[Chapter 735: The Weird New Policies]
William White's luxury goods are selling well, making a lot of money while complaining. Damn Bill, I sell mobile phones and chairs, and your luxury tax can never be collected from me.
Once Bill took office, he rolled out three new policies, which were really just his initial sparks of ambition. As for William White, he was merely warming up.
Even though that warm-up didn't quite pan out, the new policies still had to be pushed forward. The outlook for the midterm elections looked bleak, and if action wasn't taken soon, there would be no chance of getting anything through next year.
[T/N: First policy is Don't Ask, Don't Tell. This allowed closeted LGBTQ+ service members to serve in the military as long as they did not disclose their orientation.]
William White got goose bumps just thinking about that horrible scene. Well, if you like to go that way, that's your freedom. He couldn't say he discriminated, but he definitely didn't like it.
Damn, the soldiers nowadays are useless.
This idiotic policy has directly shocked the military leaders. Anyway, in a word, you must do this, and you go and command it yourself.
[T/N: Second policy is Economic Recovery Plan. This plan included tax increases for higher-income earners and substantial spending cuts.]
As for the second policy, it could barely pass muster; it just involved taxing the rich, which, at its core, meant taxing the middle class. Someone like William White always had a way around taxes.
Yeah, my overseas company is rolling in cash, but I still needed to grow. When could I bring that money back? Either you cut taxes, or I'll just keep living overseas. As long as that money stays out of the States, you can't do anything about it.
What do you need that money for, anyway?
[T/N: Third policy is Healthcare Reform, to introduce universal healthcare.]
The Donkeys said that our medical insurance is too bad. This does not match our status as the world's leader. How about universal health insurance?
It is difficult to say whether universal health insurance is good or bad.
The essence of capitalism was profit, and universal healthcare would lower medical costs. On the surface, it seemed like the public would benefit widely.
Of course, the downsides were glaringly obvious. While medical expenses might drop, medical standards would also plummet.
Pharmaceutical companies wouldn't make money; where would they find the incentive to develop new drugs? Research and development costs were in the millions. Who would invest in development without the promise of profit?
A large number of insurance companies were also in strong opposition. If universal healthcare passed, they would all face ruin.
...
Recently, William White had been living quite comfortably, with few people causing him trouble. When he had free time, he enjoyed watching Lou Gerstner struggle to keep his head above water.
"Sir, it looks like this policy might face major revisions."
"There's just not enough money, Filson. His thinking is downright delusional. But as a public figure, I'm not in a position to oppose it outright."
"Well, it seems that a budget deficit is inevitable."
"Not for the time being," William White shook his head.
"Filson, if medical costs stayed the same, this might barely pass. But look around; those medical institutions would never agree. And those buying insurance? Ha, it's like a setup to drive them all under."
"They would have to compromise. Those guys would become utterly reckless."
"Great, just fantastic. The guys in Washington has no clue what they're doing."
William White knew full well how outrageous medical expenses would become in the future. Don't even get him started on those cheap knockoffs from across the seas; it was impossible to reason with that level of nonsense.
Just look at Australia and Canada; their living standards were similar, and their pharmaceutical companies were all legitimate. Yet, medications there were often more than half the price compared to the States.
You could bring back a little detergent from next door and maybe have some luck. But if you wanted to bring back affordable medications, forget it -- there was just no chance.
The FDA was as formidable as the tax authority, with the efficiency of the FBI or CIA nowhere near its level.
Besides, doctors from other countries wouldn't dare to write you prescriptions. If they did, Americans would revoke their medical licenses.
"What? This isn't your country; why should you care about my business?"
Ahem, the thing is, just because the U.S. government wasn't up to snuff didn't mean the FDA was ineffective. If you didn't cooperate, my goodness, if your goods needed to be exported to the States, rest assured they had a million ways to declare it subpar.
This was their cash cow; there was no way they'd let anyone touch it. If you lived overseas for a long time, others would have to bite their tongues. But of course, prescribing medications also came with its own set of headaches.
You had any idea how hard it was to get a medical license? For a complete stranger, as long as the physician hadn't gone off the deep end, no one would ever disregard an FDA warning.
William White and Filson stared at each other, wordless. If they bent too much, the American economy would eventually collapse.
"Sir, in the short term, this is going to have a huge stimulative effect on the economy."
"Of course. In fact, it would last quite a while; if managed well, there wouldn't be any issues during his term."
"So, this means we stand to gain."
"Definitely. Otherwise, why would I go into so much debt? Whether or not the finances would crash in the future is pretty much a given. Worst-case scenario, we'd just have to revisit the Bretton Agreement."
"Although, by then, there probably wouldn't be a Federal Reserve anymore."
Well, all of this wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Since there wouldn't be any problems for a while, nothing unusual was anticipated on their end.
With only 40% of people having healthcare, if you started spouting nonsense, you'd soon be public enemy number one. Not only could you not oppose it, but you also had to express enthusiasm about it.
...
"Dad, isn't this what they actually wanted?"
"Ha, son, it's just a Keynesian scheme. It would certainly yield votes, but the cost is something we can't bear. From this moment on, America wouldn't have any manufacturing left. William White was right; the country shouldn't have factories anymore."
The so-called generational gap was clear. Bush Sr. thought having no industry was unacceptable. While he welcomed high-tech advancements, they had to have practical applications for industry or military use.
As for entertainment, it was acceptable, but it couldn't become a pillar industry. Forget video games and comics; real estate wouldn't cut it either.
From many perspectives, PCs were really just fancy gaming machines. Typing on one wasn't any faster than an old typewriter.
Of course, there wasn't much that could be done. It sounded easy to learn all your life; when you actually grew old, it turned out to be a hefty task. It wasn't like the future with an Android system, where even a 70- or 90-year-old could handle it effortlessly.
Nevertheless, Bush Sr. had one thing figured out: America could never become a welfare state. If it really went that route, the financial system would collapse again.
Bush understood the risks of the Bretton Accord well; as someone who lived through it, he knew that while war debts could be made up simply by stopping the fighting, social welfare was a different beast altogether -- you couldn't just flip a switch and cancel it.
*****
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