Feature #21 Financials options

[Pocus]

How did the governments of the conflict gain money during these four dreadful years?
Mostly through exceptional measures. They received some regular and recurring income from various sources but this was far from being sufficient. AACW gives you three sets of options to simulate this.

Issuing War Bonds (several interest rates proposed):
This was a popular decision. The government promised more money in the future in return of some money now. The higher the interest rate, the more people were attracted. They do have to believe a bit in your chance to repay their loan though!
In game terms, War Bonds don't cost you National Morale as this is not a mandatory measure, but as you are selling a bit of your future (if you have one, for the Confederacy this is not so evident) the game will make you pay in Victory Points, the milleage used to ascertain how successful you were in a given game.
You can only use this option once a year.

Exceptionnal taxes (several taxes proposed):
Not very popular as this was a mandatory measure and something that the Americans of the times were unused to. These don't please the people but you can harvest quite a bit of money with them. The amount collected is based on how many population points you have, modified by you current victory point total.
Inflation will also increase slightly (all your units and investments will cost more).
You can only use this option once a year.

Printing paper money:
Even if it appears as an easy solution that you can use at will (every month if you want!), it is the "desperate man's" response to a lack of money. Inflation will soon go through the roof, so use this one with care lest you totally cripple your economy and thus your war effort by printing tons of worthless paper.

[Le Ricain]

This is an excellent feature for the game.

In 1862, in order to support the Civil War effort, Congress enacted the nation's first income tax law. It was a forerunner of the modern US income tax in that it was based on the principles of graduated, or progressive, taxation and of withholding income at the source. During the Civil War, a person earning from $600 to $10,000 per year paid tax at the rate of 3%. Those with incomes of more than $10,000 paid taxes at a higher rate. Additional sales and excise taxes were added, and an “inheritance” tax also made its debut. In 1866, internal revenue collections reached their highest point in the nation's 90-year history—more than $310 million, an amount not reached again until 1911.

The Act of 1862 established the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Commissioner was given the power to assess, levy, and collect taxes, and the right to enforce the tax laws through seizure of property and income and through prosecution. The powers and authority remain very much the same today.

In 1872, the income tax was abolished.

[Sol Invictus]

Salmon Chase did perform miracles by keeping the Union war effort financed. The Confederacy was buried under a mountain of Greenbacks. Further proof of the quote by Cicero, "The sinews of war, unlimited money".

I absolutely love the strategic decisions that the player will now have to make with Finances and Recruitment. These are the kinds of meaty issues that really flesh out a good strategy game.