[Chapter 704: Not All Changes Are Good]
The conversations William White had with Bush Sr. last night helped to clarify some of his doubts. They had touched on issues regarding healthcare and social security, and Bush Sr. found himself without an escape route.
Whether a high welfare system was good or not didn't even warrant questioning. If one counted by numbers, it was clear that those in support were in the overwhelming majority.
In fact, every time the Donkeys brought out this powerful weapon, the Elephants ended up defeated.
Here, there was a key issue -- where was the money going to come from? If merely increasing taxes could solve the problem, then opposing it would be utterly irrational. It would be akin to being anti-human.
But the problem was that tax revenue was simply insufficient.
How did the European debt crisis come about if not through excessive welfare? Did people know how high Greece's unemployment rate reached later?
Fifty percent.
With half the nation out of work, bringing up security measures at that point would have been laughable.
Well then, what about my pension?
Cough, it's gone. If you really couldn't make ends meet, you might want to consider going out to sea for fishing.
...
After lunch, the group headed straight for the airport. With Thanksgiving behind them, Christmas was just around the corner. William White had no intention of moving if nothing special came up.
Upon returning to his farm, he definitely felt much better. His hangover seemed to have lessened. Could it be that the real intoxicant wasn't the alcohol, but rather the weight of his burdens?
Fine, if they were going to raise taxes, that was fine with him; his farm didn't have to pay much in taxes anyway.
It looked like he needed to take stock of his assets. He slotted anything that could be outsourced and considered overseas branches where feasible. In short, he wanted his asset list to be as complicated as possible; the more complex it was, the less he needed to worry.
William White recognized a harsh truth -- engaging in real industry was like playing a losing game. If possible, assets should be fully virtualized.
What about currency devaluation?
For resource-based assets, that didn't matter much; he could extract resources slowly. If it could be automated, there was no need for manpower.
From that point on, oil and iron ore started losing money. It became challenging to earn a profit. As for the losses, that seemed to be his innate talent.
...
"Master, the raw jade from Myanmar is no longer coming out. This batch should be the last one. Unless..."
"Tanner, why are you hesitating? Unless what?"
"There are still some methods over there, but if those things come out, it'll be a hassle."
"That's not feasible. That area is lawless, and mixing with those people won't benefit us. We can only go through public auctions, right?"
"Yes, there are no other channels left."
"No problem, a public auction is fine. We'll take what's appropriate, and let go of anything unreasonable."
"I got it, master. I've also pulled back personnel."
"Okay, place them on Lanai Island. If anyone wants to settle in Australia, set that up for them."
Everyone used regular channels, which, considering he had substantial inventory, was practically sending him money.
In William White's view, the changes in Myanmar's public auction system were favorable. They provided a relatively safe platform for trading, making it reasonable to collect more taxes. With mines spread across the east and west, they really had no bargaining power.
...
As for Bill's healthcare reform plan, well, that was a complete disaster.
Your intentions were understandable; having this would presumably prevent some from falling into poverty due to illness. Without these concerns, people should have been spending more freely.
In reality, for a while to come, Americans enjoyed decent lives. Housing interest rates were low, and getting sick hardly required spending money. Pensions were reasonable, and if expectations weren't high, one could scrape by.
Everything seemed perfect, but they had seemingly overlooked one critical aspect: hospitals and pharmaceutical companies weren't non-profit entities; they were all about making money -- lots of it.
In America, if you paid cash at a hospital, you could at least get a 30% discount. Well, it appeared there was even further room for bargaining.
Why was this the case?
Because insurance companies also negotiated with hospitals. You got treated, paid your share, and after that, the rest was no longer your concern.
Thus, the black technology in the healthcare system began to explode. In '93, a CT scan was considered high tech; by '03, they became ultra-high-definition CTs. If that wasn't clear enough, they had MRIs available.
Various testing instruments were advancing rapidly; it felt like one drop of urine could tell if you had hemorrhoids. The days of traditional surgery were over; it was either gamma knives or minimally invasive procedures.
What's wrong with that? Smaller wounds on patients meant easier recovery -- isn't that good?
Whether it was good or bad couldn't be definitively said. If you had health insurance, sure, it was great; no expense was too much for you.
But if you didn't, congratulations; you could basically forgo treatment. For anything less than a serious illness, an appendectomy in America could wipe out about a year's savings.
Calling for an ambulance?
Well, don't trust the TV; it was all a setup. If you didn't have at least a couple of thousand dollars for the ride, you would struggle. As for that legendary helicopter ride, well, they had an even more humorous price tag.
If you had a vendetta against someone, just help call an ambulance when they got hurt. That would turn into a tragedy.
Over-treatment was an issue everywhere, especially in places with universal healthcare.
Is there a solution?
Of course! Unless it's an emergency, you'll just have to wait. For an MRI, you could wait three to five months, and if your tooth hurt, being seen within six months would be quite a miracle.
Private hospitals were faster if you had other insurance. If you didn't, it could turn out to be very expensive. The complexity of visiting a doctor in America left a huge gap in healthcare insurance.
Do you know why the U.S. has so much foreign debt?
It's easy to say when you're providing those benefits, but trying to withdraw them? That's a problem even God couldn't solve. Unless the U.S. ended up like Greece, unable to secure any loans, with its currency going unwanted.
To be honest, things were getting so dire that universal healthcare was proposed outright. It took guts to do that, and indeed they pressured the entire world.
...
They say wealth doesn't last three generations; perhaps it wouldn't before, but it truly was hard to tell after. Watching the frolicking children, William White felt his headache return.
Forget it, his descendants would have their own blessings; he couldn't stress over everything. No matter how much money one had, it could all vanish quickly. Ensuring these kids gained some knowledge was what he ought to focus on.
"Finish your soup; for crying out loud, how did you end up drinking so much?"
"Cough, dear, George was in a bad mood, and I had no other choice."
Michelle Reis shot him a look; she knew he was full of it. A whole group was partying in Los Angeles, which she had seen in the newspapers that morning.
"Honey, is that guy from Arkansas a real problem? His wife seems pretty tough."
"Ha, both of them are no pushovers. This was actually an accident; the following performance will dictate everything. It's all talk until we see results."
"Sweetheart, I want to go shopping. I haven't been to a mall in ages."
"Alright, let's go tomorrow. I'll have Tanner and the others arrange it."
William White wasn't interested in Thanksgiving sales. If he wasn't worried about creating a stir, he could have had White Plaza open two hours later. But without other customers, shopping became pointless.
*****
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