- Aug 20, 2022
- 9
Voting on The Technocracy Act
Location: The National Congress of Brazil
Confidentiality: Public
The time has come to vote on a very controversial bill, namely, The Technocracy Act.
Upon its introduction, several ministers gasped at the thought of it. One month later, this fear has turned to rage at the bill's final reading.
The minister of finance starts of the conversation, saying, "Think of the cost of educating all these ministers! Surely, we have better ways to spend my—I mean our money." In response to a shout from a critic of his, he continues, "It's irrelevant that I don't have an economics-related degree! I'm acting for the benefit of the state, unlike the supporters of this bill."
A member of congress then takes the stand, remarking, "Corrupt individuals like him are the reason we need this bill! He's made nothing but bad decisions for this country, and we all know he's only in power because he's the President's cousin." After catching a dirty look from the president, he quickly changes the subject: "What I mean to say is, we need to fire all our ministers, and pick new, competent ones!"
The minister of education then comes up to the stand, asserting, "Let's not be too hasty there: some politicians like me are already well-educated, we shouldn't be fired too! Although I agree politicians need to set an example for the populace by engaging in independent research. And to the minister of finance's point: This will hardly cost a few million dollars, which we can easily spare. You have to remember that PhDs contribute to a university, and don't usually have to pay tuition anyway. Regardless, we should increase university funding, but that's a subject for another time."
With all points heard, the congress prepares to bring this bill to a vote. It narrowly passes by 300 to 213.
Location: The National Congress of Brazil
Confidentiality: Public
The time has come to vote on a very controversial bill, namely, The Technocracy Act.
Upon its introduction, several ministers gasped at the thought of it. One month later, this fear has turned to rage at the bill's final reading.
The minister of finance starts of the conversation, saying, "Think of the cost of educating all these ministers! Surely, we have better ways to spend my—I mean our money." In response to a shout from a critic of his, he continues, "It's irrelevant that I don't have an economics-related degree! I'm acting for the benefit of the state, unlike the supporters of this bill."
A member of congress then takes the stand, remarking, "Corrupt individuals like him are the reason we need this bill! He's made nothing but bad decisions for this country, and we all know he's only in power because he's the President's cousin." After catching a dirty look from the president, he quickly changes the subject: "What I mean to say is, we need to fire all our ministers, and pick new, competent ones!"
The minister of education then comes up to the stand, asserting, "Let's not be too hasty there: some politicians like me are already well-educated, we shouldn't be fired too! Although I agree politicians need to set an example for the populace by engaging in independent research. And to the minister of finance's point: This will hardly cost a few million dollars, which we can easily spare. You have to remember that PhDs contribute to a university, and don't usually have to pay tuition anyway. Regardless, we should increase university funding, but that's a subject for another time."
With all points heard, the congress prepares to bring this bill to a vote. It narrowly passes by 300 to 213.
