> > The more I think about it, the less I understand it :-) > > > > Is it possible to sell "the one share" which provides the > > basic entitlements, perhaps while or after emigrating? If > > so, all sorts of weird schemes and situations become > > possible (see below). If not, there are two fundamentally > > different types of share: > > > > Yes, you can sell shares. They're quite expensive (because the > price is the current value of the income stream, which is substantial.), > and if you can find someone willing to lend you the money to buy one, you > could > mortgage a share as you suggest a bit later on. One problem is that > non-individuals aren't allowed to own shares of the junction corporation, > so > you need to find an individual who's willing to lend you money.
I believe that the label 'share' for those thingies is completely misleading. For your setting, that might be a bonus. For fictional characters who live there, it might be entirely familiar. But for gamers who try to comment on your setting, it complicates things. How about this interpretation of your setting, changing just the names? * Citizenship in Junction comes with rights and duties. The duty of every citizen is to serve an eight-year term in the National Service (or 12 years, at the need of the Service, but that is compensated). The rights of every citizen are to vote, to draw life support, medical care, a basic 'welfare' payment, and citizenship and education for their children. Citizenship is gained by birth, but most rights can only be exercised after the mandatory National Service, and it ends with death. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? For quaint local reasons, the citizenship is called a 'share'. * Residency Permits in Junction come with rights and very few duties. The rights of the residents are to draw life support and a basic 'welfare' payment, but not to vote. A bit less familiar, but there are real-world nations where a sufficient investment in the local industry will get you residency (and not just banana republics, either). For quaint local reasons, the residency is called a 'non-voting share'. * Residency permits can be traded between individuals, but they cannot be held by institutional investors. They are initially created as bonus payments for some National Service members, see above, but the vast majority has been purchased or inherited by their current owners. That is a bit unusual, but as you said, Junction feels free do convict and deport mere residents if required. (What happens to their share in that case, BTW?) * Presumably there are 'lesser' ways to get short-term visas for tourists, businesspeople, or migrant workers. * People holding multiple residency permits (or residency permits in addition to their citizenship) will receive multiple 'welfare' payments and the right to cast multiple votes if citizens (which were not originally part of the residency permit, but then they loose the life support benefit in exchange -- one guy can only breathe once). Multiple votes (or none) depending on wealth are more an ancient greek or 18th or 19th century thing, but hardly unfamiliar from history. To turn you Junction into a genuinely strange place, dump the restrictions on ownership and the 'free' citizen's shares. Say a full share gives one vote and a dividend which allows life support, medical, food, and good housing for one. If two (full) shareholders have one minor child, each of them lives on 2/3 of a share, still enough for a decent living, especially if one of the parents holds a steady job. Four or five in the family, and it starts to pinch even if mommy and daddy work. And people who own a quarter-share or less will be at constant risk of being unable to pay for their life support. Meanwhile, in the finance districts and the private habitats of the rich, deals are made over thousands or tens of thousands of shares, and the stockholder's meetings are dominated by a few corporate suits to keep the huddled masses down. After all, it is a free economy, they can earn their own shares and change things if they really want :-) Desperation is the best adventure seed, fat and happy citizens don't go dungeon-crawling. _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
