440.21 // Border Security Becomes Election Season Issue
A recent dramatic event of pirate-on-pirate activity in the sparsely-populated Nam Chorios system in the Meridian Sector has sparked a heated debate over trade, taxes, and border security in the Senate Dome on Coruscant. Adding to the debate over the last cycle about transport restrictions for biological materials, Senators from the Diplomat party have already proposed hard-line policies that would dramatically increase the Senate’s spending on border security while raising taxes on internal shipping. In addition, The Diplomat party has suggested a tariff on imported motherboards, circuit breakers, microchips, and other complex electronic hardware used for starship manufacturing in a clear gesture to the Centrist party that they want to cooperate and coordinate.
With the strikes and protests ongoing on Centrist planets such as Kuat and Corellia over the internal shipping restrictions that have harmed their industries, a tariff on importations of these goods would increase domestic demand for these goods that are widely manufactured by companies on these worlds. The War Hawks have voiced concerns over this measure citing that it would pass these costs off to consumers, including local sector security services. Additionally, hearing about the proposed bill the Guild of Corporate Sector Industries based out of Bonadan issued this statement:
While we understand the need for the Republic to protect its domestic industry, we would discourage any further movement on a protective tariff that would impact her foreign relations with independent planets whose portfolios have been built on the last century of free-flowing trade between the Republic and her sovereign neighbors. In a time of great change in the regions of the Galactic North-East, it would behoove the Republic to incentivize continued business with our collective systems rather than force us to find other competitive markets to maintain the positive credit-flow in our portfolios.
These new issues are compounded with a heated debate that was started back in 439 by Senator Prudah of the Maldrood Sector. In a bid to increase taxes along major hyperlane routes he convinced enough senators to back legislation that shut down biological trade along hyperspace routes that have dramatically harmed member worlds from the Ottega and Jalor sectors among many other sectors represented by Centrist party Senators.
Spokesperson Neh’ka, Advisor to Senator Khorta had this to say about the intersecting issues facing the Senate,
Preposterously high levels of negligence blanket new trade legislation driven by Senator Prudah and his taxation committee. How much longer will Republic denizens be made to await the introduction of what can only be described as a conceptual taxation system until trade throughout our many sectors may resume once more! If no resolution is to be found in the coming cycle, the Preservation Society must hold those responsible to account for the immeasurable damage this will cause to many worlds economies.
These conversations are sure to impact the upcoming election season as incumbents and challengers begin their campaign trails in the upcoming rotations. Next cycle’s election is already seeing a wider number of Senatorial candidates submitting affidavits of candidacy across hundreds of sectors, a dramatic increase in civil participation in comparison to recent historical cycles.
Giving you updates as they occur, this is Quan Regal of the Associated Presses reporting from Coruscant.