State of the Union VIII

Written By: Stavrok, Major Executive, Head of Commerce and Industry, Sophomore Executive

Released: September 5, 2012

**State of the Union VIII**
Honorable dignitaries of the Executive Branch, mindful representatives of the Administrative Branch, formidable friends of the Union, and righteous citizens of the Triumvirate - welcome to the third year of our Union and the last trimester of 2012. I'm very happy to be your Major Executive once again and I know that this trimester will be a great one. This is my first time giving the State of the Union but I hope it will not be the last.

An overview of the last trimester:

* The Executive and Administrative Branches passed the biggest foreign policy initiative in Triumvirate history, the PEACE Act.
* We have set a reasonable three term limit on the Major Executive
* We have added 3,000 additional new tri to the Triumvirate economy, pushing the members and government of the Triumvirate to fantastic levels of wealth.
* The TTI has reached a cap of over 350, roughly a 1,000 percent increase!
* We have begun the process of development of the major Triumvirate City project.
* We have stepped up on defense procedures, purchasing a massive security program and passing a law to prevent weapons enterprise.
* We have extended historical conservation with a large extension to the Historical Protection Act.
* We have set up a recruitment incentives program to encourage new members.
* We have extended economic research so that economic status and risk reports can be recorded.
* Three political parties have been established and reasonable rules for these coalitions have been written.

You can see we've had an incredible trimester and we have another to come. Last month I started planning my ideas were I to be reelected as Major Executive this trimester. When thinking about it I came to the decision that there is only one thing we need to prioritize right now, and it's clear when everything is looked at that we need to fulfill one goal:

We must fill the Executive Branch, and let me make one thing clear: *failure is not an option*. The Executive Branch is half full, that means we have six positions to fill. This is not impossible, but it is mandatory. From this goal we will achieve all, that I know. I am making it my personal mandate this last trimester to fill the Executive Branch at all costs. I will do everything from offering huge incentives to issuing mandates to the Executives who have ample time to devote to bringing in new and modern Executives. We are amazing with an Executive Branch with only half capacity, imagine our Triumvirate with an Executive Branch with a full 12 members, each contributing their own unique ideas, all debating with each other to find solutions to troubling problems, each working with members of the Triumvirate to write publicly acceptable laws, and together fulfilling the dream of a full Executive Branch that I have, that my predecessor had, and that his predecessor, none other than Zerouh, had. There is no room to fail on this goal, failure is not an option I will allow. Starting today, we have less than four months to recruit and elect six new people to the highest offices in our union, as Zerouh would have said... Godspeed.

The Triumvirate economy is one of the most incredible things about our union and the thing I am most proud of. It's not just mine to take credit for though, great business owners like Ehtya of General Media and Andrew Hester of Corporate Corporation have pushed our economy onward. We are in a period of economic boom right now, which poses both risks and opportunities for everyone. To make the last trimester as good for all of us as possible I will be proposing some moderate measures to protect our economy. A slight business tax of no more than fifteen percent will bring necessary funds to the government as well as prevent abusive economic growth. I recognize that this may be controversial but if you consider it it makes sense: the government provides incredible services to businesses and were the government not able to provide these services, businesses would not function or prosper. Services like property protection, courts, government grants, legal certification, and safety are just some of the examples. Anyone who says the government doesn't need money to do that however is lying to you. Money is inseparable from government and the government uses the money to give businesses these services. A tax is not uncalled for, it is not unreasonable. The tax will be implemented like this if it passes the two branches: it will be collected at the end of each trimester and be a flat tax rate on all businesses for all earnings from the last trimester. Let's say General Media makes ∇100 in a trimester, the government would collect ∇15 from them. Does that really sound unreasonable? General Media gets well over 15 tri in services from the government each trimester in security, protection, and aide. I know some might not think it is reasonable but really think about it, Corporate Corporation has volunteered on its own to pay a tax! We are a modern union, let's embrace it! As the American philosopher Benjamin Franklin said, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes". I beg the Executives to support this, I beg the administrators to support this, let's build a strong, economically secure Triumvirate together!

The Triumvirate is no longer a self-centered, isolationist, and private union. Ever since the PEACE Act went into effect, the Triumvirate has embraced the outside world the State and Intelligence Departments have worked furiously to look for those who are defying justice and that the Triumvirate needs to intervene with. There is no mistake to be made though about how we enforce our own laws. Anyone, with no exception in our book, who breaks our laws in our jurisdiction will go to court. That is asplain as it can be. Recently there have been concerns with how we prosecute international criminals and the answer is simple: they will go through the same trial, the same court system that a Triumvirate citizen would go through. They are entitled to the same rights and are subject to the same rules. There isn't exception. In the words of Chief Ambassador Ehtya, "That is the stance of the Universal Triumvirate, that is the stance of the Department of State, and that is the stance of our people. When you get arrested in our jurisdiction, you go to trial and you face the consequences". I could not agree more. Just because the Triumvirate embraces internationalism doesn't mean we won't enforce our laws.

I love being a part of the Triumvirate, and now that I've had a trimester to experience being Major Executive I've grown to appreciate it even more. The work of our predecessors in crafting the Triumvirate has been amazing but slowly and surely a new generation is coming in. In our past we've had Zerouh, Ehtya, Nremni, Ascencia, and Ogamon - all legendary names whose contributions we can never repay them for. In our future we have names like Hester, Mearl, Schay, and Curesse. Ideally, as Zerouh described there are three generations in the Triumvirate at a time: The oldest generation provides wisdom and has been around so long that they embody history, they are suited to roles and Justices and elder Executives. The middle generation are the ones with experience, most suited to be Executives, they move the Triumvirate, give it great ideas, and define what the Triumvirate is. Then there is the youngest generation, the generation of learners, filling in the Administrative Branch and building careers. It is time for this youngest generation to grow. With them is the potential of the Triumvirate, new administrators, freshmen Executives, and new businesses. This trimester is about the future. We will have new members. We will have new businesses. And we will... we will have new Executives!

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the Universal Triumvirate

*-Stavrok, Third Major Executive of the Universal Triumvirate, Head of Commerce and Industry, Sophomore Executive*