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The Heavy Foot
Of Government
(or "HFOG")
How long does it take to build a new airport runway? Ten to 15 years, the Chicago Tribune reports, noting that "Congress seems ready to do something about the tediously slow process." "Today´s airports need to comply with a maze of 28 federal laws, 12 executive orders, hundreds of lesser federal regulations and dozens of local rules and ordinances just to build a runway," reporters E.A. Torriero and Andrew Zajac write, citing Rep. John L. Mica, Florida Republican and chairman of the House Aviation subcommittee. So, the good news is that policies can be made centrally at the highest levels of government and reverberate throughout that civilization as an ongoing edict. At last, managing an empire made simple! This is what we call "Macro-management" in MOO3. The bad news is that this can engender more bureaucratic weight and thus increase the "Heavy Foot of Government" (or HFOG). As previously explained, the heavier the foot of government, the more things cost. Basically, the cost to purchase or maintain anything in Master of Orion III = Cost * HFOG. Bureaucracy engendered by government management or expanding rituals (and thus increasing regulation) has this deleterious effect upon a civilization’s economy. The HFOG begins a standard campaign game for each civilization at 100% (1.00). The following items add points (in 1% or .01 increments per point) to the HFOG
+1 per turn that the Government did not change and there was no peaceful transfer of power (i.e., Opposition victory)
0 to +1 (random) per turn that the Government’s Agenda is Survival of the Civilization
+1 per Policy Change (regardless of the degree of change in that policy)
+1 per Policy Change to the Tax Code (note that this is in addition to the +1 per Policy Change, above, for a total of +2 per Tax Code change)
0 to +1 (random) each turn if the Transports Setting is set to "Regulate"
+3 per Primary Order issued in the Territorial Administration (essentially, this is a "build queue" order)
+2 per Secondary Order issued in the Territorial Administration
+1 per Tertiary Order issued in the Territorial Administration
0 to +3 (random) Per Order issued with "Or else!" Emphasis
0 to +2 (random) Per Order issued with "Do it!" Emphasis
0 to +1 (random) Per Order issued with "Command" Emphasis
+1 per Diplomatic Agreement reached
+1 per existing point of Corruption at Court
+2 per existing point of Corruption of the Bureaucracy
+1 if a d100 roll is £ the Oppressometer Setting for The Masses [checked each turn]
+1 if a d200 roll is £ the Oppressometer Setting for Slaves [checked each turn]
+1 if a d100 roll is £ the sum of all AUs spent on Disinformation [checked each turn]
+1 per Code change made
0 to +2 (random) per turn if the economy is floated and the current policy is "inflation"
+20 if the Tax Code Policy is changed from "Head Count"
+10 if the Tax Code Policy is changed from "Flat Percentage"
+?? (variable) increases due to counterfeiting or other acts of economic sabotage [defined on a per Event basis]
The following items subtract points (in 1% or .01 increments per point) from the HFOG:
0 to –3 (random) Per Primary Order rescinded in the Territorial Administration
0 to –2 (random) Per Secondary Order rescinded in the Territorial Administration
0 to –1 (random) Per Tertiary Order rescinded in the Territorial Administration
0 to –2 (random) if the Freedom of the Press setting is "free" [checked each turn]
0 to –1 (random) if the Freedom of the Press setting is Largely Free [checked each turn]
0 to –1 (random) per turn if the economy is floated and the current policy is "deflation"
–22 if the Tax Code Policy is changed to "Head Count"
–12 if the Tax Code Policy is changed to "Flat Percentage"
-5% of current HFOG if government goes through peaceful transfer of power (Opposition wins promotion to Leader job)
-25% of current HFOG if government changes but keeps same type of government
-50% of current HFOG if government changes but new government is in the same Government Series
-75% of current HFOG if government changes and new government is of a different Government Series
–X (variable, local) Subtract the Efficiency Skill value of Leader from the HFOG cost for spending within that Leader’s Jurisdiction (all the way down the chain of command)
?? (variable) effect of "The Speech" re: HFOG [See below]
"The Speech" to Improve Government Efficiency / Reduce Government Waste
Any of the methods listed below might have the desired effect of reducing the Heavy Foot of Government, but they’re problematic at best. More likely they’ll just raise the general level of support for the government among the factions.
Method 1: Firing Bureaucrats
Chance of HFOG reduction = 50% + 2% per IFP spent + Clout
If reduction in HFOG succeeds (see above), then amount of HFOG reduced = d(Clout + IFP spent)
Factional loyalty shifts (determined for every faction separately) = 2d4 – 4 + d(HFOG reduction) + d(IFP spent / 2 (round down))
In addition, there is a second, special Bureaucracy faction loyalty shift = (-2 * HFOG reduction) – d(IFP spent)
Method 2: Declaring War on Red Tape
Chance of HFOG reduction
= 40% + 2%/IFP spent + AbilityIf reduction in HFOG succeeds (see above), then amount of HFOG reduced = d(Ability + IFP spent)
Factional loyalty shifts (determined for every faction separately) = d4-2 + d(HFOG reduction)/2 + d(IFP spent / 2 (round down))
In addition, there is a second, special Bureaucracy faction loyalty shift = (-1 * HFOG reduction) – d(IFP spent)
Method 3: Appealing to Civic Responsibility
Chance of HFOG reduction
= 30% + 1%/IFP spent + (Persuasion/10)If reduction in HFOG succeeds (see above), then amount of HFOG reduced = d((Persuasion/10) + IFP spent)
Factional loyalty shifts (determined for every faction separately) = d4-1 + d(HFOG reduction)/3 + d(IFP spent / 2 (round down))
Note that there is no additional special Bureaucracy faction loyalty shift with this method.
The Final Multipliers for HFOG
After the HFOG is determined, that civilization’s final value is adjusted as follows, first for its EconoBots then for its Economics Race Pick Setting, and finally for its current Global Social State:
1. EconoBots’ Reduction of Heavy Foot of Government Burden (each) [(this percentage is the square root of (Current Robotic Tech Level - 5)) / 10)]
Note that the above is additive to the Total HFOG.
2. Economics Race Pick Setting
Investors
: Reduce the global cost increase from the Heavy Foot of Government by 20%.Monetarists: Reduce the global cost increase from the Heavy Foot of Government by 10%.
Specie: No effect on Heavy Foot of Government costs.
Barter: Increase the global cost increase from the Heavy Foot of Government by 5%.
3. Global Social State: adjust global cost increase from the Heavy Foot of Government by adding –5% * Global Social State value (which ranges from –3 to +3).
Final HFOG
= Base HFOG * (1 – Sum of EconoBot Reduction Factors) * (1 + Economics Factor + Global Social State Factor)Designer’s Note: [Thanks, Joan.] Here is an example of how the Heavy Foot of Government works.
Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said "someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.
Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?" So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.
Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports.
Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?" So they created the following positions, a timekeeper, and a payroll officer, then hired two people.
Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.
Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $18,000 over budget, we must cutback overall cost."
So they laid off the night watchman.
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