Meeting #9 traditionally took place on Saturday, November 3, 2001 at the playground. Meeting #10 traditionally took place on Sunday, November 18, 2001 at either the playground or 35-D Edgewater Park. They collectively resulted in Amendment V.
Historical records get a little fuzzy surrounding the events of Meetings 9 and 10. Traditionally, it has been assumed that Meeting 9 took place on November 3, and Meeting 10 took place on November 18. However, a reading of the newsletters from that time does not reveal any prior plans to hold meetings on those dates. The closest to a prior announcement for a meeting around that time to be found in a newsletter is one made on Tuesday, November 20, for a meeting the next day, the day before Thanksgiving. Yet it is very possible that the members were not able to convene that day, since the Phillips portion of the club spent Thanksgiving with family upstate that year. But why would Nick immediately schedule another meeting only three days after one took place? The results of Meetings 9 and 10 also are not found in the newsletter until months later, and the dates November 3 and November 18 were only used because they were the dates for the passing of certain amended laws recorded on the electronic version of the Constitution. It seems that this uncertainty, which is of little importance to anyone, shall remain shrouded in mystery. So, for the purpose of this article, we will use the dates traditionally cited on the assumption that they are factual.
In this article, "C$" is the symbol for "club dollars."
Historical records get a little fuzzy surrounding the events of Meetings 9 and 10. Traditionally, it has been assumed that Meeting 9 took place on November 3, and Meeting 10 took place on November 18. However, a reading of the newsletters from that time does not reveal any prior plans to hold meetings on those dates. The closest to a prior announcement for a meeting around that time to be found in a newsletter is one made on Tuesday, November 20, for a meeting the next day, the day before Thanksgiving. Yet it is very possible that the members were not able to convene that day, since the Phillips portion of the club spent Thanksgiving with family upstate that year. But why would Nick immediately schedule another meeting only three days after one took place? The results of Meetings 9 and 10 also are not found in the newsletter until months later, and the dates November 3 and November 18 were only used because they were the dates for the passing of certain amended laws recorded on the electronic version of the Constitution. It seems that this uncertainty, which is of little importance to anyone, shall remain shrouded in mystery. So, for the purpose of this article, we will use the dates traditionally cited on the assumption that they are factual.
In this article, "C$" is the symbol for "club dollars."
Background
The club was in a state of financial crisis. Ever since the reinstitution of the club's economy in July, government salaries had been draining the club's funds. It had started as a pile of paper bills worth around 2000 club dollars but had fallen to around C$180. A generous welfare state unsupported by funds (if it may even be called welfare) could not possibly stand. Starting October 18, Nick Phillips donated 20% of the money raised by his weekly Pokemon card lottery; unfortunately, the contest didn't receive any participants. Richard Falantano made a donation of C$200 to the government, but that was only enough (and somehow exactly enough) to pay the salaries for the month of November. What was the club government to do?
Meetings
Club Secretary Nick Phillips called a meeting to help the club's financial situation. The meeting took place outside the gate to the playground near E Section in the early part of the evening when the ground was lightly coated in snow crystals. The members present were Nick Phillips, Ted Phillips, and Rich Falantano. Together, they agreed on a few things. The merchant salary was lowered from C$20 a month (plus sales) to C$15 a month (plus sales). The member salary was also lowered from C$35 to C$20. (Curiously, they did not dare to touch the very generous three-digit salaries of government officials.)
It had also become apparent that it was confusing to call the club currency the "dollar" when its ''de jure'' value was in American terms one cent. (This was once evidenced when Rich Falantano, during the summer of 2001, attempted to buy around $50 worth of Pokemon cards from a shop run by Nick Phillips and Joseph Justus. They were surprised that he would pay without hesitation or even possess such a large sum of money. Disappointment came when it became revealed that he was prepared to pay with club money which was actually worth only one-hundredth of the amount he needed. Joe Justus soon after proposed at a meeting to change the value of the currency, but it proved economically unfeasible.) They deemed it necessary to change the name of the currency to reduce such confusion. The new name was chosen with the pronunciation "celbo", from the name of their kitten ''Celebi''. (Ted Phillips originally proposed a series of nonsensical spellings for the word, but Nick Phillips deemed them all unfit for publication and pronunciation. In the newsletter, ''celbo'' was the spelling chosen.) The symbol for the celbo was to be identical to the American cent sign.
Another issue came up. It wasn't really a problem, but Nick Phillips wanted the solution to be written into law. The Constitution had first dictated that sales tax be given to the president in addition to salary. At this meeting, a change was made so that taxes do not go into the president's pocket but into the club's pool of unowned money to be distributed. This probably didn't help, since the club had no taxes other than the not enforced sales tax.
The changes mentioned so far would help slow the draining of the club's funds. But more revenue was needed to ensure that the club would not go bankrupt. So they decided that at the end of every month, all members would be required to return all money in celbos form. This law has historically been referred to as the "100% Income Tax." It was also included that members who evaded this tax would not be paid the next month.
(In theory, a member would receive salary at the beginning of the month, be able to buy goods from club merchants, and at the end of the month, they return anything they would have left. However, if you really consider this on a clubwide scale, money would theoretically be passed around in a senseless game of hot potato before the government drains the entire popular economy and has everything back. No one would have any money in the end, but property would change hands. Afterwards, everyone would get paid again anyway. Of course, this whole scenario never really happened as intended, because no one used the club money anyway. It was hoped that at least some members would trade in their money for U.S. currency before the deadline or deposit their money in the club banking system, but not even that happened. The members remained completely apathetic to the economy.) (The tax was first enforced at the end of November, and a list of members who had not yet paid was ever present.)
Later in the meeting, while the members were enjoying the swings and such at the playground, Nick Phillips remembered something that had been requested by Joseph Justus, that the local boy Michael Ziegler be allowed to become a member. Nick brought it up and asked for a vote. The other two members voted against it.
With the meeting over, it seemed that the club could survive financially. Now, there was a law that could actually deny a member salary. And those who do get paid actually pay their money back. So it seems. But, Nick thought, should members be paid just for returning their money from the previous month? Shouldn't they be doing their jobs? But what exactly is that? Nick then had a revelation: all members have one shared duty, and that is to attend the club meetings. Maybe members who don't attend meetings should be denied their salary. Of course, for this plan to work, two things were required: a meeting every month, and a law that withholds pay from members who do not attend meetings. For this law to come to pass, another meeting was needed.
So, Secretary Nick called another meeting for November 18. This meeting probably took place with the same three members. It may have taken place at the playground, maybe at the Phillips residence. It was decided that there would be a meeting once a month with all members required to attend. (Future interpretations of this law included that members not present would not earn pay and that members only needed to attend one meeting a month if there happened to be more than one.)
The laws from these two meetings make up what is now called the Fifth Amendment under the new numbering.
It had also become apparent that it was confusing to call the club currency the "dollar" when its ''de jure'' value was in American terms one cent. (This was once evidenced when Rich Falantano, during the summer of 2001, attempted to buy around $50 worth of Pokemon cards from a shop run by Nick Phillips and Joseph Justus. They were surprised that he would pay without hesitation or even possess such a large sum of money. Disappointment came when it became revealed that he was prepared to pay with club money which was actually worth only one-hundredth of the amount he needed. Joe Justus soon after proposed at a meeting to change the value of the currency, but it proved economically unfeasible.) They deemed it necessary to change the name of the currency to reduce such confusion. The new name was chosen with the pronunciation "celbo", from the name of their kitten ''Celebi''. (Ted Phillips originally proposed a series of nonsensical spellings for the word, but Nick Phillips deemed them all unfit for publication and pronunciation. In the newsletter, ''celbo'' was the spelling chosen.) The symbol for the celbo was to be identical to the American cent sign.
Another issue came up. It wasn't really a problem, but Nick Phillips wanted the solution to be written into law. The Constitution had first dictated that sales tax be given to the president in addition to salary. At this meeting, a change was made so that taxes do not go into the president's pocket but into the club's pool of unowned money to be distributed. This probably didn't help, since the club had no taxes other than the not enforced sales tax.
The changes mentioned so far would help slow the draining of the club's funds. But more revenue was needed to ensure that the club would not go bankrupt. So they decided that at the end of every month, all members would be required to return all money in celbos form. This law has historically been referred to as the "100% Income Tax." It was also included that members who evaded this tax would not be paid the next month.
(In theory, a member would receive salary at the beginning of the month, be able to buy goods from club merchants, and at the end of the month, they return anything they would have left. However, if you really consider this on a clubwide scale, money would theoretically be passed around in a senseless game of hot potato before the government drains the entire popular economy and has everything back. No one would have any money in the end, but property would change hands. Afterwards, everyone would get paid again anyway. Of course, this whole scenario never really happened as intended, because no one used the club money anyway. It was hoped that at least some members would trade in their money for U.S. currency before the deadline or deposit their money in the club banking system, but not even that happened. The members remained completely apathetic to the economy.) (The tax was first enforced at the end of November, and a list of members who had not yet paid was ever present.)
Later in the meeting, while the members were enjoying the swings and such at the playground, Nick Phillips remembered something that had been requested by Joseph Justus, that the local boy Michael Ziegler be allowed to become a member. Nick brought it up and asked for a vote. The other two members voted against it.
With the meeting over, it seemed that the club could survive financially. Now, there was a law that could actually deny a member salary. And those who do get paid actually pay their money back. So it seems. But, Nick thought, should members be paid just for returning their money from the previous month? Shouldn't they be doing their jobs? But what exactly is that? Nick then had a revelation: all members have one shared duty, and that is to attend the club meetings. Maybe members who don't attend meetings should be denied their salary. Of course, for this plan to work, two things were required: a meeting every month, and a law that withholds pay from members who do not attend meetings. For this law to come to pass, another meeting was needed.
So, Secretary Nick called another meeting for November 18. This meeting probably took place with the same three members. It may have taken place at the playground, maybe at the Phillips residence. It was decided that there would be a meeting once a month with all members required to attend. (Future interpretations of this law included that members not present would not earn pay and that members only needed to attend one meeting a month if there happened to be more than one.)
The laws from these two meetings make up what is now called the Fifth Amendment under the new numbering.
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