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Bill: Privatised and Government Supported Radio
Details
Submitted by[?]: Grand Republican Party
Status[?]: defeated
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: January 2169
Description[?]:
| Whilst the GRP can understand the need for a privatised radio industry, and wholeheartedly supports this ideal, it also finds itself believing that at least one government-supported, independant radio station could be provided by the government to broadcast free educational lessons. These broadcasts would be monitored to ensure their accuracy, and would aid those children who are home-tutored, for example, or are not yet young enough to go to school but still wish to learn, or their parents wish to aid before primary learning. The broadcasts would be monitored to ensure that no inaccurate material is added, and that no 'subversive' material is added to them. The GRP believes that this would be an excellent compromise between the two options that would benefit all, especially children who still have much to learn. This would also support the large increase in the educational budget created by the RFP. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change Radio stations.
Old value:: All radio stations are private.
Current: All radio stations are owned by independent non-profit-making cooperatives which receive no subsidies from the government.
Proposed: The government subsidises independent non-profit-making cooperatives for educational and informational purposes; other private non-subsidised radio stations are allowed.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 04:42:26, January 01, 2006 CET | From | Nationalist Party | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | Well i guess that has good intentions. Having some Underpayed non-profit worker counting out the ABC would be a great boost to the Rutanian Entertainment industry. Once agian, who decides what is educational? is it a format like schools, at set learning agenda? or is it more like "Today, kids lets learns why GRP are a bunch of....." |
| Date | 17:14:20, January 01, 2006 CET | From |  RSDP - Democratic Front | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | We support this proposal, but doubt it would pass thanks to the ridiculous claims of certain parties that it would be biased towards the Government. Now, to address those concerns, I suggest adding an addendum saying something along the lines of "Public radio stations or radio stations receiving public funding shall be monitored by a Parliamentary Commission which shall consists of not less than two members of each party represented in the Federal Parliament". That would ensure that no pro-Government bias is possible as the opposition would be a part of the oversight commission and can prevent that any bias is added. |
| Date | 02:54:53, January 02, 2006 CET | From | Radical Freedom Party | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | We support this sympathetic proposal. |
| Date | 15:11:09, January 02, 2006 CET | From | Libertarian Alcoholic Party II | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | We don't support government presence in the management or funding of the media at all, no matter how rigorous the measures in place are at stopping bias and partisan broadcasts. |
| Date | 17:36:52, January 02, 2006 CET | From | RSDP - Democratic Front | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | So now all your arguments against it have been addressed you'll just stick to your stubborn "no government, government = evil" rhetoric? :rolleyes: |
| Date | 17:46:38, January 02, 2006 CET | From | RSDP - Democratic Front | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | And speaking of partisan broadcasts, must I remind you that a Federal President of the Freedom Party once used a PARTISAN newssheet to spread an OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT BULLETIN? |
| Date | 13:53:48, January 03, 2006 CET | From | Liberal Imperialist Party | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | This just wastes money. Private radio is fine. |
| Date | 14:28:09, January 03, 2006 CET | From | RSDP - Democratic Front | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | Informing and educating people is a waste of money in your view? :rolleyes: |
| Date | 17:00:29, January 03, 2006 CET | From | Liberal Imperialist Party | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | And if a radio station is owned by a Plc I suppose it becomes completely unable to inform or educate a single person, does it? That is a quite shameless strawman fallacy. Actually, thinking about it, most of your arguments are logical fallacies - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy |
| Date | 21:44:08, January 03, 2006 CET | From | Libertarian Alcoholic Party II | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | "And speaking of partisan broadcasts, must I remind you that a Federal President of the Freedom Party once used a PARTISAN newssheet to spread an OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT BULLETIN?" The LAP never condoned that. Remember - the components of the so-called "capitalist coalition" are autonomous groups with key idealogical and political differences. |
| Date | 21:46:51, January 03, 2006 CET | From | Libertarian Alcoholic Party II | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | As for my "no government, government=evil" rhetoric, I could quite easily expand my argument vastly, but elements of the RSDP and the LAP have exhaustively argued the private/public media positions throughout this nation's history. See any of the several radio or TV bills in legislative history for a broader attack on government indoctrination by radio. |
| Date | 23:19:27, January 03, 2006 CET | From | RSDP - Democratic Front | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | Without the government subsidising those private stations, they are not profitable or perhaps they are not at all. Hence, there would be no education and/or informational stations in many areas, that is why the government must support those that are not supported by someone else. Your argument is the strawman here. And, we repeat, indoctrination would be IMPOSSIBLE under the addendum our party has suggested. Yet you continue to use that silly, outdated argument and refuse to have a constructive debate. |
| Date | 14:14:07, January 04, 2006 CET | From | Libertarian Alcoholic Party II | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | "Without the government subsidising those private stations, they are not profitable or perhaps they are not at all. Hence, there would be no education and/or informational stations in many areas, that is why the government must support those that are not supported by someone else." Which means that establishing them with tax money is UNDEMOCRATIC. If educational stations are doomed to failure because the majority of people would rather watch something else, they don't deserve to be given a leg-up by money from the self-same people who don't want to watch them! |
| Date | 14:16:26, January 04, 2006 CET | From | Libertarian Alcoholic Party II | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | I mixed up "watch" and "listen" just then, but the argument is still the same. We're still essentially talking about the most unpopular media outlets being given free money so they continue to exist. |
| Date | 17:42:27, January 04, 2006 CET | From | RSDP - Democratic Front | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | No, the few who NEED education stations deserve to have it and it is not undemocratic as everyone would be able to receive them. There are many programmes in foreign countries which demonstrate the need to subsidise education stations, those programmes are used abroad for educational purposes in remote areas where schools are absent. But that is not the sole purpose of this, an informative station can also be created for giving specific information about new proposed laws and such to the few who, for professional purposes, should be notified of them (lawyers, judges, etc...). An even more valuable use of such subsidised stations would be a medical station providing profession, up-to-date information on diseases and medication, epidemics, etc.. and it would be much more efficient than sending letters. These are all fine examples of where these subsidies could be used. |
| Date | 17:52:43, January 04, 2006 CET | From | RSDP - Democratic Front | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | And don't start about "private benefactors" as they will not always be able to find one, and in those cases the Government should step in an act as benefactor. The Government should always intervene where the private sector fails or does not, as Adam Smith said. |
| Date | 19:09:06, January 04, 2006 CET | From | Liberal Imperialist Party | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | "No, the few who NEED education stations deserve to have it and it is not undemocratic as everyone would be able to receive them. There are many programmes in foreign countries which demonstrate the need to subsidise education stations, those programmes are used abroad for educational purposes in remote areas where schools are absent." This is silly. It is mandatory to go to school in Rutania, or be home schooled. Listening to the radio does not legally count as a formal education, nor should it. "But that is not the sole purpose of this, an informative station can also be created for giving specific information about new proposed laws and such to the few who, for professional purposes, should be notified of them (lawyers, judges, etc...)." Lawyers and judges will simply read new laws for themselves or, more likely, receive publications from legal organisations they are members of about them. There is no need for the government to fund an entire radio station to tell qualified professionals about their own profession. "An even more valuable use of such subsidised stations would be a medical station providing profession, up-to-date information on diseases and medication, epidemics, etc.. and it would be much more efficient than sending letters." If there is a disease outbreak in Rutania it will be on the news, as will medical advice. If it's really serious (like smallpox or something) then we can take over existing radio frequencies to make a broadcast on the subject, as most nations do. "These are all fine examples of where these subsidies could be used." They're all fine examples of where money could be wasted on pointless duplication of things that already happen. "And don't start about "private benefactors" as they will not always be able to find one, and in those cases the Government should step in an act as benefactor. The Government should always intervene where the private sector fails or does not, as Adam Smith said." Radio stations stay in business by advertising. If the advertising provides so few new customers that no one wants to buy advertising space then clearly no one is listening anyway. The private sector is thriving, thankyouverymuch. |
| Date | 23:54:13, January 08, 2006 CET | From | Radical Freedom Party | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | This proposal does not restrict the private sphere at all. The opposition to a non-profit educational and informational radio station is pure ideology. For shame! |
| Date | 23:13:51, January 09, 2006 CET | From | Libertarian Alcoholic Party II | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | It restricts the private sphere by taking their money and using it for something nobody wants. |
| Date | 00:55:45, January 10, 2006 CET | From | Radical Freedom Party | To | Debating the Privatised and Government Supported Radio |
| Message | "nobody" wants? It is I recall the most popular option. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||||
| yes | Total Seats: 178 | |||||
| no |
Total Seats: 392 | |||||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: Jelbic = "Group of cultures with an overall Central Asian/Eurasian steppe theme, using a fictional language developed specifically for Particracy". |
| Random quote: "Don't blow it, good planets are hard to find." - Quoted in Time Magazine |