She implores the government to legalize euthanasia.
The Results: euthanasia is legal.

Civil Rights +1

2. "I understand this is a very difficult time for these people," says freelance medical writer @@RANDOMNAME@@. "But the solution is not to let our medical system slide down the slippery slope of killing people in pain. We must cure, not kill. This is not the right time for euthanasia."
The Results: euthanasia is illegal.

Civil Rights -2

3. "I agree, but go further: there is never a right time for euthanasia," says Bishop @@RANDOMNAME@@. "The lives we lead are given to us by the grace of God, and he decides when they end. It is not for us to question God's divine purpose, no matter how odd or screwed-up it may seem."
The Results: euthanasia is illegal

Civil Rights -6

Taxes -1

Godlessness +1

Religiousness +3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#029: Minorities Demand Representation In TV Soaps

The Issue
@@NAME@@'s TV soaps--famous around the region--have come under fire for their lack of ethnic diversity.

The Debate
1. "Every night my family and I sit down to watch 'The Brash and the Backstabbing'," says @@RANDOMNAME@@. "But where are the Lilliputians like myself? Where are the Bigtopians? The Marche Noirians? People from those cultures can be just as brash and backstabbing, but we never see them on the screen. The government must act to remove this silent apartheid from our TV screens."
The Results: TV shows must meet strict ethnicity quotas.

Civil Rights -8

Economy -6

Taxes +3

2. "Those Lilliputians don't know how good they have it," says @@RANDOMNAME@@, spokesperson for the Tasmanians Against Ethnic Stereotyping. "Tasmanians are on television all the time, but always in crude, stereotypical roles. The answer is not to enforce ethnic quotas, but to award government prizes for the positive portrayal of minorities. That'll work better, and be cheaper, too."
The Results: the government awards prizes to television shows featuring stereotype-breaking minority roles

Civil Rights -4

Economy -2

Taxes +1

3. "The government should do what now?" says TV studio executive @@RANDOMNAME@@. "You've got to be kidding. We make soaps here, not documentaries. I should be able to put whichever characters I want into my shows. Quotas! Government prizes! God save me! Hasn't the government got anything better to do? Why don't they just back off and let society work out these things on its own?"
The Results: the alarmingly racist TV show 'Bigtopians Say the Darndest Things' is a hit.

Civil Rights +5

Economy +7

Taxes -4

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#030: Auto Industry Struggles Against Foreign Imports

The Issue
Cheap, foreign-made cars are becoming increasingly popular, causing concern in @@NAME@@'s automobile manufacturing industry.

The Debate
1. "Unless this government does something, @@NAME@@ won't have an auto industry for much longer," says auto industry union boss @@RANDOMNAME@@, in a rare public appearance alongside management. "These foreign companies employ people for a few @@CURRENCY@@s a day. The only way to level the playing field is to raise tariffs. The government would make more money, too, so it's win-win."
The Results: punitive tariffs protect local industry.

Taxes -2

Economy +8

2. "For once, I agree with my grubby colleague here," says General Chassis CEO @@RANDOMNAME@@. "Although I have to say, tariffs aren't the only answer. A more effective solution would be to abolish minimum wage laws. Now that would level the playing field. And we'd be able to employ more--argh, let go of my throat!"
The Results: there are no minimum wage laws.

Economy +6

Taxes -2

3. "I think we need to face facts," says noted economist and chat-show regular @@RANDOMNAME@@. "We live in a global economy now, and automobile manufacturing just isn't @@NAME@@'s strong suit. There's no point taking money from taxpayers in order to line the pockets of a few greedy workers and corrupt managers in a doomed industry. Let the market take its--argh, let go of my throat!"

The Results: all tariffs have been abolished.

Economy +2