World Simulation

Our nation is called the "Kneedles."

View our nation profile

An "aerial photograph" of Kneedles (without the cities)

Created using SimCity 4.

Our flag

The leaves represent the citizens of Kneedles and the equality among them,
the lizard represents the government,
and the tree represents our nation, which is supported by the government and the people.
Drawn using Inkscape.


Lorenz Curve

Lorenz Curve is a curve that shows how wealth is distributed among people.

The y-coordinate of a point on the curve is the percentage for the total income owned by top x% of population with lowest income. If y = 30% and x = 50%, that means that the poorer half of the population only has 30% of the total income, and the rest of income, which is 70%, is gained by the richer half of the population.

What happens when everyone gets an equal amount of income? Since there would be no gap between the rich and the poor, so any A% of population would have A% of the total income. When you graph that, it becomes a straight line of y = x, where the percentage of population, x%, is equal to their total income, y%. The Lorenz Curve for a perfect socialism would look like this; it would not be a ‘curve’ anymore. Since our nation is a communist country, the Lorenz Curve for the nation of Kneedles would be a line as well. Are we sure that it is a line? Of course we are. Absolutely. You're not even allowed to question that, are you...?

The difference between the Lorenz Curve and the line of equality is the area of inequality. Larger the area is, the larger the gap between the rich and poor.


References:
http://www.maxi-pedia.com/lorenz+curve
http://ingrimayne.com/econ/AllocatingRationing/MeasuringIncomeDist.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_curve



Responses of the Head of State to the crises

There has been a huge earthquake and a serious oil shortage in the nation of Kneedles. The Head of State addresses these two issues and shows us how we can recover from this situation.

Short-Term Response

Good day to all of the citizens of Kneedles, as well as the people of our neighboring nations. I have come to make a very unfortunate announcement about a tragic event that has just taken place in Kneedles. Earlier today, at around 9:00A.M., a massive earthquake with a 9.0 magnitude hit Kneedles, most seriously around Konig City and its surrounding villages, destroying the buildings in many areas and harming many people. The earthquake will soon be followed by a tsunami. As you can see, situations are grim, and the full extent of the damage caused by this earthquake will not become clear for weeks to come. However, under the earthquake and tsunami prevention policy designed by the Kneedles government with the cooperation of many experts, many people have safely evacuated, and are even now currently being evacuated to centers located closer to the center of Kneedles, where the tsunami will not reach. As of now, the damage assessment shows that no highly dangerous power plants, such as nuclear power plants, have been destroyed. Konig City, thanks to its advanced infrastructure, has received minimal damage to infrastructure, though it is still too dangerous to live in. The two villages close to Konig City, however, have almost been wiped out, and rescuers are even now trying to find the 30% of the villagers that failed to evacuate after the earthquake alarm sounded. The process of evacuation has gone well in most areas, with over 80% of all citizens in affected areas evacuated, but for things to proceed efficiently, we will need the help of all the nations in La Peace. As of now, Kneedles has, as an emergency measure, adjusted the trading and import laws of our Nation to allow food imports to come in at a quicker pace. As such, I greatly encourage that all nations contribute to saving the victims of the earthquake by importing in food and other items necessary for survival. Our media will also provide an updated and accurate account of the damage caused by the earthquake regularly. This is because the nation of Kneedles understands that in such situations, hiding information from the public will do no good, and that we must inform our citizens of the truth of the events taking place, as it is their right to understand what is happening and thus take preventive measures. Once again, I tell all the nations of La Peace: we must work together to recover from this earthquake, as though Kneedles was affected the most by it, all of the nations in La Peace will also be damaged by the earthquake.
The earthquake also raises concerns about the state of Kneedles’ economy, as many businesses have been stalled or otherwise negatively affected by the disaster. However, the earthquake’s damage to the economy will not be a major source of worry, as this damage will be short-lived. However, this earthquake has brought into attention another problem that will damage our economy: in the recent year, the oil reserves in Kneedles have been depleted to a point where we are forced to consider the consequences of this event, and the measures we must take. As of now, economists predict that the Consumer Price Index to rise from 106.54 to 108.6708, rising by about 2%. Economists also predict that there will be inflation. As of now, we have taken measures to fight this possible economic downturn by investing in companies that research and develop sustainable energy resources. We are also going to adjust our foreign policy to encourage more imports and exports with neighboring nations. The media and educational systems are also encouraging the use of non-fossil fuel based products. As of now, the government doesn’t plan to solve the economic issue through gigantic spending plans, as borrowing money from other countries will push up the value of the dollar and make Kneedles’ businesses internationally uncompetitive. As a short-term measure, Kneedles is planning to increase imports of oil from Allied nations, such as Isonomia, though this will most likely not be a permanent measure.

Long-Term Response

Dear fellow Kneedlians, I am here today to address the two major challenges that the nation of Kneedles has been facing recently. One is the horrible disaster that took the lives of tens of thousands of the loyal Kneedles citizens. And the other, is the crisis that our economy is facing due to the lack of petroleum production. With these issues, it might seem like the darkest time we have ever experienced in the long history of Kneedles. But I am here to reassure you that we must, and we will recover from this situation we are in. All of us are in a deep sorrow for the ones who were lost in the terrible disasters. But we must stand up and start acting towards tomorrow, as that is our duty – the burden put upon the shoulders of the survivors, and we, united as one nation, can recover from this tragedy and bring our nation back to a bright day – in fact, a day brighter than any of the days in our glorious past. 

Here is a portion of the plans toward the reconstruction of areas damaged by the series of horrible natural disasters. We have already started building tens of thousands of portable houses in the northern and eastern parts of the nation, where the people who have lost their homes can be sheltered and protected. Meanwhile, the Kneedlian army and police forces are out in the coastal area hit by tsunami and earthquake, clearing debris and searching for the missing people. After the removal of rubble from the Konig City and its surrounding villages, which is to be completed by the end of next month, we will begin the reconstruction of the city and the villages. First, we will rebuild a sturdy, reliable infrastructure in the damaged areas: roads, power lines, and water supplies. Not only will we rebuild infrastructure and facilities that were there before, but we also are building a set of structures that would protect the citizens from the danger of future aftershocks and tsunamis: there will be 15-meter tall walls of cement just outside the harbor of Konig City, that will protect the harbor and the city from tsunamis. There will be facilities for the purpose of evacuation, strong enough to bear earthquakes. After these construction works, Konig City will become safer and cleaner than it has ever been.

Let me explain briefly about the second problem that we are facing. Since the end of last fall, the amount of petroleum produced in the northern islands has been dropping continuously. This is thought to be due to the massive subsidence occurring in those areas. Some of you might be worried that this would bring decline to the economy of Kneedles. But there is no need to worry. There will be clean, eco-friendly power plants using nuclear fusion power, placed on the land of Kneedles with the funding from the government of Kneedles. This will be more than enough to supply the needed electricity within the nation – we are planning to export energy, just as we were supplying oil to other nations. So my fellow Kneedlians, there is no need for any of you to worry: a bright future awaits the blessed nation of Kneedles.