Sandus hopes to expand its cooperative basis in the future, especially for the 2015 Economic Goal. As the State exists for longer and as more policies are made to open the State to the world, we hope to strengthen our nation and our Socialist system. In the future, we hope that more social-progressive and more welfare opportunities can be financed by the work of all citizens united.
As more and more citizens join the Sandum work-force, as more and more citizens pay donation taxes and help to finance the running of the Sandum government, cooperatives will grow. After an initial stage of donations bent on running Sandus and once cooperatives begin to produce and earn profits, a system of income will be established by the government. As cooperatives become economically viable, profits will be turned over to the State, which will thereby divide profits amongst the workers. These socialist profits will also help to establish social welfare programs, such as subsidising healthcare and housing.
Excerpt from “Founding Law & Citizens”
Each country has an idyllic portrayal, an image of an ideal serenity. For our State, we too have such an image: Our Anticosti. However, what lies beneath is what system of economy that image uses. One can often see it from this sort of glamorised scene: a family ploughs their farm with an expensive tractor in the American Midwest, a shepherd herds his sheep in Tunisia, and — for Sandus — the entire cooperative comes out to farm with what resources they have to work away under a red banner. Therefore, this scene would clearly depict our Sandum Socialism.
This Government has considered how to establish this sort of Socialist Realist scene. How we change a state from a non-existent micronational economy to a working system of economic collectives depends on our activity as a state and on our resources to build this economy. Our resources, as they stand, are very little. Our State has no major industry, our State is incapable of earning much of an income. As is said often by many lowly entrepreneurs in capitalist systems — unlike Sandus, though the same can be true of a starting-up, novice Socialist economy –, we are more able to advance this ability of economic advancement by first spending to ensure its success. Our goal is to help establish an economy — a goal that is secondary to establishing the basics of an economy by 2015, a goal already in place — that will be based on cooperative, state-owned ventures and that shall establish an equal income system — incomes being derived from the profits of the cooperative — and a system of welfare subsidies — as our sovereignty does not reach to the extent of economic self-reliance. These are the goals set forth by our Government, for our State, to advance the economy of Sandus.
We call this plan, considered by our State, the “All Citizens United” plan. This phrase is derived from an excerpt in the new textbook for the education course on the Founding Law and Citizens and relates to the hope we have as an entire Nation for the benefit of our People and for the construction of a Socialist economy. Simply put, this is the plan, with commentary following:
- Establish voluntary taxes that citizens can opt-in to paying; these will not be charity taxes.
Should we establish voluntary taxes, we will have a monthly basis for which citizens, who feel comfortable in their finances to spend a minimum amount of money on Sandus and her policies, can help the entire State to build cooperatives. The majority of this “tax” will be spent on the construction of cooperatives as viable, industrious organs of our national economy. The remainder of this tax will go to building the predecessor of the “All Citizens United” Socialist welfare system as well as to the running of the Government. We are not certain which area of welfare we will help to subsidise first, as we have yet to even establish a working cooperative — the goal of the 2015 Economic Goal. However, this subsidy can range from healthcare costs, food costs, and/or housing costs.
The goal of this “All Citizens United” plan is to establish a weak yet pragmatic welfare system first and move to a stronger Socialist system next.
- Begin small state-organised projects with the objective of earning money, such as through the sale of stamps as some micronations have done.
The money from this will wholly go to building cooperatives. As some micronations such as the Principalities of Lichtenberg and Sealand have done, we ought to follow their lead and extend it. The goal of this sort of economic money-making venture is more for benefiting the government’s further plan: to establish economically viable cooperatives for the supplement of money made in the capitalist system of our macronations to, eventually, completely overthrowing the system of capitalism in the State of Sandus. This program will not only benefit citizens but it will also benefit the collective of the entire Nation and will serve the sovereignty of our State of Sandus.
- Create cooperatives with tangible ability to produce products.
This does not mean that cooperatives without products will not be allowed to form but, rather, that economic cooperatives will have a dedicated role. For example, as it is unlikely of success with future music cooperatives, musical cooperatives will be moved to the cultural cooperative distinction. Instead, economic cooperatives will be based around true, strong products: i.e., producing food, wool sweaters, and basic porcelain, etc. These will become part of our economic cooperatives and, unlike the non-economic cooperatives, will receive the bulk of funding (until a time comes when the cultural and social cooperatives can be funded by their own members, by extra-Sandum grants, and by the government).
- Found a basis for equal income and for welfare benefits.
We must first begin to set a formula for workers, taking into consideration work and resource costs, to receive incomes according to their work. When the first economic cooperative is set up and begins to work, so too shall its income be measured. A certain amount of money will be divided into these sections: workers’ income, cooperative maintenance, cooperative expansion, and welfare. With money divided, the basis for an equal income and for the amount of money going to welfare altogether per 1¶ (Persuma) of profit made will make the bulk of our next sub-plan: establishing a welfare system.
- Author a plan between the Sôgmô and cooperative officials on how to get each cooperative to the point of greater output.
The Founding Law established by-laws for the cooperatives, as well as a system of representation of cooperatives to the Central People’s Government. This point of the plan is to create a document that details how cooperatives will move from simply producing to helping to finance the Socialist State of Sandus. With this further advancement of post initial production, Sandus shall only advance further.
A step-by-step policy plan will be released by the Office of the Sôgmô on this All Citizens United plan, as well as the 2015 Economic Goal. As we move towards the building of our Socialist system, the livelihoods and the welfare of all citizens will be vital for the benefit of this plan.
Summarily, here is the brief concept as it stands now:
- Establish voluntary taxes that citizens can opt-in to paying; these will not be charity taxes.
- Begin small state-organised projects with the objective of earning money, such as through the sale of stamps as some micronations have done.
- Create cooperatives with tangible ability to produce products.
- Found a basis for equal income and for welfare benefits.
- Author a plan between the Sôgmô and cooperative officials on how to get each cooperative to the point of greater output.
Let’s work towards a comprehensive plan along these lines for the Weal of the People!
— Sôgmô Sörgel
sandus.org 