I have stated this before in another thread, but I think it bears repeating.

When you discuss the troubles with the games economy, you are also discussing the appeal of the game to both new and old players alike. It's fun to sit back and play cafe economist, quoting this and that we were told in whatever economics class we had, but the truth is this:

When discussing how to make the game appealing, that is not our job as players. If the economy is making people leave or failing to get people to stay, it is entirely and completely OOO's job to do something about it. We are just using their product, and it is their job to make us want to continue using it. Any notion that players have direct control of the economy or that we even have the means to effect it is a dreamers notion. The way this game is set up means if the economy is failing then the game is failing. Therefore if the economy continues to worsen and people stop paying for their product, that is entirely the fault of OOO. The game could come to an end tomorrow (unlikely) because everyone quits over the current conditions, and the failure would still rest entirely on the shoulders of the developers.

I am not trying to insinuate the developers are at fault, should be blamed, or that the game is failing by the second. I simply and firmly believe that since the economy directly ties in to player retention and therefore the business of this game, OOO is solely responsible for any and all events pertaining to that nature. We, the players, just vote on how we feel about their action/inaction with our feet, whether that be marching for them or stampeding away.

Keep in mind that Three Rings' job is not only to ensure that the game remains one that people continue to want to play, but also one that is profitable enough to justify paying for servers, GM employees, and continued development.

Unfortunately, sometimes these two objective may clash, and the biggest example of that is the value of Crystal Energy, both in its CE:real-world cash ratio and its CE:Cr ratio (albeit primarily because that serves in part as a half-way point for a real-world cash:Cr ratio.)

The best thing Three Rings can probably do is stay out of the way of the player-generated Supply-Demand relationship that determines the CE:Cr ratio. If they meddle with that, they risk removing the incentive for players to purchase CE with real money, and through that damaging their own income.

"Hi, could you please take a hit on the income you use to buy food and pay rent (or homeowner taxes) and so on so that I can enjoy this game I play a little bit more than I already do" is not all that reasonable of a request, and while that may not be what you're asking, that's probably what the devs are hearing.