The tax mechanic is broken, When you raise taxes ration cost increases, but it does *not* decrease when you decrease taxes. This combined with the fact it is possible to encounter the tax guy every week means eventually being unable to eat and just starving even recieving max rations at the end of the day. The fact you must lower or raise the tax makes it luck based whether you can continue balancing your stats and eat. Luck can work as a factor in a game, especially one meant to be brutal, but it needs to be balanced with strategy as well to keep the players from feeling frustrurated or like they have no agency like I've seen other comments mention. I saw you were inspired by reigns, but reighns' brutal effects from some luck based events work due to the breakneck pace the game can be played at, while this one is (fittingly) slow and gritty.