Issue #373: Devil and the Deep Blue Funding Gap

[Drachmaland]

The Issue:

#373: Devil and the Deep Blue Funding Gap [New Vegas; ed:Lenyo]
The Issue
A group of scientists have come to your office hoping for grants to explore the deep blue sea.

The Debate
1. "Our lack of knowledge of the ocean is unacceptable!" lectures Jacques Zissou, Emeritus Professor of Marine Biology. "We know less about the ocean floor than we do the lunar surface. The dearth of research is absurd! Were the government to provide more funding, we could perform studies on marine life, underwater volcanoes, currents, and more. The possibilities are endless. Sure, it'll cost a pretty @@CURRENCY@@, but the dissertations will be enthralling."

2. "Oh sure, let's spend millions of @@CURRENCY@@s to find out what's in the ocean. Oh wait, I can already tell you: it's just WATER," your budget advisor remarks sarcastically. "There is no point in spending tax money to know what kind of dirt is on the ocean floor. The government should scrap all research projects designed without real economic benefit. The last thing @@NAME@@ needs is yet another harebrained scheme to study the mating habits of dolphins or something comparably ridiculous."

 

Points to pay attention to:

• Option 1, “it'll cost a pretty @@CURRENCY@@”: An indication that the Tax Rate will increase.
• Option 2, “the government should scrap all research projects designed without real economic benefit”: An indication that Scientific Advancement will suffer.

Actual results:

• Option 1 in an Anarchy with its Freedoms at 94/97/94 had the following effects:
  • Tax Rate: 43.2 → 43.5
  • Education spending: 20.8 → 21.0 (sectors affected: Commerce & Welfare, each -0.1)
  • Murder cause of death: 1.8 → 1.6 (causes augmented: Old Age & Heart Disease, each +0.1)
  • Primitiveness & Scientific Advancement remained unaltered (probably due to rounding)
  • Weather: -25 → -26
  • Safety, Safety from Crime ↑, Toxicity, Weaponization ↓
• Option 1 in an Anarchy with its Freedoms at 87/98/91 had the following effects:
  • Tax Rate: 25.2 → 25.4
  • Education spending: 26.5 → 26.7
  • Murder cause of death: 0.8 → 0.7 (cause improved: Old Age +0.1)
  • Primitiveness: -184 → -185
  • Scientific Advancement: 187 → 188
  • Weather: -97 → -98
  • Safety, Safety from Crime ↑, Toxicity, Weaponization ↓
• Option 1 in an Anarchy with its Freedoms at 92/97/96 had the following effects (only primary stats recorded):
  • Primitiveness: -144 → -145
  • Weather: 8 → 7
  • Safety, Safety from Crime ↑, Toxicity, Weaponization ↓

Suggestions:

• If you are after Scientific Advancement, choose Option 1 (although the positive effect is marginal); be prepared for slightly higher Taxes and slightly worse Weather. As an added bonus, your nation will become safer too.
• If you are after higher Primitiveness or a lower Tax Rate, then choose Option 2.
• If you don't see that either Option's benefits are justified by its side effects, then just dismiss the issue.