National Policies for the CES DLC, or a Brand New One

[Lothar]

I think we should enjoy a greater ability to shape the nation we're playing in, considering that the CES DLC has us working in a single country. Since we influence the policies of the nation's cities, we should be able to change the country too. Regulations, representation in the country's parliament, and even authoritarianism could be on the menu for evil playthroughs. Keep in mind that I enjoy the idea of playing a post-communist country, which only recently embraced capitalism and is starting from scratch. So, instability and radical reforms would be the norm, along with plenty of corruption.

My proposal for national elections is that they be based on the number of mayoralties a party holds. Parliament would be divided proportionately, assuming that it is not silenced. Authoritarianism and corruption would reduce your brand appeal and inspire boycotts, but the player would get to balance the risks with the potential rewards of unmitigated power. Corrupt acts would include the city buying back recently sold property at an inflated price and other exploits. Some policies I would propose are the following:
- Antitrust regulation: y/n
- Flat tax: y/n
- Campaign contribution cap: y/n, limit = x
- Parliament's powers: approves all laws, prime minister makes some decrees, PM can set budgets and make decrees while being subject to impeachment, and ceremonial only
- Judges are elected or appointed: y/n
- Class-action lawsuits: y/n
- Executive term limits: one, two, three, or infinite
- Central bank independent: y/n
- Banks can self-regulate: y/n
- Insurance companies can self-regulate: y/n
- Insider trading: y/n
- Stock fraud: y/n
- Mandatory public tax returns: y/n
- Privatized education system: y/n
- Privatized healthcare system: y/n (keep in mind that both privatizations should have major negative effects on quality, staying true to real life precedents)
- Emigration allowed: y/n
- Military contracts: lowest bidder wins, merit-based approvals with cost considerations, and unregulated appropriations
- Data collection policies: forbidden, allowed only for adults, secret government monitoring, and unregulated
- Agriculture: organic only, some pesticides and GMOS allowed, and products are unregulated
- Food safety agency: y/n
- National sales tax: y/n, amount = x
- Land transfer tax: y/n, percentage = x
- Income tax: y/n, percentage = x
- Right to strike: y/n
- Right to protest: y/n
- Political parties: multiple, largest two are represented in parliament, or national one-party rule
- Tariffs: y/n, percentage = x
- State broadcaster: y/n
- Join OECD: y/n
- Leave UN: y/n
- Develop nuclear weapons: y/n
- Right to return defective products: y/n
- Minority rights: no discrimination, minorities may not serve in public office, government jobs are off-limits, segregation, and state-sponsored violence (note that there should be major penalties for the last two options, potentially including international trade embargoes)

I think those laws give the player plenty of opportunities to play the game in new ways, and there are many others I can think of too. I definitely think there's enough here for a separate DLC, or at least a major expansion to CES.

On a side note, if my company's exports are not added to a city's GDP, please fix that ASAP. Seeing that they didn't bothered me quite a bit.