[Chamber] Bank Support Act

[Flamelord]

Gentlemen, as many of you now know there is an economic crisis emerging out of the United States, one that threatens to consume th entire globe. Perhaps it will be that it is inevitable, and nothing we can do will stop it. Certainly some of our Leftist organizations are already claiming that this is the end time for a capitalist system, and that we are on the epoch of the establishment of a global socialist oder.

I will not engage in such utopian visions, nor will I seek to raise fear and drive hope from the hearts of our people.Ultimately it is my belief that the markets will eventually correct themselves, and we must be prepared to mitigate whatever adverse effects there are in the meanwhile.

As such, I have prepared this bill that will hopefully address the problem in some manner.

Whereas the economic plunge in the American Stock Market has precipitated a global financial downturn, one that will doubtlessly impact Brazil in the near future,

Whereas the lack of action has a significant likelihood of increasing the severity of the problem,

Section One: The Brazilian treasury shall make available 25 credits worth of monetary funds to the Bank of Brazil and other major financial institutions to supplement their reserves, with the intended purpose of preventing bank failures and closures.

Section Two: The Ministry of Finance is hereby given the authority to provide a national cap on interest rates for issued bank loans so as to prevent escalation at the expense of the people of Brazil, until such time as market stability has returned.

Section Three: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is asked to issue reassurances abroad to the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, that Brazil will continue to respect and pay her loans.

We hope to see vigorous debate on this bill.

[Snacks]

The Workers and Peasants Bloc takes exception to the statement of our respected colleague and would like to lodge a formal complaint- Though we naturally reject the capitalist system and the endangerment of our workers' livelihoods by the unrestricted pursuit of greed by American businessmen, we have a mandate from voting Brazilians who elected us to office with the expectation that we would see their interests served as best as possible within the present system, and we have shown no intention of not doing so.

In any case, we believe this great stands to do a great deal of good, but that it is possible for more to be done both to safeguard against future disaster, and to ensure that this crisis does not worsen for the people of Brazil, and would ask for the consideration of the following additions:

To empower the Ministry of Finance to impose limits on bank withdrawals to prevent bank runs, for a period of three months(at which time this body shall determine if renewal is needed) or until such time the Ministry determines they no longer have need of it.

and

To direct the Ministry of Finance to undertake an audit of financial institutions who accept funding, to be conducted after funds have been dispensed. These audits shall not be used to discriminate in the case of any future aid, except in the hypothetical case of gross misconduct or illegal activity, but shall instead be intended to provide insight into needs for any future regulation or aid.

[Smyg]

We echo the call of the Bloc.

[Red John]

We support the original, unaltered bill.

[Snacks]

Would our respected colleagues be willing to discuss what issues they see with the proposed additions? While the Workers and Peasants Bloc feels the presented amendment would strengthen the effectiveness of this bill and is in keeping with the original spirit, we are open to the possibility that our suggestion could be improved upon.

[CarpeVerpa]

From the office of Percival Farquhar

To the esteemed representatives of the Brazilian people in the Chamer,

I hope you shall not mind input from myself. As a businessman, I believe I may have special insight into the financial realm which this body may find useful. I also believe that you shall find my insight coming both out of good faith and out of a shared interest in the prosperity of Brazil and it's people. I have, after all, many investments and interests in your fine nation, and it's suffering would mean my suffering as well. Even those who deplore my trade should therefore find some merit in my words, if only because my self-interest happens to coincide with the public interest.

This established, I would first like to offer my support to the spirit of the bill presented here, and what it already does. The risk of bank runs is great, and every step possible must be taken to prevent them. Aside from, or even instead of, simply supplementing bank funds, however, which can easily be misused and spent, I would propose that the government devote it's money to guaranteeing all personal savings up to a certain, reasonable value. This would ensure that the average citizen with savings need not worry about losing them, and thus will not rush to make wild withdrawals, whilst the government need not worry about paying exorbitant amounts of money in the event of a bank closure, as those such as myself with larger savings would need only a fraction of those savings repaid, by law.

I shall make no comment on the communist proposals, except that I do not believe they are wholly necessary if this measure is put in place, and the government maintains it's own financial credibility. You shall find that merely the promise of guaranteeing most savings holders their funds will prevent the mad dash to withdraw them. Such bank runs are, after all, primarily driven by the fear of what should become of one's life savings if they do not withdraw in time. And should a bank fail anyhow, the average citizen shall at least not be reduced to immediate poverty, for they will have whatever savings they had accumulated to rely upon. Such financial security for the common Brazilian is not simply important for the public good, but for those such as myself who make a profit from selling goods and services to them.

I hope this proposal finds this body well, and that even if it is not accepted, it is considered and somehow used to better the Brazilian nation and people.

Yours cordially,

Percival Farquhar

[Snacks]

the BLOC believes the suggestion made by Mr. Farquhar to be both fitting with the spirit of the original bill and a practical safeguard against the potential for financial disaster, and will gladly support such a proposal in our capacity as members of this body.

While we feel that the safest bet would be to include both proposals, we would still be willing to support this bill if it only included the insuring of deposits and not the temporary withdrawal limits. That said, it is still our belief that the audits would provide our Ministry of Finance with invaluable information for their mission of helping to keep our nation's economy stable- this is not the first case of such national or international economic turbulence and it is unlikely to be the last, especially as long as the capitalist system persists. We owe it to our countrymen to see that, until they should choose a different system, we prepare now for future contingencies within the one we have.

[Flamelord]

We are grateful for the sudden amount of discussion now present on this bill. Thus far we appreciate the bilateral support for this bill from the BLOC/Communist Party, as well as the informal support of Mister Percival Farquhar. i must admit, i never thought i should see the day where those two sides should agree on anything. As such I am prepared to amend this bill to take into account the proposed suggestions for improving it, though I would also like to hear what objections the Liberal Democratic Party has to any alteration to the bill (in the name of a fleshed out debate, of course)

[Westar]

Out of curiosity, what will become of the 25 credits? Will they be forever lost to the state, or would we expect the banks to pay it back in its entirety? Perhaps to return what they do not use?

[Flamelord]

Having taken into account the suggestions made by the rest of the body, we are prepared to present a new bill. We understand this may awkward with voting having commenced so far, but we urge all to give it due consideration and to change their vote if they feel it is necessary. We are still open to negotiation about the contents of the actions taken, as well as the amount of credits to b provided

Whereas the economic plunge in the American Stock Market has precipitated a global financial downturn, one that will doubtlessly impact Brazil in the near future,

Whereas the lack of action has a significant likelihood of increasing the severity of the problem,

Section One: The Brazilian treasury shall make available 25 credits worth of monetary funds to the Bank of Brazil and other major financial institutions to supplement their reserves, with the intended purpose of preventing bank failures and closures. These funds will be repaid by those who accept funds once the crisis has concluded, at a rate determined between those institutions and the Ministry of Finance

Section Two: The Ministry of Finance is hereby given the authority to provide a national cap on interest rates for issued bank loans so as to prevent escalation at the expense of the people of Brazil for a period of three months (at which time this body shall determine if renewal is needed), or until such time as the Ministry determines it is no longer needed.

Section Three: The Brazilian Treasury shall make available 10 credits worth of monetary funds for the purpose of guaranteeing the personal funds of all finances held by citizens in banks, to a reasonable rate as set by the Ministry of Finance. Unspent funds shall be returned to the Treasury, and this insurance will last until the Ministry believes it is no longer needed

Section Four: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is asked to issue reassurances abroad to the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, that Brazil will continue to respect and pay her loans.

Section Five: Ministry of Finance is hereby empowered to impose limits on bank withdrawals to prevent bank runs, for a period of three months (at which time this body shall determine if renewal is needed) or until such time the Ministry determines they no longer have need of it.

Section Six: The Ministry of Finance is authorized to undertake audits of financial institutions who accept funding, to be conducted after funds have been dispensed. These audits shall not be used to discriminate in the case of any future aid, except in the hypothetical case of gross misconduct or illegal activity, but shall instead be intended to provide insight into needs for any future regulation or aid.

[Luc]

Sebastião do Rego Barros, President of the Chamber of Deputies

Are delegates willing to begin voting the new, ammended bill? Or would more time be needed to discuss it?

[Red John]

Would our respected colleagues be willing to discuss what issues they see with the proposed additions? While the Workers and Peasants Bloc feels the presented amendment would strengthen the effectiveness of this bill and is in keeping with the original spirit, we are open to the possibility that our suggestion could be improved upon.

We object to the latter half of your proposal - and thus also object to section six of the amended bill.

[Snacks]

Would the representative be willing to clarify his objections to the audits as proposed?

[Snacks]

To clarify, the representatives of the Workers and Peasants Bloc believe that the bill has bipartisan support such that we motion for a vote. We are willing to debate the bill further if the Liberal Democrats wish to present an argument for or against portions of the bill, but merely stating an objection without substantiating it in any way does not, in our opinion, constitute a debate, and the Liberal Democrats have not exactly shown interest in engaging in such.

[Smyg]

To clarify, the representatives of the Workers and Peasants Bloc believe that the bill has bipartisan support such that we motion for a vote. We are willing to debate the bill further if the Liberal Democrats wish to present an argument for or against portions of the bill, but merely stating an objection without substantiating it in any way does not, in our opinion, constitute a debate, and the Liberal Democrats have not exactly shown interest in engaging in such.

Fully agreed.