State Denies Recession Claims

Representatives of the Caldari State’s Chief Executive Panel issued a public statement this morning, refuting several claims recently put forth by noted economist Arvelan Tokaru.

In an in-depth article published in respected economic journal The Wiramar Index last Monday, Dr. Tokaru warns that numerous signs indicate the Caldari State may be headed for a major recession.

Foremost among these, she claims, are rising unemployment numbers and crippled supply chains stemming from rift trade agreements with the Amarr Empire, previously the State’s top trading partner. Dr. Tokaru also states that in an attempt to salvage the situation, the Chief Executive Panel has engaged in what she terms “back-against-the-wall protectionism,” heavy-handedly levying tariffs that are beginning to cause diplomatic ill-will among smaller trading partners and “are sure to backfire in the long run.”

The Executive Panel in its statement wholly refutes these claims, stating that unemployment numbers are at much the same level they have been at over the last two years, and that the tariffs have been imposed to promote protection of jobs within the State and maintain the domestic standard of living. According to them, the rift trade agreements with Amarr are “an unfortunate consequence of administrative difficulties within Empire agencies, which we have been assured will be rectified soon.”

A number of analysts from within the State have spoken out in support of Tokaru’s claims, reporting that the State’s methods for calculating unemployment figures are misleading and that the actual numbers are higher than they have been for over eighty years.

“They only include workers who sign on,” stated an analyst who wished to remain anonymous. “If you haven’t reported yourself to the Bureau of Civilian Affairs – a trek through a bureaucratic labyrinth which takes the better part of a day, and can go wrong in numerous ways, all of which will result in your application being rejected without notification – you’re not included among the unemployed. This excludes large portions of the population who, even notwithstanding the inefficiency of the bureaucracy, have long since given up any chance of finding steady work.”

“There is a very definite underclass here,” he said, “and it is growing.”