Today the Elite’s General Assembly faces a grim decision with even grimmer consequences.
 
It was announced that this year’s Elite’s General Assembly budget for food aid will be half what it was last year. Yet in the past year alone just one planet relying on food aid saw over 7 million people fall below the poverty line. Without help, the citizens relying on this aid will be left to buy their own food in markets that have seen prices rise 80% due to scarcity. Many of those who need aid receive it due to seasonal droughts, refugee status, or extreme poverty.
 
The Elite’s General Assembly and its supporters have remarked again and again these budget cuts were deeply disturbing. Assembly administrators have emphasized that this was a decision made out of necessity. But why would The Assembly make such a drastic move?
 
In a word: funding.
 
The Assembly’s aid programs are financed by voluntary donations from the galaxy’s wealthiest planets and stations. Funding donated to these aid programs will be decreased by 2 to 3 billion krohls this year. A large portion of those missing funds comes from a reduction in support from the Kroy. Baronet Ebaj has pledged 800 million less in aid this year.
 
It’s understandable that the Kroy’s financial problems should influence its generosity off-planet. Like most major galactic players, the Kroy took a major hit in the financial downturn. Its economy has yet to fully recover, despite billions of federal krohls being allocated to help financial institutions. But the Kroy is also fighting dueling perceptions; seen both as a self-denying empire and the people who should be first in line for providing aid. Even Assembly supporters have started openly questioning why some of the bailout funds are not being used to combat galactic hunger.
 
But the backlash to this amount of aid being removed is unclear. Unlike Mogul Shrubb, Baronet Ebaj is exceedingly popular throughout the galaxy. He represents Planet Hope's advancement and new-found sensitivity to galactic politics. A much needed perception after nearly a decade under the ham-fisted antics of Mogul Shrubb. Baronet Ebaj has even been given the Humbble Tranquility Award – not for his actions, but for his open support of public policies that have the potential to greatly change the face of galactic politics.
 
But whether this is a politically salvageable situation makes no difference on the ground. Over 1 billion people are now facing hunger due to the Elite’s General Assembly’s cuts. And, unless real solutions are found, Assembly officials predict a wave of hunger more deadly than any natural disaster is on the horizon.