[MEGATHREAD] Unusual Issue Effects Since New Update

[Christian Democrats]

Why does Option 107.2 increase Civil Rights?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

#017 option 1, political freedoms go up.
#234 option 2, political freedoms go down?

Agree with you here: 234.2 shouldn't restrict political freedoms. Will flag it with team.

[Bedetopia]

I don't really understand why option 5 of #255 Welfare Programs Not Faring Well abolishes slavery.

[A Humanist Science]

I don't really understand why option 5 of #255 Welfare Programs Not Faring Well abolishes slavery.

"Capitalism is the very reason why we need welfare in the first place. Laissez-faire policies would only make the problem worse," argues political activist @@RANDOMNAME@@. "If the government would ensure that all employers pay their employees the amount they need to live – no more, no less – then the problem of providing for the poor would disappear."

If slavery is the compulsion to labor against the will of the laborer, with little or no regard for the welfare of the laborer, then #255.5 will necessarily abolish slavery by ensuring labor welfare (e.g. some sort of implied minimum wage) presumably effectively bringing labor up to par with the employer in terms of market bargaining power.

If my employer must pay me a certain wage and provide me certain benefits, his ability to coerce me by threat of witholding the same goes down significantly.

[Trotterdam]

Most slaveowners already pay their slaves "the amount they need to live - no more, no less" (usually directly in food and board, rather than money), because slaves that aren't alive aren't very useful.

You still only get paid if you're actually employed, so refusing to work isn't a good idea.

[Jamalistan]

Apparently banning nudity in public had absolutely no effects... except slightly decreasing rudeness.

[Luna Amore]

Apparently banning nudity in public had absolutely no effects... except slightly decreasing rudeness.

Sounds like you already banned it before.

[A Humanist Science]

You still only get paid if you're actually employed,...

#255.5 combines a critique of capitalism with at least a strong implication of a minimum wage. "need to live[,] no more no less," in this context, implies at least a social democracy. To my ear, anyway. If this interpretation is accurate, the abolition of slave plantations, should they happen to exist, is a perfectly reasonable consequence.

One's citizens might then be wage slaves, but this is still a significant step up. Paying them in money so that they can choose a master, or eventually become their own master, is still a big (albeit imperfect) step.

[Arridian Islands]

I chose option 1 on issue 567 and it resulted in a very slight decrease in civil rights.

[Arridian Islands]

Apparently banning nudity in public had absolutely no effects... except slightly decreasing rudeness.

Sounds like you already banned it before.

Hello, main of the account that was posted in. If I banned nudity already why is that issue valid?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Sounds like you already banned it before.

Hello, main of the account that was posted in. If I banned nudity already why is that issue valid?

Lots of issues stretch the narrative in repeating, but short of having the vast majority of issues never repeat, there's no practical way to fix this. Look it as the public confirming your stance.

Incidentally, the game doesn't record bans on nudity, but it does measure on an analogue scale how receptive your nation is to nudity. In your nation's case, the decision made didn't change your nation's position on nudity, so you saw limited effects.

A similar situation happens a lot with my more extreme puppet nations. In DoNoHarm, for example, I aggressively pursue maximum authoritarianism, but my nation is already so extreme that often I'll get a blank stat box on picking an issue. This is design as intended, and semi-realistic. No-one will blink if China shuts down a website, as they already restrict the internet massively. If the US government did the same, it'd be big news.

[Bears Armed]

Sounds like you already banned it before.

Hello, main of the account that was posted in. If I banned nudity already why is that issue valid?

For one thing, getting it again gives you the chance to change your mind about the policy...

[Candlewhisper Archive]

I chose option 1 on issue 567 and it resulted in a very slight decrease in civil rights.

Yep, intentional. See bolded section below, you're impacting the right to free speech.

“I shouldn’t have to spend hours poring over reams of government documents for just one story!” complains Bob Ford, reporter for the Umerian Enquirer, slamming a large stack of papers onto your desk. “Look at this! One thousand nine hundred eighty-four pages! What Minister Redbridge is doing is dishonest and despicable. You need to force him and those like him to use plain language and get to the point, so that the common people of Umeria will be able decipher what’s going on in the government.”

[Manhat]

Did the time for the issues change? I had 4 issues this morning and I dismissed one and chose an option on another, I had my game set for ever 6 hours so it would be 12 am, 6 am, 12 pm, 6 pm and 12 am, but I went to check my issue for 12 pm today and it says I have 30 minutes to wait till the next issue.

[Bears Armed]

Did the time for the issues change? I had 4 issues this morning and I dismissed one and chose an option on another, I had my game set for ever 6 hours so it would be 12 am, 6 am, 12 pm, 6 pm and 12 am, but I went to check my issue for 12 pm today and it says I have 30 minutes to wait till the next issue.

The game was down for a while, which might have affected that detail. For another example of that event's effects, in case you hadn't noticed, the World Census is still ranking our nations for the same stat that it did yesterday...

[Manhat]

Did the time for the issues change? I had 4 issues this morning and I dismissed one and chose an option on another, I had my game set for ever 6 hours so it would be 12 am, 6 am, 12 pm, 6 pm and 12 am, but I went to check my issue for 12 pm today and it says I have 30 minutes to wait till the next issue.

The game was down for a while, which might have affected that detail. For another example of that event's effects, in case you hadn't noticed, the World Census is still ranking our nations for the same stat that it did yesterday...

I did noticed it wouldn't load the site around 6 am, Thanks.

[Trotterdam]

In how-did-I-manage-to-notice-this theater:

I am disappointed that #569 option 3 (encouraging the development of faster cars for standard road use) does not boost Pizza Delivery.

[Maljaratas]

I just answered Issue 135, option 1. I received:

Freedom From Taxation Hayek Index -13.63 → 18.04 232%
Taxation Effective Tax Rate 77.79 → 90.21 16.0%
Public Education Edu-tellignce® Test Score 25,568.14 → 26,614.66 4.1%
Economic Output Gold Coins 2,233.98 → 2,114.70 5.3%
Economy Krugman-Greenspan Business Outlook Index 96.35 → 96.01 0.35% (and a decrease in my ranking. This one is probably just residual)

These few are a little weird, considering this was the option text:
1. "The tax situation in @@NAME@@ is ridiculous," says @@RANDOMNAME@@ at the protest. "The taxes keep getting piled on and yet - I haste to add - the government doesn't seem to realise that they already have practically all our money! We've been reduced to bartering for goodness sake! I haven't seen a decent wad of @@CURRENCY@@ in years! It's bad for @@NAME@@, but more importantly, it's bad for business. We must take huge cuts out of the government budget. Even if it does mean less education, healthcare, and whatnot."

And yes, I beleive I did select the option I did considering this was is my [effect]:
Government officials have to mortgage their homes to make ends meet.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

In how-did-I-manage-to-notice-this theater:

I am disappointed that #569 option 3 (encouraging the development of faster cars for standard road use) does not boost Pizza Delivery.

I don't think the performance of high end sports cars is the limiting factor in pizza delivery speed...

[Candlewhisper Archive]

I just answered Issue 135, option 1. I received:

Freedom From Taxation Hayek Index -13.63 → 18.04 232%
Taxation Effective Tax Rate 77.79 → 90.21 16.0%
Public Education Edu-tellignce® Test Score 25,568.14 → 26,614.66 4.1%
Economic Output Gold Coins 2,233.98 → 2,114.70 5.3%
Economy Krugman-Greenspan Business Outlook Index 96.35 → 96.01 0.35% (and a decrease in my ranking. This one is probably just residual)

These few are a little weird, considering this was the option text:
1. "The tax situation in @@NAME@@ is ridiculous," says @@RANDOMNAME@@ at the protest. "The taxes keep getting piled on and yet - I haste to add - the government doesn't seem to realise that they already have practically all our money! We've been reduced to bartering for goodness sake! I haven't seen a decent wad of @@CURRENCY@@ in years! It's bad for @@NAME@@, but more importantly, it's bad for business. We must take huge cuts out of the government budget. Even if it does mean less education, healthcare, and whatnot."

And yes, I beleive I did select the option I did considering this was is my [effect]:
Government officials have to mortgage their homes to make ends meet.

Yeah, that is pretty unexpected.

Reviewing things, you have a weird nation that had a pre-existing strong bias against taxation while simultaneously being an extremely high spender, which accounts for your final tax level. The code to reduce your tax base had no effect, but the spending cuts had big effects across the board, which in turn shrunk your economic output considerably. Net result was that a huge ass spending cut resulted in a smaller economy, which meant that the spending you still had now represented a larger % of your economic output, so your taxes then went up.

In narrative terms, look at it this way. Your economy was running very successfully on a basis of high spending stimulating the economy, and in order to reduce taxes you removed some of that spending. However, the economy shrunk by more than expected, and a little time down the line you realised you had to raise taxes again to balance the books.

Its not a common situation, but related to the shape of your nation and past decisions.

[Maljaratas]

In how-did-I-manage-to-notice-this theater:

I am disappointed that #569 option 3 (encouraging the development of faster cars for standard road use) does not boost Pizza Delivery.

I don't think the performance of high end sports cars is the limiting factor in pizza delivery speed...

30 seconds or its free!

Yeah, that is pretty unexpected.

Reviewing things, you have a weird nation that had a pre-existing strong bias against taxation while simultaneously being an extremely high spender, which accounts for your final tax level. The code to reduce your tax base had no effect, but the spending cuts had big effects across the board, which in turn shrunk your economic output considerably. Net result was that a huge ass spending cut resulted in a smaller economy, which meant that the spending you still had now represented a larger % of your economic output, so your taxes then went up.

In narrative terms, look at it this way. Your economy was running very successfully on a basis of high spending stimulating the economy, and in order to reduce taxes you removed some of that spending. However, the economy shrunk by more than expected, and a little time down the line you realised you had to raise taxes again to balance the books.

Its not a common situation, but related to the shape of your nation and past decisions.

Well, at least I have a weird/uncommon nation. My life is now complete

[Arcoscephale]

334.3:

“Why is this even a national debate?” asks obviously strung-out and possibly hungover bureaucrat, Al Lincoln, mumbling, “It’s just a waste of time... Look. Whatever you do, you’re going to be unpopular. Why don’t you just dodge the bullet? Let local authorities decide - and even decide if it’s their job to decide. That way you don’t annoy anyone, and, hey, I’m sure there’s some bunch of local government advocates who’ll love you for it. Now. Can I go home? Please?”

...why did that massively increase Authoritarianism? Sure, it gives more power to local authorities, but at the same time it decentralizes the government. Which, from what I've seen in other issues, tends to lowers Authoritarianism.

[Umeria]

243.3, "the government's official stance on religion is that it is so very silly". If my government denies religion, then why is it still spending 622 billion rubles on spirituality?
EDIT because of an embarrassing math error.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

334.3:

“Why is this even a national debate?” asks obviously strung-out and possibly hungover bureaucrat, Al Lincoln, mumbling, “It’s just a waste of time... Look. Whatever you do, you’re going to be unpopular. Why don’t you just dodge the bullet? Let local authorities decide - and even decide if it’s their job to decide. That way you don’t annoy anyone, and, hey, I’m sure there’s some bunch of local government advocates who’ll love you for it. Now. Can I go home? Please?”

...why did that massively increase Authoritarianism? Sure, it gives more power to local authorities, but at the same time it decentralizes the government. Which, from what I've seen in other issues, tends to lowers Authoritarianism.

Hardly massively: you went from 2.8 to 3.03.

While politically this is devolutionist, decentralising power from government, you are still infringing the economic rights of individuals to do as they please without government obstruction.

You'll note your economic freedom dropped from 38.33 to 37.78 while your political freedom rose from 11.43 to 11.57. Net result: more authoritarian than before.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

243.3, "the government's official stance on religion is that it is so very silly". If my government denies religion, then why is it still spending 6.2 trillion rubles on spirituality?

It's not.

You're spending 1% of your budget on spirituality, which is 0.622 trillion. Sure, that's a lot of money in absolute terms, but not relative to your spending on every other area of government.

Your net spending is going to be a consequence of past decisions too, not just the most recent one.

Keep following the Path of Dawkins though, and you'll soon quash that last bit of religious spending. Candlewhisper Archive has managed it.