Rolling Hills, Frosty Tundras: Stories from Around the World

May 23, 2097 |

Recession Continues, But Signs of Life Present in Economy

As the economy continues to plummet, and as the unemployment rate rises, President Regan has finally decided to take action. His new proposal for a bill, the Economic Jumpstart Program, promises tax cuts for both large and small businesses. It also hopes to massively deregulate the construction industry in an effort to meet the demand for housing. Interestingly, the bill has no provisions for rebuilding the Southeast after the incident in the region. Major stock indexes rose for the first time as a result of the news, but it is going to be a massive challenge for Regan to get the bill off the ground, through the House, through the Senate, and back to him for signature. His approval has plummeted in recent months due to the recession and the wars in Scotland and Alaska. 

Secretary of State Calls Belarus, GEDO, Key Partners, In Spite of Unitarian Pushback

In a discussion with Congress, Secretary of State Katie Soldacher expressed the importance of maintaining strong ties with GEDO, and in particular, Belarus. While certain Unitarians in Congress pushed back on Soldacher's insistence on stronger ties with Belarus over concerns of being potentially drawn into a wider conflict at the same time as having to deal with Alaska and Scotland, Soldacher argued that Belarus had the potential to be one of the most prosperous nations in the world if it were to free itself from the Soviet threat. The Secretary also spoke on potentially entering GEDO as an observer nation, in a similar fashion to how the Imperium is an observer to TUA. However, the Unitarians attempted to push back on this, calling the proposal "preposterous" and threatening to hijack the Alaskan Integration Bill (which currently has the Regan administration's support and is being nominally backed by the Unitarian Party) if Soldacher drew the Imperium into a more prominent position in Belorussian affairs. However, this is an empty threat, considering that the Unitarians need Conservative backing if they want to pass their more extensive version of the Alaskan Integration Bill, which is much more expensive than the current Liberal-backed Integration Bill

The War in Scotland Continues

With the Raritanians joining the war effort in earnest, the Imperium has upped its attacks against the Scottish threat. In an effort to gain air superiority in the South, a set of cruise missile strikes was launched from Stoltenberg-Class Destroyers and aircraft. These cruise missile strikes played a critical role in obliterating Scottish radar and early warning systems. In addition, multiple command and control centers were hit, ensuring that the Scottish war effort was in disarray. Combat Air Patrol operations continued, with the Imperium shooting down another 57 aircraft while losing 13 aircraft in exchange. More aircraft are being rerouted from Middle East and Homeland Theater Commands in an effort to maintain air dominance. Leadership estimates that around 60-70% of total air superiority has been established in the South of Scotland, and that air superiority is continuing to swing in American favor. With Scottish IADS and C2 modules dismantled, the next step is to completely shut down hostile airfields and logistics hubs in order to ensure total air dominance.