atlantian finance questions

[many waters cannot quench love <melys@cybernetics.net>]

unto all denizens of the merry rose does melys send greetings!  (yes, 
it's me again - my eyebrows have finally grown back from the last time i 
started a discussion in this forum. ;) )

at the k'burg business meeting monday night, our seneschal asked for
comments on a proposition discussed (i think - somebody please correct me
if i'm wrong) at the windmaster's hill baronial curia - that the kingdom,
which is apparently running out of money rapidly, receive 10 percent of 
the net profit of every event.

assuming that the proposal is in fact as i understand it and have 
presented it above, i have several questions for the crowd assembled.

1.  how serious is the situation?  how soon will atlantia run out of 
money?  what happens if it does?

2.  what other alternatives have been proposed to fix it, if any? 

3.  why is the kingdom "running out of money"?  (i have heard that the
loss of sea wars has in part caused this situation, but i'd like to hear
a more authoritative view on the subject...)

4.  what does the kingdom need money for, exactly?  if groups are to 
contribute directly to the kingdom coffers, i think it only fair that we 
know for what purposes the money is being collected.

5.  as a paid member of the sca and resident of the kingdom of atlantia, 
through what channels would i need to go to acquire a copy of the 
exchequer's report for atlantia?  would that document contain the 
information i'm looking for in 2 and 3?

6.  has this proposal been widely discussed among other groups?  if so, 
what are your reactions?

i haven't ever thought about the concept of kingdom operating expenses
before, simply because i play on the baronial level most of the time.  if
the kingdom really *is* in need of money, perhaps along with the tithe we
could coordinate some sort of special fund-raising effort for worthy
causes like the kingdom travel fund, the officers' stipend, the
newsletters, etc.  

on the other hand, i'm not comfortable about going along with the proposal
"because someone said so" - i'd like to see what exactly the problem is
here.  i think we should have the opportunity to see if we can fix the
*causes* of the problem along with raising the money to alleviate it
immediately. 

please, before you respond, consider this: i'm not looking to start
another controversy here.  i'm looking for an education from those more
knowledgeable than i in these matters (which is probably most of the
kingdom, at this point! *wry grin*).  any productive information will be
cheerfully acknowledged and deeply appreciated; flames and
none-of-your-businesses will be sent to /dev/null. :)

					in service, seeking to expand my
					understanding of our society, and
					hoping to avoid a feline demise,

							...melys


angharad melys, guard d'argent
sacred stone / windmaster's hill, atlantia
melys@cybernetics.net