The Terran Empire and the Euthenia Initiative
In the year GSC 3795, the Terran Empire became a beneficiary of the Kingdom of Lamia’s Euthenia Initiative: a large economic aid program for the Kingdom’s ideological allies and members of the Treaty of Friendship among Ordered Polities. Receiving the equivalent of 700 million GSTC in four quarterly installments over the year, the Empire quickly went about investing Lamia’s aid in various projects all across its territory, providing a much needed “shot in the arm” for the economy.The first quarter of the 700 million GSTC the Empire received coincided with the arrival of Viscount David Yannatos as the representative of the Economic Cooperation Administration, the agency of the Lamian Ministry of External Relations responsible for overseeing the distribution of the Euthenia’s funds within each participating polity. While officially acting in an advisory role within the Empire, the E.C.A. and Viscount Yannatos maintained oversight rights as the Euthenia funds were distributed and veto powers over proposed projects, so as to prevent both the wasting of funds to non-economic ventures and the pocketing of funds by corrupt officials. A controversial caveat originally opposed by members of the Constitution Party, this role for the E.C.A. was finally accepted after HIM George II decreed that the Euthenia Initiative would either be accepted in its entirety or not at all, to much acclaim by both members of the Freedom Party and officials from the Ministry of Justice. Facing pressure from both Lamian business interests and struggling domestic ones, as well as the Terran middle class, the CP-dominated Senate buckled and signed on to the Euthenia Initiative.
With the arrival of Viscount Yannatos and his team, the government could finally begin to distribute the Euthenia Initiative’s aid, executing an economic plan that had begun to be drawn up almost two years prior, when the government first entered negotiations over the program that would eventually become the Euthenia Initiative. This plan called for the dividing of each quarterly installment into three components: 50 percent, or 87.5 million GSTC per installment, would be dedicated to government-sponsored projects; 25 percent, or 43.75 million GSTC, would be granted to the newly established Bank ta ‘Żvilupp ta’ Terran (BZT), or Development Bank of Terran, for private sector investment; and 25 percent would be devoted to improving the production efficiency of existing Terran industries.
Of the total 350 million GSTC that would be dedicated to government-sponsored projects, the vast majority were earmarked for infrastructure ones. As one of the poorest polities in the Harthus Galaxy, the Empire simply did not have the budget capacity capable of modernizing its ailing infrastructure on its own. The influx of funds from the Euthenia Initiative, however, allowed the government of Prime Minister de Marco to embark on a grand modernization plan. Consulting with local officials, business leaders, and representatives from the E.C.A., various railways, highways, and port facilities (both terrestrial and space-based) all across the Empire were targeted for modernization and expansion using Euthenia funds. While the only real trade the Empire engaged in was with the Lamian Kingdom, the influx of raw resources and goods coming to and from the Kingdom since the signing of the TFOP had stretched these facilities to their limit. By focusing efforts on these infrastructure projects first, it was hoped that the flow of goods between Lamia and the Empire would increase and become, overall, more efficient, while at the same time promoting growth within the Empire’s economy through the use of private, domestic construction firms and resources.
While a majority of the Euthenia Initiative’s funds were designated for government-sponsored projects, a total of 175 million GSTC were granted to the BZT to establish counterpart funds for use by the private sector for development assistance. Utilizing Lamian experts within the E.C.A., the BZT established a standardized system to promote development by the private sector itself. First, Terran businesses attempting to import Lamian goods with the comparatively weak Terran Scudo would, instead, place their orders with the BZT, paying for the goods with the Scudo. The BZT would then pay for these goods with the GSTCs granted to it by the Euthenia Initiative before passing the goods along to the purchasing business, making the importing of Lamian goods much easier due to the little international value of the Scudo. The next step in the system involves the utilization of the BZT’s new reserves of Scudo as low-interest loans for Terran businesses attempting to further their development by expanding, modernizing, or restructuring themselves to be more competitive among domestic and international buyers. By utilizing these reserves as loans, rather than grants, the BZT should be able to consistently provide development funds for future use by Terran businesses, without putting a strain on the national budget.
The final 175 million GSTC provided by the Euthenia Initiative would be devoted to improving the efficiency of existing and future industries within the Empire. While only classified as a semi-industrial economy, the factories and industries that did exist within the Empire continued to use practices and technologies leftover from the days of the People’s Republic. This had reduced the overall efficiency of production as the rest of the galaxy passed the Empire by. To rectify this, funds from the Euthenia Initiative would be used to send a mixed group of roughly 3,000 engineers, industrialists, and officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology to the Kingdom of Lamia. These man and women would tour Lamian factories, mines, and manufacturing plants, studying the methods, practices, and technologies used by the more advanced Lamian economy to later incorporate into the Terran economy. This would result in a leapfrog of the Terran economy, bypassing, hopefully, generations of technological and production innovation by working closely with their counterparts in Lamia.
By the end of GSC 3795, growth had been seen within the Terran economy, though many experts believe it is still too early to determine the true effects the Euthenia Initiative will have on the Imperu. The government-sponsored infrastructure projects, though still years from completion, have shown the most promise. Unemployment levels have gone down, as Terrans all across the Empire have been hired on to either work on the projects themselves, or in the related mines and factories providing the tools and resources necessary to complete these projects. The BZT has allowed for a great many Lamian manufactured goods, specifically machinery and related parts, to be imported into the Empire by domestic industries, while also distributing loans to these and other industries for development and expansion. While the import of these goods has signaled the expansion and modernization of many industries, it is much too early to known if the loans provided by the BZT will be enough to encourage continued expansion and industrialization. Lastly the mission sent to Lamia to study their industries and technology for an increase in the productivity of the Terrans’ own is years away from producing results, though preliminary findings by the mission’s members have been sent back and are beginning to be implemented in their related fields.
Overall, the present growth seen in the Empire’s economy could signal a success for the Euthenia Initiative, and many both within the government and society in general hold hopes this growth will result in the final industrialization of the Empire. Most experts, however, maintain that the Imperu is still five to ten years away from reaching that point. Regardless, most agree that the success of the government’s economic plan has resulted in the citizens of the Imperu becoming much more “better off” than their counterparts suffering under the so-called “Free State” and its misguided leadership.
