[PASSED][Declaration] Against Inflationary Practices

[Crazy girl]

Possibly the most controversial activity in the cards game is inflation, so I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been a draft on this yet. I’ve worked with Barlyy on this, with both of our experiences in and around inflation we believe this captures most of the points here in an IC way for the Security Council to express.

To pre-empt any arguments for or against inflation, I ask fellow card players who would like to comment to focus on how the Security Council would address such an issue (rather than your own nation), as that is where this declaration is being proposed.

Against Inflationary Practices

A resolution to express a position on international affairs and obligations.

The Security Council,

Recognising the importance that economic security plays in both national and international commerce throughout the vast quantity of states in existence;

Praising how the international free market has enabled nations of all sundry to co-operate towards goals both domestic and collective, being essential to the pursuits of countless nations in their curations, and as an indispensable facet of the work done by some nations that have been commended for their endeavours, including 9003 and 1 very fast endotarter;

Acknowledging the utilisation of client states in the purpose of enriching national collections via the free market as a frequent customary practice requiring greater governmental management overheads with benefits via outsourcing acquisitions and allowing a far greater degree of revenue generation;

Lamenting the scarcity of particular artworks in which the author nation regrettably no longer exists, thereby limiting the quantities of their designs to exceedingly remarkable historic preservations or via national legislation sporadically uncovering previously unaccounted for copies;

Remonstrating the rapacious practices that the most selfish nations use to manipulate these rarer artworks via client states, reprehensibly exploited by some nations condemned by this body such as the detestable Koem Kab and the abhorred Noahs Second Country, yet fearing however that these condemnations have not served as sufficient deterrent as these loathsome inflationary practices have only seen increased use since the passage of these resolutions;

Bringing to light the unquestionable harm that these odious practices can inflict on both individual nations and on the wider economy as evident by:

• The turbulent volatility of artwork pricing and the subsequent disastrous effects on national bank reserves orchestrated through a variety of unethical schemes such as malevolent pump and dump fraud where values are artificially inflated to sell at extreme markups on the marketplace,
• Such severe deterioration in the reliability of gallery valuations to a point where rankings have reached meaningless levels, with galleries of respected provenance and prestige being relegated beneath those composed entirely out of artwork of lesser esteem collected via a far lower effort of curation, in addition to individual artwork valuation rankings suffering to an even greater degree as such rankings merely indicate how extensive this exploitation has become,
• The egregious monopolisation of scarce artwork by miserly speculators which only increases the damage of market aberrations to the detriment of collectors and collections through selfish practices such as hoarding of otherwise common quality artwork and the expense of such collections soaring from the inflated perceived value held by said speculators, and
• The disappointing proliferation of such practices having led to a distressing level of antagonism in market exchanges and in international forums resulting in escalating tension and straining relations on the world stage;

Confirming that such despicable inflationary practices that take place in the international market are deleterious to national and international interests in regard to economic security and the furtherance of culturally important national galleries, and serve no acceptable role within the international rules-based order;

Hereby declares this Council’s position against inflationary practices.

Co-Authored by Barlyy

Against Inflationary Practices

A resolution to express a position on international affairs and obligations.

The Security Council,

Recognising the importance that economic security plays in both national and international commerce throughout the vast quantity of states in existence;

Praising how the international free market has enabled nations of all sundry to co-operate towards goals both domestic and collective, being essential to the pursuits of countless nations in their curations, and as an indispensable facet of the work done by some nations that have been commended for their endeavours, including 9003 and 1 very fast endotarter;

Acknowledging the utilisation of client states in the purpose of enriching national collections via the free market as a frequent customary practice requiring greater governmental management overheads with benefits via outsourcing acquisitions and allowing a far greater degree of revenue generation;

Lamenting the scarcity of particular artworks in which the author nation regrettably no longer exists, thereby limiting the quantities of their designs to exceedingly remarkable historic preservations or via national legislation sporadically uncovering previously unaccounted for copies;

Disapproving of practices that some nations use to manipulate these rarer artworks via client states, notably exploited by nations condemned by this body such as Koem Kab and Noahs Second Country, yet fearing however that these condemnations have not served as sufficient deterrent as inflationary practices have only seen increased use since the passage of these resolutions;

Highlighting the harm that these practices can inflict on both individual nations and on the wider economy as evident by:

• The turbulent volatility of artwork pricing and the subsequent disastrous effects on national bank reserves orchestrated through a variety of unethical schemes such as malevolent pump and dump fraud where values are artificially inflated to sell at extreme markups on the marketplace,
• Such severe deterioration in the reliability of gallery valuations to a point where rankings have reached meaningless levels, with galleries of respected provenance and prestige being relegated beneath those composed entirely out of lesser quality artworks collected via a far lower effort of curation, in addition to individual artwork valuation rankings suffering to an even greater degree as such rankings merely indicate how extensive this manipulation has become,
• The monopolisation of scarce artwork by speculators which only increases the damage of market aberrations to the detriment of collectors and collections through practices such as hoarding of otherwise common quality artwork and the expense of such collections soaring from the inflated perceived value held by said speculators, and
• The proliferation of such practices having led to an increasing level of antagonism in market exchanges and in international forums resulting in ratcheting tension and straining relations on the world stage;

Confirming that inflationary practices that take place in the international market are harmful to national and international interests in regard to economic security and the furtherance of culturally important national galleries;

Hereby declares this Council’s position against inflationary practices.

[Comfed]

I like the idea. I think you could word the resolution to be more critical, though. It seems too... "polite" right now I guess

[Fachumonn]

Support. Nice idea.

[Alistia]

Support, but I would add DGES to the line that mentions nations that have been commended for their endeavors in the artwork trade.

[Barlyy]

I like the idea. I think you could word the resolution to be more critical, though. It seems too... "polite" right now I guess

I mean, it's hard to be so critical when both of the authors are former inflators

[Anne of Cleves in TNP]

“I see no major errors. The Clevesian people shall support this.”
-Ms. Charlotte Schafer, WA Ambassador for the Clevesian Empire

[Twertis]

Beautiful, I love it.

[Cerata]

Perfection. But still, large card farmers and inflaters would be unwilling to relinquish their crown. After you pass this, if you do, expect lots of opposition on the market.

[Nooooooooooooooo]

If you pass this I will inflate you

[Noahs Second Country]

This would be the second time this body formally disapproves of my actions, so I suppose I shall support it.

[Fhaengshia]

Thanks for the words of support!

I like the idea. I think you could word the resolution to be more critical, though. It seems too... "polite" right now I guess

I can understand where you're coming from, I'll give this some thought.

Support, but I would add DGES to the line that mentions nations that have been commended for their endeavors in the artwork trade.

There are a good few Commended nations that would fit and I almost included DGES so I'm certainly open to their inclusion, though in this draft I chose not to cos "Destructive" isn't really the vibe I was aiming for (on the commended side)

[West Barack and East Obama]

Dr Justin Obama, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: Inflation is bad. Our nation, for example, requires one quadrillion bits of our currency to buy a box of eggs. However, card trading affects... nobody? Only people into card trading would care about this, and this is an incredibly small percentage of people compared to the trillions of citizens in the World Assembly. Even then, this does nothing but state a statement. What is the Security Council's plan of action for this? Recommending sanctions? It needs to be clearer how we can combat this supposedly dangerous inflation. Opposed.

[Fhaengshia]

Dr Justin Obama, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: Inflation is bad. Our nation, for example, requires one quadrillion bits of our currency to buy a box of eggs. However, card trading affects... nobody? Only people into card trading would care about this, and this is an incredibly small percentage of people compared to the trillions of citizens in the World Assembly. Even then, this does nothing but state a statement. What is the Security Council's plan of action for this? Recommending sanctions? It needs to be clearer how we can combat this supposedly dangerous inflation. Opposed.

Yes the card community is a small community in Nationstates, but so are many communities, and it is the Security Council's own opinion that small communities be acknowledged for a more inclusive World Assembly. Inflation is the most divisive topic in cards and is a good candidate (in my mind and my co-author's mind) for getting a bit more variety in the SC.

Also a Declaration can only be a statement of opinion, including sanctions would make this illegal.

[WayNeacTia]

Support, I guess..... I really don't get the whole card game. It looks well written enough and is exactly what declarations are intended for.

[Giovanniland]

"On the contrary, inflation can also benefit many traders! Especially self-starting businesses such as yours truly. Giovanniland would support a declaration praising inflation and its wonders to artwork galleries around the world and their values perhaps, but not one opposing it."

With that IC position of my nation out of the way, some comments on the proposal itself:

Acknowledging the utilisation of client states in the purpose of enriching national collections via the free market as a frequent customary practice requiring greater governmental management overheads with benefits via outsourcing acquisitions and allowing a far greater degree of revenue generation;

I can understand this clause, however there is an consistency issue in the SC when we compare this to Condemn Koem Kab ("colonizing thousands of nations for the sole purpose of art production...") and Condemn Noah ("enslaving the entire population of more than 850 nations in Second Best Card Farm..."), therefore the use of card farming puppets (in the way most people use them) doesn't make sense to be painted in a good light.

Disapproving of practices that some nations use to manipulate these rarer artworks via client states, notably exploited by nations condemned by this body such as Koem Kab and Noahs Second Country, yet fearing however that these condemnations have not served as sufficient deterrent as inflationary practices have only seen increased use since the passage of these resolutions;

Koem and Noah did inflate a few cards, however they're not really the ones first coming to mind when talking about inflation. I understand that other inflator nations aren't condemned though, so perhaps the examples could simply be removed.

The turbulent volatility of artwork pricing and the subsequent disastrous effects on national bank reserves orchestrated through a variety of unethical schemes such as malevolent pump and dump fraud where values are artificially inflated to sell at extreme markups on the marketplace,

Most people inflate to increase their own deck value, only selling when there's a really good deal or when they realize the value will soon decrease. Usually, the seller of inflated cards is another farmer who doesn't like them and seeks to profit instead, so there isn't really a scheme here, at least not by the inflator nation.

Such severe deterioration in the reliability of gallery valuations to a point where rankings have reached meaningless levels, with galleries of respected provenance and prestige being relegated beneath those composed entirely out of lesser quality artworks collected via a far lower effort of curation, in addition to individual artwork valuation rankings suffering to an even greater degree as such rankings merely indicate how extensive this manipulation has become,

Lesser quality --> lesser rarity I assume? Non-legendary artwork shouldn't be characterized as lesser quality artwork.

The monopolisation of scarce artwork by speculators which only increases the damage of market aberrations to the detriment of collectors and collections through practices such as hoarding of otherwise common quality artwork and the expense of such collections soaring from the inflated perceived value held by said speculators, and

Worth noting that a few people such as myself do gift cards to collectors when they need to complete a collection, but yes, I'm in the minority here so it's a fair point making.

[Noahs Second Country]

I can understand this clause, however there is an consistency issue in the SC when we compare this to Condemn Koem Kab ("colonizing thousands of nations for the sole purpose of art production...") and Condemn Noah ("enslaving the entire population of more than 850 nations in Second Best Card Farm..."), therefore the use of card farming puppets (in the way most people use them) doesn't make sense to be painted in a good light.

The narrative can certainly change over time, I don't see this being a real consistency issue.

Koem and Noah did inflate a few cards, however they're not really the ones first coming to mind when talking about inflation. I understand that other inflator nations aren't condemned though, so perhaps the examples could simply be removed.

Koem Kab inflated many many cards solely for the purpose of DV. Most legendary cards went up in value because of Koem Kab incrementally increasing their prices over time, and then eventually fully embracing inflation of transfer/cte cards.

Also, since you cite my condemnation here, consider the following clauses:

Appalled at the despicable deeds perpetuated by NSC, including but not limited to... using the aforementioned colonies to counterfeit and reproduce copies of artwork from its nation to build a monopoly and inflate prices to grotesque values

the deliberate inflation of the value of the common and uncommon artwork of nations such as Noahania, The air force of south asians 26, British rashah, and Death and killing tactics 3, no doubt attempts to elicit mayhem into the artwork trading community

Shocked that NSC, under the puppet nation N00027, deliberately inflated the artwork of The Dark System to make it the most valuable artwork in the world, shortly before crashing the market value back to around the original value, causing an immeasurable amount of havoc and almost ruining regional artwork events,

I'm fairly confident that if you look back to early s2, you, KK, and I were probably the figureheads of inflated cards, though in somewhat different ways.

Since then, the tactics haven't changed, they've just been amplified by the removal of TCALS and buildup of wealth as card farming became more popular.

Plus, citing past precedent is a pretty effective argument in the Security Council.

[Giovanniland]

I can understand this clause, however there is an consistency issue in the SC when we compare this to Condemn Koem Kab ("colonizing thousands of nations for the sole purpose of art production...") and Condemn Noah ("enslaving the entire population of more than 850 nations in Second Best Card Farm..."), therefore the use of card farming puppets (in the way most people use them) doesn't make sense to be painted in a good light.

The narrative can certainly change over time, I don't see this being a real consistency issue.

Does it make sense for the official, international body that is the SC to do it though? The other resolutions weren't repealed, and issues with card farming still exist so I'd say there is a consistency issue, and consistency is important in SC resolutions.

Koem and Noah did inflate a few cards, however they're not really the ones first coming to mind when talking about inflation. I understand that other inflator nations aren't condemned though, so perhaps the examples could simply be removed.

Koem Kab inflated many many cards solely for the purpose of DV. Most legendary cards went up in value because of Koem Kab incrementally increasing their prices over time, and then eventually fully embracing inflation of transfer/cte cards.

Also, since you cite my condemnation here, consider the following clauses:

Appalled at the despicable deeds perpetuated by NSC, including but not limited to... using the aforementioned colonies to counterfeit and reproduce copies of artwork from its nation to build a monopoly and inflate prices to grotesque values

the deliberate inflation of the value of the common and uncommon artwork of nations such as Noahania, The air force of south asians 26, British rashah, and Death and killing tactics 3, no doubt attempts to elicit mayhem into the artwork trading community

Shocked that NSC, under the puppet nation N00027, deliberately inflated the artwork of The Dark System to make it the most valuable artwork in the world, shortly before crashing the market value back to around the original value, causing an immeasurable amount of havoc and almost ruining regional artwork events,

I'm fairly confident that if you look back to early s2, you, KK, and I were probably the figureheads of inflated cards, though in somewhat different ways.

Since then, the tactics haven't changed, they've just been amplified by the removal of TCALS and buildup of wealth as card farming became more popular.

Plus, citing past precedent is a pretty effective argument in the Security Council.

Hmm, this is a fair enough point when considering the diversity of inflation tactics - of course, what comes to my thoughts aren't the thoughts of the entire SC, so I can see a case for maintaining the clause as it is.

[Bormiar]

I can understand this clause, however there is an consistency issue in the SC when we compare this to Condemn Koem Kab ("colonizing thousands of nations for the sole purpose of art production...") and Condemn Noah ("enslaving the entire population of more than 850 nations in Second Best Card Farm..."), therefore the use of card farming puppets (in the way most people use them) doesn't make sense to be painted in a good light.

I think it can be phrased both ways. For example:

"Founded vassal states devoted to artwork all over the world, spreading culture and business acumen" or something like that.

I for one only condemned (rather than commended) Koem Kab because I thought it looked better on his nation. I'll bet the situation with Noah was similar (i.e. maybe he'd rather be condemned). I don't think it really makes a difference.

Though the lack of consistency is an issue, maybe artistic license outweighs it.

[Fhaengshia]

"On the contrary, inflation can also benefit many traders! Especially self-starting businesses such as yours truly. Giovanniland would support a declaration praising inflation and its wonders to artwork galleries around the world and their values perhaps, but not one opposing it."

“The habit of inflation trickling down to the smallest of traders would be a nightmare if it weren’t something impossible. Value doesn’t need to come from the market, rather that can detract from the intrinsic value in the artwork themselves”

I can understand this clause, however there is an consistency issue in the SC when we compare this to Condemn Koem Kab ("colonizing thousands of nations for the sole purpose of art production...") and Condemn Noah ("enslaving the entire population of more than 850 nations in Second Best Card Farm..."), therefore the use of card farming puppets (in the way most people use them) doesn't make sense to be painted in a good light.

The narrative I had planned for this resolution goes from praising to disapproving then worse, with the parts in-between being more neutral, ie. merely acknowledging then lamenting. If we look at 9003’s commend, puppet nations haven’t entirely been portrayed negatively, in the commend while it’s not 9003’s puppets it’s pretty neutral about the existence of puppets for cards in general. That being said, any recommendations on tone change are welcome.

9003's Commend:
Impressed by 9003's maintenance of a report of more than ten thousand satellite states belonging to various art collectors, which enables traders to avoid conflict with otherwise unrecognizable states,

Koem and Noah did inflate a few cards, however they're not really the ones first coming to mind when talking about inflation. I understand that other inflator nations aren't condemned though, so perhaps the examples could simply be removed.

I remember the inflation chase you gave Noah, as well as KK. This was after they had been condemned, though you’re all inflators even if you don’t have a c/c yet
Really, just like I haven’t included DGES and Elegarth in the praising clause, the examples aren’t meant to be exhaustive, merely illustrative.

Most people inflate to increase their own deck value, only selling when there's a really good deal or when they realize the value will soon decrease. Usually, the seller of inflated cards is another farmer who doesn't like them and seeks to profit instead, so there isn't really a scheme here, at least not by the inflator nation.

You’re right, I mainly used the pump and dump example as it’s the most egregiously manipulative practice and has been seeing more use recently with Dogecoinlando and Giraffeton iirc, which is why I think Andy and upc are interacting less in the cards server. The scenario you’ve highlighted is more typical yes, but less dramatic.

Lesser quality --> lesser rarity I assume? Non-legendary artwork shouldn't be characterized as lesser quality artwork.

I had tried to avoid repeating “rarity/rare” etc so I chose quality as a synonym, it’s a bit old fashioned I guess, but I was going for the “distinguishing characteristics” definition rather than a comparison. I didn’t specify non-legendary, and the vast majority of inflations are common that even uncommon inflations are well, rather uncommon.

Worth noting that a few people such as myself do gift cards to collectors when they need to complete a collection, but yes, I'm in the minority here so it's a fair point making.

And that’s why we love you Gio!

[Honeydewistania]

Replace less quality with less sought after/less popular/less shiny?

[Noahs Second Country]

I for one only condemned (rather than commended) Koem Kab because I thought it looked better on his nation. I'll bet the situation with Noah was similar (i.e. maybe he'd rather be condemned). I don't think it really makes a difference.

Though the lack of consistency is an issue, maybe artistic license outweighs it.

I don't think a commendation for me was ever really a consideration, but I imagine if I wanted a commendation it could have happened.

Does it make sense for the official, international body that is the SC to do it though? The other resolutions weren't repealed, and issues with card farming still exist so I'd say there is a consistency issue, and consistency is important in SC resolutions.

This may be more of a personal philosophy thing but I see the SC as reflecting the views of the WA at the time it is passed. Thus, if people start to change their attitude since the passage of a resolution, it's appropriate for that change to be represented in future resolutions.

For example, if a commended issues author writes a couple of SC resolutions, the commendation isn't updated to reflect it.

And realistically this body has never had much consistency anyway.

[West Barack and East Obama]

Dr Justin Obama, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: Inflation is bad. Our nation, for example, requires one quadrillion bits of our currency to buy a box of eggs. However, card trading affects... nobody? Only people into card trading would care about this, and this is an incredibly small percentage of people compared to the trillions of citizens in the World Assembly. Even then, this does nothing but state a statement. What is the Security Council's plan of action for this? Recommending sanctions? It needs to be clearer how we can combat this supposedly dangerous inflation. Opposed.

Yes the card community is a small community in Nationstates, but so are many communities, and it is the Security Council's own opinion that small communities be acknowledged for a more inclusive World Assembly. Inflation is the most divisive topic in cards and is a good candidate (in my mind and my co-author's mind) for getting a bit more variety in the SC.

Also a Declaration can only be a statement of opinion, including sanctions would make this illegal.

Dr Justin Obama, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs: The World Assembly could opine that sanctions is a good idea. It would be better than nothing. And if small communities do need to be recognised, I hope to see full support when I write a declaration on the events happening in my small community Tuscagora

[Bhang Bhang Duc]

While this is a tidily written draft it seems much too nice, too polite. It has the feel of “the SC is against card inflation, if that’s alright with you”.

It lacks bite, it lacks a bit of tub-thumping telling everyone that inflation is a really bad thing.

[Avatar Aang]

Good draft

[Nova Vandalia]

I really dig this. I think that Declarations could be such a useful thing in begining to "codifiy" precidents for future condemns and commends, and I think this does it really well. It has my support and I really hope we get to see it refenced in future condemns among the card community.