That was the original basis for my argument, Xandax. It was why I was originally saying that the US should be treated like England, with part of the money having to be spent on each side of the board. But then there came all the crying and sobbing about how it would be “unfair” and “America is not England” etc, etc, etc.
The absolute BEST solution would be to require any income earned on the Atlantic board to be spent on the Atlantic board and any money earned on the Pacific boasrd to be spent on the Pacific board. But there were too many tears, so you just know that Larry and WOTC are not going to implement that solution. (That and I fear they are too involved in “American Exceptionalism” to ever downgrade the power of America, but that’s my personal opinion. The other personal opinion is they hate Russia so much it’s like giving them a root canal to get them to add any kind of power to the Soviet Union.)
The alternative solution is to buff Japan, in global 1940, so they stand a chance if they make wise decisions. The easiest way there, IMHO, with an untested theory, is to give them a transport in SZ 33. If that is not enough, perhaps a second added transport in SZ 34 (Pauline). By increasing the number of transports, you decrease the number Japan needs to build and thus give them more options to use their money on. Further, the transport in SZ 33 makes Hawaii a viable target on Round 1 negating the penalties Japan suffers in a round 1 surprise strike on the Allies.
The worst solution is a bid. It is still a solution, but it’s too dynamic and what I feel we need is a static solution. Not to mention, bidding will result in way more IPC added to the ground than just adding a transport or two. For one, I wouldn’t take Japan without at least a 12 IPC bid, probably an 18 IPC bid (2 Infantry, 2 Armor) so that I can take Yunnan round 1 and hold it against a China counter attack, thus denying them the NO permanently. Pretty sure all other bids would also go into taking and holding Yunnan to prevent China from ever collecting the NO.