Demo Environment — Nothing here affects your nation.

HŒMË Demos · Economy · 5–8 minutes

Where Did the Money Go?

A treasury balance is never one number — it is the end of a chain. Citizens earn wages, households spend, businesses take revenue, the government taxes both, and then pays its own wages and services. Change any control below and watch every stage of that chain update.

The scenario

A small simulated nation on an ordinary day. It starts intentionally imperfect: the treasury is losing money.

Population
500
Working age
320
Employed
300
Businesses
10
Starting treasury
£50,000
Net today
-£557

Your decisions

Every control changes more than one thing. Government employment gives more citizens wages — and raises government spending at the same time.

30%

Raises treasury income, but reduces what households can spend in shops.

18%

Only applies to profit. Loss-making businesses pay nothing.

£20/day

Higher pay lifts household income and income tax, but costs the treasury directly.

£22/day

Paid by businesses, not the treasury. Raises spending power and business costs together.

£900/day

Health, education and maintenance. Cutting it helps the treasury but weakens services.

10

More businesses bring non-household revenue, but also more fixed operating cost.

80 workers

Capped by the working-age population of 320.

220 workers

20 citizens are currently without work.

  1. Step 1

    Citizens

    Employment turns people into earners.

    Employed
    300 of 320
    Without work
    20
    Private wages earned
    £4,840/day
    Government wages earned
    £1,600/day
    Total wages earned
    £6,440/day

  2. Step 2

    Households

    Income minus tax becomes spending or savings.

    Gross income
    £6,440/day
    Income tax paid
    − £1,932/day
    Take-home income
    £4,508/day
    Essentials
    £2,500/day
    Total spending
    £3,705/day
    Money left over
    £803/day

  3. Step 3

    Businesses

    Household spending becomes business revenue.

    Sales to households
    £3,705/day
    Other revenue
    £3,000/day
    Total revenue
    £6,705/day
    Wage costs
    − £4,840/day
    Operating costs
    − £1,805/day
    Profit before tax
    £60/day

  4. Step 4

    Government

    Taxes in, wages and services out.

    Income-tax revenue
    £1,932/day
    Business-tax revenue
    £11/day
    Government wages
    − £1,600/day
    Public services
    − £900/day
    Net treasury movement
    -£557/day

Treasury — where the money went

Starting balance
£50,000
Income tax
£1,932
Business tax
£11
Government wages(80 workers × £20)
£1,600
Public services
£900

Net daily change

-£557

Daily income

£1,943/day

All tax collected today

Daily expenditure

£2,500/day

Public payroll plus services

Balance after 30 days

£33,285

From £50,000 today

What this means

Declining-£557/day deficit

Cause

Spending £2,500 exceeds revenue £1,943 by £557 per day.

Impact

Projected treasury after 30 days: £33,285 — about 89 days of reserves at this rate.

Recommended action

Small changes are enough here: trim public services, move a few workers from government to private employment, or adjust a tax rate slightly.

Urgency

Action recommended soon

Things to try

Optional and unscored. There is no reward, and nothing here carries into your nation.

Where did the money go?

  • Of £6,440 in wages, £1,932 went straight to the treasury as income tax and £3,705 was spent by households.
  • Household spending became business revenue, which after wages and operating costs left £60 of profit and £11 of business tax.
  • The treasury collected £1,943 and spent £2,500, so it lost £557 today.
  • Treasury movement is never caused by one decision — employment, wages, tax rates and service spending all pull on the same pound.

Nothing in this demo was written to your nation. Reset at any time to return to the starting scenario.