[DRAFT] Ye Olde Consumer Price Index

[Nicana]

Title: Ye Olde Consumer Price Index

Description: The Central Bank's latest inflation forecast - which mentions the steepening price of candlesticks, production problems in the horseshoe-smithing sector, and an expectation of short-term financial pain for riders of velocipedes - has some people suggesting that the basket of goods used to calculate the Consumer Price Index may be getting a little outdated.

Validity: Phones are not illegal

Option 1: "Telegraph machines? Longbows? 'Freshly beeswaxed snuff boxes'?!", disbelievingly reads tech blogger @@RANDOMNAME@@. "These goods are antiquated compared to the habits of modern consumers. If we want an accurate inflation report, we need an index that reflects that people are more concerned about the price of smartphones, ready meals and yoga pants than they are about...whatever a 'portable astrolabe' is. Tell the Central Bank to update the CPI!"
[effect]plasma rifle price inflation has economists forecasting interest rate rises

Option 2: "I say, I say, this is a little bit hasty!" declaims @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, furiously polishing his monocle before squinting keenly at the CPI entry for 'moustache oil'. "If things are getting out of whack, old bean, then it's the consumer habits that should change, not a bally good index that's seen us right since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, what-ho! Ban all these fancy new telephonic electronic automatic whojamawhatsit contraptions, and we'll soon see just how valuable knowing the price of a good draft of opium really is!"
[effect]the technologically-challenged populace are relieved that whale tallow candles are still just about affordable

Option 3: "Who cares? It's all mumbo-jumbo anyway," snorts @@RANDOMNAME@@, host of a popular left-wing podcast. "The central bankers and their international globalist controllers just claim to be worried about inflation so they can keep us locked down under wage-slavery and austerity. If the Central Bank did away with its inflation index entirely and just started printing money, we could afford some real investment in public spending and infrastructure. And it'd pay for itself eventually through increased growth. Uh...somehow."
[effect]the @@CURRENCY@@ is worth so little it is chiefly now used for wallpapering student dorms

[The Sakhalinsk Empire]

Title: Ye Olde Consumer Price Index

Description: The Central Bank's latest inflation forecast - which mentions the steepening price of candlesticks, production problems in the horseshoe-smithing sector, and an expectation of short-term financial pain for riders of velocipedes - has some people suggesting that the basket of goods used to calculate the Consumer Price Index may be getting a little outdated.

Validity: Phones are not illegal

Option 1: "Telegraph machines? Longbows? 'Freshly beeswaxed snuff boxes'?!", disbelievingly reads tech blogger @@RANDOMNAME@@. "These goods are antiquated compared to the habits of modern consumers. If we want an accurate inflation report, we need an index that reflects that people are more concerned about the price of smartphones, ready meals and yoga pants than they are about...whatever a 'portable astrolabe' is. Tell the Central Bank to update the CPI!"
[effect]plasma rifle price inflation has economists forecasting interest rate rises

Option 2: "I say, I say, this is a little bit hasty!" declaims @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, furiously polishing his monocle before squinting keenly at the CPI entry for 'moustache oil'. "If things are getting out of whack, old bean, then it's the consumer habits that should change, not a bally good index that's seen us right since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, what-ho! Ban all these fancy new telephonic electronic automatic whojamawhatsit contraptions, and we'll soon see just how valuable knowing the price of a good draft of opium really is!"
[effect]the technologically-challenged populace are relieved that whale tallow candles are still just about affordable

Option 3: "Who cares? It's all mumbo-jumbo anyway," snorts @@RANDOMNAME@@, host of a popular left-wing podcast. "The central bankers and their international globalist controllers just claim to be worried about inflation so they can keep us locked down under wage-slavery and austerity. If the Central Bank did away with its inflation index entirely and just started printing money, we could afford some real investment in public spending and infrastructure. And it'd pay for itself eventually through increased growth. Uh...somehow."
[effect]the @@CURRENCY@@ is worth so little it is chiefly now used for wallpapering student dorms

This is nice, but there are a few things you need to touch up on.
Legend:
BLUE: Change!

Description: The Central Bank's latest inflation forecast - which mentions the steepening price of candlesticks, production problems in the horseshoe-smithing sector, and an expectation of short-term financial pain for riders of velocipedes - has some people suggesting that the basket of goods used to calculate the Consumer Price Index may be getting a little outdated.

I understand the antique feel for this issue, but "velocipedes" should be replaced by "bicycles" just to make it sound a bit more familiar. IF you like, then "penny farthing" would work, but I don't think that many people would understand that either.

Option 1: "Telegraph machines? Longbows? 'Freshly beeswaxed snuff boxes'?!", disbelievingly reads tech blogger @@RANDOMNAME@@. "These goods are antiquated compared to the habits of modern consumers. If we want an accurate inflation report, we need an index that reflects that people are more concerned about the price of smartphones, ready meals and yoga pants than they are about...whatever a 'portable astrolabe' is. Tell the Central Bank to update the CPI!"
[effect]plasma rifle price inflation has economists forecasting interest rate rises

For the first one, it's fine but a pun involving someone's name can be executed.
For the second one, "antique" or just "old" would do just fine. "Outdated" would be just as well.

Option 2: "I say, I say, this is a little bit hasty!" declaims @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, furiously polishing his monocle before squinting keenly at the CPI entry for 'moustache oil'. "If things are getting out of whack, old bean, then it's the consumer habits that should change, not a bally good index that's seen us right since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, what-ho! Ban all these fancy new telephonic electronic automatic whojamawhatsit contraptions, and we'll soon see just how valuable knowing the price of a good draft of opium really is!"
[effect]the technologically-challenged populace are relieved that whale tallow candles are still just about affordable

"What ho!"? Erm... it seems odd, even with the antique feel. Remove it.
Opium? Some nations ban cannabis and other drugs, so something else needs to take its place; however, it seems pretty good, so I don't know what to replace it with.

Option 3: "Who cares? It's all mumbo-jumbo anyway," snorts @@RANDOMNAME@@, host of a popular left-wing podcast. "The central bankers and their international globalist controllers just claim to be worried about inflation so they can keep us locked down under wage-slavery and austerity. If the Central Bank did away with its inflation index entirely and just started printing money, we could afford some real investment in public spending and infrastructure. And it'd pay for itself eventually through increased growth. Uh...somehow."
[effect]the @@CURRENCY@@ is worth so little it is chiefly now used for wallpapering student dorms[/list]

The two I've highlighted are redundant.

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

Title: Ye Olde Consumer Price Index

Description: The Central Bank's latest inflation forecast - which mentions the steepening price of candlesticks, production problems in the horseshoe-smithing sector, and an expectation of short-term financial pain for riders of velocipedes - has some people suggesting that the basket of goods used to calculate the Consumer Price Index may be getting a little outdated.

Validity: Phones are not illegal

Option 1: "Telegraph machines? Longbows? 'Freshly beeswaxed snuff boxes'?!", disbelievingly reads tech blogger @@RANDOMNAME@@. "These goods are antiquated compared to the habits of modern consumers. If we want an accurate inflation report, we need an index that reflects that people are more concerned about the price of smartphones, ready meals and yoga pants than they are about...whatever a 'portable astrolabe' is. Tell the Central Bank to update the CPI!"
[effect]plasma rifle price inflation has economists forecasting interest rate rises

Option 2: "I say, I say, this is a little bit hasty!" declaims @@RANDOMMALENAME@@, furiously polishing his monocle before squinting keenly at the CPI entry for 'moustache oil'. "If things are getting out of whack, old bean, then it's the consumer habits that should change, not a bally good index that's seen us right since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, what-ho! Ban all these fancy new telephonic electronic automatic whojamawhatsit contraptions, and we'll soon see just how valuable knowing the price of a good draft of opium really is!"
[effect]the technologically-challenged populace are relieved that whale tallow candles are still just about affordable

Option 3: "Who cares? It's all mumbo-jumbo anyway," snorts @@RANDOMNAME@@, host of a popular left-wing podcast. "The central bankers and their international globalist controllers just claim to be worried about inflation so they can keep us locked down under wage-slavery and austerity. If the Central Bank did away with its inflation index entirely and just started printing money, we could afford some real investment in public spending and infrastructure. And it'd pay for itself eventually through increased growth. Uh...somehow."
[effect]the @@CURRENCY@@ is worth so little it is chiefly now used for wallpapering student dorms

Wow, that's some good writing we have here, and along with a quite nice premise to top it all off - AND from a very young nation to boot. This, indeed, is a rare thing to find. Congratulations, my friend.

May I ask you if you are perhaps the puppet of a more established nation who has had relatively more experience with NS issues before, though? Because geez, your draft is REALLY good for a first-timer, just saying.

-----

As for the issue, I think Option 2 may be a little too silly. I mean, I actually like silly options, but banning the electronic devices that are not in the inflation basket is a little too silly IMHO.

Also, one pervasive problem about inflation baskets is not the "outdatedness" of the goods put in there, but that governments (such as the Turkish government) sometimes deliberately choose weird objects for the inflation basket, especially the things that have not seen a price increase - so it looks like the problem of inflation is less severe than it actually is. Maybe you could add an option about that, where an advisor tells @@LEADER@@ that they should modify the inflation basket to have it include only the goods the prices of which are falling, etc.

Good issue.

[Nicana]

Thank you for the feedback.

Opium? Some nations ban cannabis and other drugs, so something else needs to take its place; however, it seems pretty good, so I don't know what to replace it with.

I'm not sure about your other points at this time -- I like the sound of "velocipede" and bicycles aren't particularly outdated (and are used in CPI baskets IRL!) -- but this is a good one; I hadn't considered that. I'll change it to something else: perhaps "a good daguerrotype plate"?

May I ask you if you are perhaps the puppet of a more established nation who has had relatively more experience with NS issues before, though?

Guilty

But, it seems some things have changed since I was last active - "policies", for example, being displayed on the nation page - and there are a lot more issues, so I imagine there's a lot to catch up on.

Also, one pervasive problem about inflation baskets is not the "outdatedness" of the goods put in there, but that governments (such as the Turkish government) sometimes deliberately choose weird objects for the inflation basket, especially the things that have not seen a price increase - so it looks like the problem of inflation is less severe than it actually is. Maybe you could add an option about that, where an advisor tells @@LEADER@@ that they should modify the inflation basket to have it include only the goods the prices of which are falling, etc.

That's a really good idea.

So, it could be something like:

[option]"Let's not be too hasty before making any drastic changes," simpers @@RANDOMNAME@@, your Chief of Staff for Malevolent Scheming. "The prices of some of these goods haven't increased for decades, and maybe we can use that to our advantage! If we were to keep, say, papyrus scrolls and sackbut polish in the index, then we could compensate for the rising price of food and gas without anyone noticing. Of course, this would only work if the Central Bank put out a single inflation figure and stopped publishing the individual components of the CPI, but, don't you think people would enjoy reading their celebrity gossip magazines more than some dry economic statistics anyway?"
[effect]the government's shady inflation index is subject to layers of state secrecy

[Frieden-und Freudenland]

Thank you for the feedback.

Opium? Some nations ban cannabis and other drugs, so something else needs to take its place; however, it seems pretty good, so I don't know what to replace it with.

I'm not sure about your other points at this time -- I like the sound of "velocipede" and bicycles aren't particularly outdated (and are used in CPI baskets IRL!) -- but this is a good one; I hadn't considered that. I'll change it to something else: perhaps "a good daguerrotype plate"?

May I ask you if you are perhaps the puppet of a more established nation who has had relatively more experience with NS issues before, though?

Guilty

But, it seems some things have changed since I was last active - "policies", for example, being displayed on the nation page - and there are a lot more issues, so I imagine there's a lot to catch up on.

Also, one pervasive problem about inflation baskets is not the "outdatedness" of the goods put in there, but that governments (such as the Turkish government) sometimes deliberately choose weird objects for the inflation basket, especially the things that have not seen a price increase - so it looks like the problem of inflation is less severe than it actually is. Maybe you could add an option about that, where an advisor tells @@LEADER@@ that they should modify the inflation basket to have it include only the goods the prices of which are falling, etc.

That's a really good idea.

So, it could be something like:

[option]"Let's not be too hasty before making any drastic changes," simpers @@RANDOMNAME@@, your Chief of Staff for Malevolent Scheming. "The prices of some of these goods haven't increased for decades, and maybe we can use that to our advantage! If we were to keep, say, papyrus scrolls and sackbut polish in the index, then we could compensate for the rising price of food and gas without anyone noticing. Of course, this would only work if the Central Bank put out a single inflation figure and stopped publishing the individual components of the CPI, but, don't you think people would enjoy reading their celebrity gossip magazines more than some dry economic statistics anyway?"
[effect]the government's shady inflation index is subject to layers of state secrecy

Aww, welcome back Golgothastan! I love your issues, you're something of a legend, old-timer!

I like this new option very much, but I guess you don't even have to say "this would only work if the Central Bank put out a single inflation figure and stopped publishing the individual components of the CPI."

I mean, as far as Turkey is concerned, the government does not exert even the slightest effort to conceal what they put in the inflation basket.

https://www.ft.com/content/f8b4a8c4-92c ... facd07614a

So I think this Chief of Staff of Malevolent Scheming could go even further and shamelessly suggest changing the items in the basket without trying to hide anything.

[Chan Island]

Golgothastan! You're back! Welcome!

This issue is excellent. I was just about to write a big long thing saying this was amazing for a first timer. The premise is very interesting and the options flow beautifully from it. Big fan.

[Australian rePublic]

Validity: Capitalists only

[Chan Island]

Validity: Capitalists only

I'm fairly sure communist countries care about inflation and about the state of their economies too.

[Bears Armed]

May I ask you if you are perhaps the puppet of a more established nation who has had relatively more experience with NS issues before, though?

Guilty

But, it seems some things have changed since I was last active - "policies", for example, being displayed on the nation page - and there are a lot more issues, so I imagine there's a lot to catch up on.

Welcome back!

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Validity: Capitalists only

I'm fairly sure communist countries care about inflation and about the state of their economies too.

Sure, but in a planned economy you don't track market trends to measure inflation.

This issue is really good. Naturally.

Hope you're going to reactivate your main and come back to editing, Golgothastan.

[Nicana]

On the validity, I am going to leave that to the editors to decide.

Hope to get a 2nd draft incorporating some of the suggestions over the coming week.

Hope you're going to reactivate your main and come back to editing, Golgothastan.

Want to see how much time I have available before jumping back in. Last time I came back, I didn't have enough time and ended up quitting (again) having accomplished nothing but waste Sedge's time.