Kalistan

[Doc]

Kalistan's Social Safety Net
Universal Service for Universal Benefits
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
March 3rd, 5725


Empress Carolina II Ananto visits with a woman undergoing end of life care in Vrassa City, while Chancellor Mickelson looks on

Introduction
Kalistan is viewed as one of the more politically reactionary nations on the planet. It has earned this reputation through years of explicitly anti-democratic policies, anti-market economics, and strong nationalistic policies overseas. In its efforts to make liberalism its nemesis, though, one would also think that Kalistan might have a traditionally "conservative" (read: classically liberal) outlook on social security. But those who know nothing about Kalistan would be surprised to find that Kalistan has one of the most comprehensive and robust social welfare systems on the planet. Combined with universal National Service, whether in the National Service Program or the Regular Force, Kalistan offers universal, cradle to grave services, and does so in a way which shows that the well being of its people and the elimination of need is its top priority.

Social Welfare as the foundation of Kalsitani Society
"Universal Service and Universal Security go hand in hand," said Dr. Gina Hughes, who is a professor of public policy at Kalistan Imperial University in Kaliburg. "The social contract is, if you perform your obligated national service, which is only 4 years of your life, and continue to pay your taxes and obey laws, you have made your contribution to your society. You have paid your way, so to speak. And you are therefore entitled to the benefits of living in a society: You have earned the right to live securely and freely. It is a trade off. National Service is mandatory, but the benefits of the National Service are shared by all in the form of wholesome, fresh food, free medical care, guaranteed income, and early retirement on full publicly-funded pension. It is remarkable that a nation with such a generous social welfare system can maintain itself for so many years, but the fully nationalized aspects of the economy make it fully possible."

The Kalistani social system comes from ethical socialism. Edward Bennots, the famous 24th century Kalistani ethical socialist, described need as a monster that stalked people up a mountain. These people spent their lives trying to get further up the mountain to escape, but in doing so, had to step on their neighbors so they could climb higher. This incessant climbing had the effect of pushing people down the hill to the waiting monster. That had a perverse effect, however, because at some point nobody could ever climb high enough to escape the monster. But, according to Bennots instead of trying to escape the monster called need, society should spend its time trying to defeat the monster.

Kalistan did precisely that under Socialist Government during the Republican period. It created the Dual Economy which became deeply ingrained in the Kalistani national structure, which first of all separated provision for life from work. Work, in a nationalized workforce, becomes something someone does because they would like better than the minimum. In essence, a worker works specifically for themself, for their own dreams and goals, not for the profit of an employer. "Social welfare was envisioned as the antidote to scarcity under capitalism," said Hughes. "And the National Government started with nationalizing the workforce and creating a universal basic income, to insulate the welfare of the workers from the financial decisions of the owners. This act alone stripped the ability of the bosses to exploit labor, and removed the power of wealth to dictate social status, solving the matter without resort to revolution."

In this way, said Hughes, no worker starves if their boss fails to manage his business properly, or makes a gamble and loses. "No worker loses access to healthcare, shelter, food, or any other basic need. And workers can feel free to switch jobs when the one they have no longer suits them. The longer they remain at a job, the more money they will earn in that job class, so there is an incentive to strive to stay with a specific job as long as possible, but if it doesn't suit them or they are released because of bad performance, they won't starve or wind up homeless. And workers themselves return a bit of the money they earn in the form of tax contributions, which are based on a steeply progressive rate, so those who earn a lot pay a lot, and those who earn little pay very little. But all pays taxes as a social duty."

National Service is the duty of all Citizens
With this system, the National Government runs a large annual surplus, with which it funds other priorities. But Nationalized labor and wage security is not the only benefit workers get: The entire social welfare system is built upon service labor provided by the National Service Program. Annually the NSP inducts more than 850,000 18 year-olds, who are trained to do all manner of public sector work, like farm work, road maintenance, public works construction, home construction, and any other thing the National Service requires. NSP also staffs many of the lower skilled professions, like nurses, primary school teachers, legal aid and service employees in the National Food Bank.

"Youngsters in the National Service earn stipends based on how long they have been in the Service," said Hughes. "They spend their non-working hours on self improvement, including mandatory physical fitness training, classroom study and discipline training, where they learn the soft skills necessary to be good workers after they get out--How to maintain personal hygiene, how to manage time and money, and how to ensure that grievances are correctly communicated so they may be resolved. They learn about Kalistan as a society, and their place in that society, and they learn to think as a community. When a young person leaves the NSP with three years of work experience, they are ready for a quarter of a century of effective work in a field they like and are adept at. Some may choose to make a career of National Service, and those who have performed exemplarily can, while the rest are set free, having paid their price for citizenship in the Empire."

All members of Kalsitani Society do National Service, from the son of a small time grower in rural Suldnor to the son of an Empress: It is the single defining, unifying experience for a Kalistani. And no person who is eligible for National Service is denied the opportunity to perform it, even those with limited abilities due to physical or mental impairment. All members of the National Service are expected to live up to the Motto of the National Service, "Do Your Best." This formative experience at the age of 18, when the young person is transitioning to adulthood will form the rock solid foundation of the rest of their lives, and forms the basis of the Kalistani National Character and National Attitude. Military service is permitted in lieu of National Service.

Socialized Education
After they leave Mandatory National Service, the entire world opens for them. The Kalistani Citizen coming out of National Service may choose to literally do anything in the Empire, because they are put on the public payroll and will never be without money again. Many choose to go to school where they are expected to pursue intellectual rigor and discipline as a path to intellectual fulfillment. Many select degrees which have nothing to do with their future job: There is no problem with this, because this sort of training is a discipline in itself. Those who choose to attend school do so for free: All public colleges in the Nation are fully subsidized, including costs of tuition and materials for classes. Only acknowledged scholars may teach in higher education: Kalistani schools have the most rigorous requirements for employment of any post secondary system Terra wide.

Others may opt to further professionalize themselves in a trade. The apprentice system in Kalistan for the trades moves the cost of training an individual, even over years up to mastery, to the public payroll, so masters may take apprentices without anymore than the employee tax, while an apprentice may be excused from the trade without it starving him. Mastery is accomplished through an extensive battery of skills testing, at which point the tradesman may take on apprentices of their own. Most workers remain at Journeyman level throughout their careers, and that is fine.

Nationalized Housing
Housing is 80% public, and most homes are multi-family units (row houses, town houses or apartments) with individual family units comprising the bulk of privately owned homes. Public homes are highly subsidized and residents pay enough to cover the maintenance of their building. Homes are maintained by NSP Conscripts to high code standards, but there is no rent charged for occupancy. Given their socialization, most Kalsitanis prefer to live near others, and so most prefer to live in the public complexes.

Those who live in the public complexes will pay taxes to the state for maintenance of the public services provided to their areas. In almost all cases this is significantly less, often times by 90% or more, than rent would be in a capitalist system. In the public system, the Government encourages development of residents collectives to help identify and resolve needs for the entire community. The Residents collectives report to the local Housing Authority who's only job is to move tenants in and out, and maintain the buildings under their charge. Municipal Housing Authorities exist in all towns with a population over 500, while smaller and rural areas have Regional Housing Authorities that perform the same function over a County wide area.

Those who opt to pay for and own private homes also pay for their home's upkeep and maintenance, as well as taxes on land and property as their contributions for maintenance of the public services of the area. Rural taxes can be fairly high, as few people are paying to maintain services than in cities, a feature which makes living in private homes in the sparsely populated rural areas almost a luxury that is only open to the monied gentry, most of whom are in the peerage, and the subsequent consolidation of Kalistan's population in the cities. Those who live on farms live in rural public homes on the public system and are excused from maintenance fees, due to the nature of their work.

Socialized Food
Food is available in several ways. The main supply of Kalistani food is the Food Bank. The Food Bank, with service based on population, features produce year round, based on what is in season. Fruits and vegetables, cereals, breads and other produce like eggs, cheese and goat milk and yoghurt are delivered from regional distribution centers where it is collected from Kalistani farms--most of those that produce food are grown in vertical farms, and often indoors, especially during the winters, while the large scale terrestrial farming is reserved for commercial crops where massive yields are needed for scale economies. Food Banks also stock plenty of fish, goat, lamb and chicken, both fresh and frozen.

There is a small fee charged to enter the Food Bank, again for maintenance, but otherwise all food in the food bank is unlimited and free. Most communities have taken collections to improve their food banks, and many of the food banks in Kaliburg or Sulari become more like social centers and have restaurants attached where the food is prepared by chefs right on site, as well as other amenities for the use of residents.

Commercial grocers provide Kalistanis diversity in their diets, and do not usually sell whole foods that you will find at the food banks, but will offer specialty food instead. Spices and baking supplies are also found at grocers. There are no supermarkets in Kalistan: Food is sold close to the margin, and at private establishments is not subsidized, so Kalistanis must use their income to purchase it. This necessarily limits the size of the grocer and forces them to cater to neighborhood demand, rather than creating demand to supply. You can often find specialty meats here like pork and beef, though in very limited quantities, as there is neither high demand, nor regular supply for these meats.

Socialized Health Care and End of Life Care
Health care is another aspect of the dual economy which is left over from the socialist days: Primary and preventative care, as well as all lifesaving procedures are fully free and provided by publicly employed doctors who may train in medicine as part of a university education. Primary medical centers provide all dentistry and vision free of charge as well, and are often, especially in rural areas, staffed nearly completely by NSPers, though a fully educated and licensed medical doctor is required in every clinic. This way nearly 100 million Kalistanis receive medical treatment.

Most specialty care is also covered by the National System. Things like obstetrics, oncology, and endocrinology are all on the National System. So is very specific procedures like reproductive health, abortions and gender affirming services. The only things which are not covered are purely elective procedures, things like cosmetic surgery and some procedures which would be liked but are not necessary to preserve life. Because of this, Kalistan has one of the lowest rates of cosmetic surgery in Terra. Psychology services are often provided by private providers, though public psychologists and psychiatrists do exist for those court mandated to treatment.

Health care costs are low first because the private sector does not have a monopoly on health care provision. Second, preventative medicine is always prioritized. Nutrition services provided early enough can reduce the instances of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Lifelong wellness classes can reduce need for old age physical and mental health services. Easy access to dental treatment and the scarcity of highly sweetened foods and processed foods prevents serious dental issues. Compassionate addiction recovery reduces the stigma associated with drug and alcohol addiction and leads to long lasting results. It is far cheaper and much easier to treat a problem before it occurs than to try to play catch up when it is already too late.

One service Kalistan provides which is not common across the world is socialized end of life care. Other nations may refer to it as elective euthanasia or doctor assisted suicide. But Kalistanis may at any time consult with a doctor over end of life care, for any reason. Nearly everyone who uses this system opts to end their lives to prevent pain and suffering associated with terminal illness. If there is no terminal illness, the Doctor may require mental health treatment before he or she will give their ok, to ensure that the option is exercised with full information. But the process is highly regulated to ensure it is safe, compassionate and allows those who opt to use it to die with dignity. Close relatives are often invited to attend the end of life for their loved ones to give everyone a chance to say goodbye, and are allowed to stay with their loved ones until they wish to leave, certainly through the entire process. This care is provided free of charge.

Socialized Infrastructure
Other aspects of life are also heavily subsidized, which shows up as deep discounts to the user. Things like energy for homes is provided by the Nationalized energy entity known as KalNaPeCo, which was at one time Kalsitan's National Petroleum Company, but which has been subsequently tasked with generating clean, renewable, and sustainable energy. Fuel, in the form of electricity for automobiles, and biodiesels for terrestrial trains and larger vehicles, is likewise created and distributed by KPO. Most strategic raw materials are provided by other Nationalized companies that extend deep cost savings to Kalistani consumers. The Dual Economy holds that necessities will be subsidized and provided for, while luxuries and non essential goods which satisfy consumer taste, are produced and sold by the private sector. In this way, no Kalistani will ever do without, and will frequently also have all he or she wants.

The National Bank and the Budget Surplus
Kalistan funds its system through its progressive taxation, into which every person pays. But the tax contributions are more reimbursements than front funding: Kalistan's currency is fiat currency, and so there is no bill which may come due that the Empire cannot pay through fully transparent and publicly audited electronic bank transfers. Transaction fees are non-existent as individual accounts, wage and tax payments, and paying public debts is conducted through the National Bank alone. The National Budget adjusts according to need, and tax reimbursement yields hundreds of billions of Imperial Pesos annually in surplus, which is turned back to the General fund when a new budget takes effect.

The National Government is the single employer. All wages are paid by the National Government. Employers pay taxes based on the number of additional workers, besides themselves they employ. That tax base then goes to reimburse the national government for its wages that it pays to all workers automatically. In this way, a worker's livelihood is divorced from the success of their employer's business. If the worker chooses to not be employed, they still receive the universal basic income, which will cover basic expenses. If they want more, they go get a job and get paid the wage for that job class.

And as the National Budget is not a political tool, it is never controversial. The Budget process is short in Kalistan, lasting only two month, while the National Assembly is doing other things. Special projects may require supplemental funding, but as the National Government spends thriftily, especially given that it is still governed by ZPG principles that limit overspending on things which are not necessities and considers public money to private contracts to be anathema, and given the massive budget surplus run for centuries, supplemental spending for discrete projects is never going to cause a problem for the economy, which can be described as being stuck deep in a block of granite.

Conclusion
Overall the Social Welfare system in Kalistan is the most comprehensive program on the planet. It has been developed and finetuned over millennia, and it all starts with the one concept that the only legitimate function of government is to abolish individual need from a society. "The degree to which one person is hungry in society is the degree to which the society has failed," said Bennots. "Nobody gets seconds until all have had firsts, and if there is not enough for firsts, then all must share what they have until all are fed. Otherwise the society cannot be said to be ethical." This holds not only for food, but for all basic necessities of the people, including housing, work, medical care, education and energy. Those problems being solved, a person may be at liberty to acquire those things which take his or her life from existence to thriving, and Kalistanis find themselves free to spend their money as they please, rather than on things they need, because those things are provided for them. In this way, working helps an individual live a better life, but opting to not work does not doom a worker to extinction.

@Orthodoxo