Protector's Own - Who pays?

Ok. I've had this on my mind since way back in War or Honor and finally the urge to ask overwhelmed me.

How is Protector Benjamin able to foot the bill for the Protectors Own? I realize that he is probably one of the wealthiest people on all of Grayson but the sheer cost of the Protectors own is enormous- far more than even Benjamin could possibly pay. How would one go about funding this organization- which I Assume is not directly funded from the Grayson Navy,

He has the Protector's Steading, which consists of the former Bancroft, Simonds and Oswald Steadings. The Protector may also be able to call upon the Mayhew Steading, which is officially held by the Protector's heir. Four, on a planet with only 82 official steadings. A planet which was able to maintain a larger navy than Manticore, during the ceasefire. It's not that great a stretch to say that he can fund a few battle squadrons and screen out of 5% of the steadings, plus any tithe taken from the rest thanks to the Restoration. He may even own everything on the planet that isn't a steading, similar to a Crown Reserve.

And there are certain costs he doesn't have to pay, like R&D or training, as those fall under the official Navy's remit. Remember also that Blackbird Yard's owners weren't as bleed-the-stone-dry as Klaus Hauptman or other OSK shipbuilders were.

The Protector is not just the richest person on Grayson. It is not even close. After the war, Benjamin the Great merged the 3 rebellious steadings, including Bancroft, an original 5 steading into the Protector's demesne. Yes, long term expansion of the Protector's Own would require financing, as I'm sure it's initial expansion beyond the ships that came back from Hades did, but those are loans that the commercial bankers on Grayson AND Manticore would be delighted to arrange.

When in "Service of the Sword", then Captain Oversteegen cautions Mr. Grigovakis on the wealth and power of Abigail's father, Lord Owens, he uses the phrase "Your family, as I said, is noted for its wealth. That wealth, however, pales t' insignificance beside the Owens family fortune" While certainly true, the money available to the protector would make Lord Owens look like a hardscabble dirt farmer.

Plus.... the entire planet is goofy rich with heavy metals, that the rest of the universe tends to find useful. Imagine owning the mineral rights to say, 5% of planet earth, but specifically the five percent that is heavier in things like gold, platinum, rare earth metals that are useful for high speed circuitry, etc.

Keep in mind in HotQ that the naval arrangements, etc. are considered a loan, and by not too terribly much later, we don't hear about any payment problems.

Hi SharkHunter,

Then consider the people of his 'steads are quite proud of him, far more than the Brits for queen Victoria, so they're willing to accept a rather small extra tax to pay for current expenses, possibly just shifting a bond that's finally finished.

If his steads were 13-20% of the total 3 billion population, and the Protector's own totaled 100-200,000,l then 3-4,000 people are paying for each member of the PO's, a trifling sum compared to other taxes etc.

In short the premise could be very easily flawed.

L

SharkHunter wrote:Plus.... the entire planet is goofy rich with heavy metals, that the rest of the universe tends to find useful. Imagine owning the mineral rights to say, 5% of planet earth, but specifically the five percent that is heavier in things like gold, platinum, rare earth metals that are useful for high speed circuitry, etc.

Keep in mind in HotQ that the naval arrangements, etc. are considered a loan, and by not too terribly much later, we don't hear about any payment problems.

markm57 wrote:How would one go about funding this organization- which I Assume is not directly funded from the Grayson Navy,

It might very well be, at least as far as sustaining it, since it is effectively a part of the official Navy.

About the heavy metals: I've wondered a few times what sort of stuff salt evaporation ponds on Grayson would yield (except for the obvious Aaarghh! from just about any health and safety institution imaginable, a more closed system might be a better idea).

aairfccha wrote:

markm57 wrote:How would one go about funding this organization- which I Assume is not directly funded from the Grayson Navy,

It might very well be, at least as far as sustaining it, since it is effectively a part of the official Navy.

About the heavy metals: I've wondered a few times what sort of stuff salt evaporation ponds on Grayson would yield (except for the obvious Aaarghh! from just about any health and safety institution imaginable, a more closed system might be a better idea).

Actually I finally found this qoute from House of Steel concerning the funding to wit : "The Protector’s Own is personally financed by the Protector of Grayson".

Which still leaves me stymied as to how even Benjamin can afford it sigh.

markm57 wrote:

aairfccha wrote:It might very well be, at least as far as sustaining it, since it is effectively a part of the official Navy.

About the heavy metals: I've wondered a few times what sort of stuff salt evaporation ponds on Grayson would yield (except for the obvious Aaarghh! from just about any health and safety institution imaginable, a more closed system might be a better idea).

Actually I finally found this qoute from House of Steel concerning the funding to wit : "The Protector’s Own is personally financed by the Protector of Grayson".

Which still leaves me stymied as to how even Benjamin can afford it sigh.

The 82 Steadholders of Grayson rule at least 3 billion people, an average of 36 million each. They've been described as having more power and authority than the most feudalistic aristocrats in the Star Kingdom dare dream of. They effectively rule as lightly limited constitutional monarchs of the feudal/medieval kind.

If the Protector's Steading is still equivalent to three Steadings, His Grace rules at least 110 million people. It could easily be twice that.

Japan's population in 1940 was 73 million, with a global population of 2.3 billion. How much tonnage of warships did Earth 1940 have? How much did Japan have?

Someone who ruled all of Earth in general and personally owned Japan in particular could easily raise a private navy out of Japanese resources. It wouldn't be anywhere as large - out of ~160 SD(P)s in the GSN, Protector's Own has 12 - but an impressive status icon nonetheless, especially when considering that every other King on Grayson is limited to only 50 men as a personal army.

Of course the PO is funded by monies that would
otherwise go to the GSN!
How else?
HTM

markm57 wrote:
at bottom

aairfccha wrote:
below

quote="markm57"
How would one go about funding this organization- which
I Assume is not directly funded from the Grayson Navy,

aairfccha replied:
It might very well be, at least as far as sustaining it, since it is effectively a part of the official Navy.

[quote=aairfccha]

markm57 continued:
Actually I finally found this qoute from House of Steel concerning the funding to wit : "The Protector’s Own is personally financed by the Protector of Grayson".

Which still leaves me stymied as to how even Benjamin can afford it sigh.

--snpping--
re:

"Actually I finally found this qoute from House of Steel concerning the funding to wit : "The Protector’s Own is personally financed by the Protector of Grayson".

Which still leaves me stymied as to how even Benjamin can afford it sigh."

If the Protector's Steading is still equivalent to three Steadings, His Grace rules at least 110 million people. It could easily be twice that.

Japan's population in 1940 was 73 million, with a global population of 2.3 billion. How much tonnage of warships did Earth 1940 have? How much did Japan have?...

That is actually an awesome comparison, because I am familiar with the size of some of the feudal armies in the early Tokugawa era of Japanese history. It's sort of like asking how much those armies cost, given that the castles were already built: the Protector's own started with captured ships plus what Protector Benjamin chose to finance and separate out from the GSN building programs.

Also consider that non-Grayson investment wise, IIRC Hauptman and Harrington's investments built the Blackbird yards, plus Skydomes multiplied the economic power/value and even the live birth rate (Allison's research) for EVERY steading. After that it's crewing plus fuel and missiles in a rapidly expanding war economy.