The Six Macro-Governors
Six automatic fiscal stabilizers operating within corridors defined by Congress, governed by NSB data. They adjust narrow policy parameters during extreme economic conditions to dampen inflation, speculative bubbles, or supply shocks. No congressional vote required for activation; no political negotiation during a crisis. The governors fire automatically when quantitative triggers are met.
Solvency Governor (sixth governor, added v17)
Trigger: SS Trust reserve falls below 12 months OR exceeds 36 months of projected outlays.
Action: SS TCL allocation adjusts ±0.25 percentage points per annual cycle (±0.50 in declared fiscal emergency). General Fund allocation adjusts inversely by the same amount. Total TCL remains unchanged at 27%. No compensation rate changes.
Corridor: SS allocation governed by Solvency Governor. Current v20 setting: 16.0% (8%+8%) on capped wages.
Assessment cycle: Annual. SS Actuary certifies reserve position by March 15. Adjustment effective October 1 of same year.
Purpose: Eliminates SS insolvency without congressional action. Eliminates phantom surplus accumulation that has historically invited raids on the Trust. The freed 2.4 percentage points at the current setting ($324B/yr) flow to the General Fund for debt retirement.
Healthcare Cost Brake — Detailed Fiscal Backstop
The Healthcare Cost Brake is the most important governor because VHA-E is the largest spending line and the largest scoring risk. When VHA-E spending exceeds 16.8% of GDP:
Step 1: AHQB Master Fee Schedule clawback of 2% for the following quarter. Estimated revenue: ~$0.11T/yr if sustained.
Step 2: VAT surge of 1% per quarter, maximum +3% from the 9% base (to 12%). Pre-bate scales automatically. At 12%: additional net VAT revenue ~$0.35T/yr.
Step 3: TCL surge of 0.5%, maximum +1.5% above the 28% base (to 29.5%). Additional TCL revenue: ~$0.27T/yr.
Combined macro-governor backstop: approximately $0.73T/yr.
Even with full deployment, the steady-state surplus of $1.54T (after infrastructure) can tolerate an additional $0.40T/yr mismatch. Total VHA-E cost capacity: $6.25T score + $0.73T macro-governor = $6.98T + $0.30T surplus absorption = $7.28T capacity. This represents a 20% overrun tolerance without any congressional action.
Stress Test: Can Multiple Governors Fire Simultaneously?
Yes—and they should in the scenario they're designed for. A stagflationary shock (energy price surge + GDP decline + healthcare cost spike) could trigger the Input Shield, Productivity Turbo, and Healthcare Cost Brake simultaneously. The Input Shield pauses carbon escalation and boosts the Stipend (fiscal loosening). The Productivity Turbo doubles the Skills Wallet and activates the capital credit (fiscal loosening). The Healthcare Cost Brake raises VAT and TCL (fiscal tightening). The net fiscal effect depends on the relative magnitudes, but the design is intentionally counter-directional: loosening on the supply side (energy, investment, skills) while tightening on the demand side (consumption, healthcare costs).
Scoring Endnote 25: Macro-Governors
Healthcare Cost Brake fiscal impact: VAT +3% ($0.35T) + TCL +1.5% ($0.27T) + AHQB -2% ($0.11T) = $0.73T combined.
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