mchenry-crisis.org Chapter 117 An Olive Branch from the Consortium
Chapter 117 An Olive Branch from the Consortium
Chapter 117 An Olive Branch from the Consortium
Free America.
These five words are packaged in public opinion as a symbol of democracy and freedom. However, beneath their glamorous appearance lies a deeply rooted and legalized system of collusion between government and business.
This system did not form by chance, but has existed since the founding of the United States. It has continued to develop and improve over time, permeating every corner of the country and becoming an invisible hand that controls the economic lifeline and social operation of the United States.
The American legal system is, to a large extent, a tool for collusion between government and business. Its essence is to whitewash corrupt acts that should be condemned and punished through legislation, giving them a legal veneer.
Corruption in most countries of the world is clandestine and clandestine, but the United States has openly legalized it, which is an extremely rare phenomenon on a global scale.
By looking at the major conglomerates in the United States, one can see who truly controls the economic lifeline of the country.
These complex entities, like vast interest groups, are intertwined and interact with each other, firmly controlling the direction of the US economy and policy-making.
Take the military-industrial complex as an example. Isn't it a community of interests closely linked together by the military, members of parliament, politicians, and factory owners?
When lawmakers propose wars, the military expends ammunition recklessly, which in turn leads to factories having more orders than they can handle. These factories then offer high salaries to their top executives, and interestingly, these executives are often retired politicians.
The healthcare system is even more ruthless. American health insurance is extremely expensive, but without insurance, medical costs can be described as arbitrary pricing.
However, U.S. law not only does not prohibit this chaos, but actually protects it.
Why?
The goal is to make the middle class pay a large amount of medical insurance fees every year, even if they don't need medical services for three to five years, they still have to pay on time.
Because if you don't pay for medical insurance, the cost of just one illness, even a minor one, could be more than the total cost of paying for ten years of medical insurance.
More importantly, the amount of medical insurance costs is not determined by the company, but by the law.
Under the current United States Unified Utility Budget Coordination Act, the stipulated premium is $4817 per year.
This means that a family of three would have to pay $1.44 a year just for health insurance.
The US GDP per capita has just surpassed $30,000. If only one person in a family of three has a job, then half of their annual income may have to go to health insurance.
Such a heavy burden, yet it is enforced by law, is how medical conglomerates plunder the middle class through legal means.
There's a joke about this: someone was doing business in the East, got the job done, but then embezzled the remaining money and ended up in jail.
In Russia, the matter was mostly settled; all the money was embezzled, but the person didn't get arrested.
In America, once you've done a little bit of a thing, all the money is gone, but anyone who dares to investigate will be killed.
They can't check; you can only keep paying more.
The son then asked, "What is American corruption?"
His father told him to take the meat out again, and then cooked a dish for them to eat.
The son asked, "Aren't you going to leave some for Mom?"
The father "did not stay".
The son asked, "What if Mom wants some too?"
The father said, "Take the money and buy it again."
The son asked excitedly, "Are you buying it for Mom to eat?"
The father shook his head. "Let's eat it together."
The son asked in confusion, "Then what will Mom eat?"
The father said, "After we've both eaten our fill, we'll leave her some leftovers."
The son then asked, "Won't Mom be angry?"
The father said it was nothing. "These past few days, the two of us will take turns showing up in front of your mother. If she asks you why the meat is gone, just say that I ate it. If she asks me, just say that you ate it."
The son said, "But Mom will be angry if I do that."
The father said, "Then slap her twice and tell her that we set the rules, and that meat is for men, which is reasonable and legal."
The son suddenly realized, "This is American corruption."
The father shook his head and denied it, saying, "No, no, no, there is no corruption in America, only democracy and the rule of law."
Top capitalists, by cultivating officials, have achieved dual control over politics and the economy, thus gaining absolute power.
Similarly, top political families may use capitalists as their front men to achieve their own interests.
This close collusion between government and business has led to the complete bias of national policy-making and resource allocation towards a small number of interest groups.
It is inevitable that one will face offers of benefits from political families.
What Ernst didn't expect was that the first family to approach him would be the Kennedy family.
It's not that the Kennedy family couldn't be involved, but the Kennedy family's businesses have always been in traditional industries, and they don't really have much to do with the internet or media industries.
The Kennedy family is one of the powerful families of the Boston Consortium, which started with the slave trade and mainly operates in light industries such as clothing, food, electronic and optical components, and traditional mechanical parts.
In industries such as the internet, semiconductors, and media, they have some achievements, but not many.
They want to get into these industries, but it's very difficult.
When a powerful family wants to enter a new field, there are only two possibilities.
One type is where your family is at the height of its power, and you force your way in with sheer strength, leaving no room for others to compete. You crush your way through, like Rockefeller.
Another option is to face suppression from other powerful families. Those families that have already established themselves in the industry will absolutely not allow new powerful families to enter and take a share of the pie.
Therefore, there is a tacit understanding among American companies or emerging forces: chefs should go to restaurants and not always think about delivering packages. In other words, if you are in the media business and want to be associated with a powerful family, you should cooperate with an influential family in the media industry.
Find someone in the infrastructure industry to rely on, but he won't be able to help you with anything.
He can help you resolve official pressure, but what about pressure within the industry?
If your talent agency, production team, and colleagues in the film and television industry refuse to work with you, it will make your path extremely difficult.
Of course, breaking the deadlock is also very simple: each of your works can bring huge profits.
Actors can rise in status because of your company's productions, and behind-the-scenes teams can gain more recognition because of your work. The huge profits make it impossible for these people to cooperate with you.
In America, nothing is monolithic.
The elephant represents traditional industries, but you'll often find that some bills that are beneficial to traditional industries can be passed in a legislature controlled by the donkey.
It wasn't that the donkeys who voted in favor betrayed them, but rather that their family businesses or the financial backers behind them were also involved in these traditional industries. As long as you can bring benefits to everyone, even if you just want to put your toilet on that seat in the White House, these people can find a way to do it for you.
The bill was changed, and the toilet won the election. Doesn't this better reflect American democracy?
As for sending a toilet on a diplomatic mission, which of America's underlings, already repeatedly spurred on by the US, would dare disrespect its big brother?
Even if there's a pile of poop inside, the underlings will still happily come over and give him a friendly cheek kiss.
This profit-driven political operating model has distorted American democracy and the rule of law.
The law is no longer a weapon to uphold social fairness and justice, but has become a tool for interest groups to plunder the wealth of the people and consolidate their own positions.
Ernst fell silent. Clearly, the Kennedy family wanted to extend their reach into new areas, since light industry in America was already declining at this time.
Therefore, they were unwilling to wait and see any longer, so they contacted Ernst in advance, immediately showing their sincerity and offering a huge benefit in the hope of cooperating with Ernst.
But for Ernst, this was a major decision.
Without a doubt, if Ernst agrees, he will gain access to resources that he cannot obtain from other top powers, and the Kennedy family will spare no effort to help Ernst's career.
However, it cannot be denied that although the Kennedy family and the Boston financial group he represented were behemoths in Ernst's eyes, they were a declining force in America.
Ernst suddenly sighed inwardly, realizing that his thinking had clearly reached a dead end.
With his foresight, he has the potential to build a massive empire, one that rivals any conglomerate.
What I need most right now is connections, or rather, official endorsement.
As a behemoth, the Boston Consortium has an unparalleled advantage in this regard, enabling it to protect him until he matures.
Joining the Boston Consortium could very well allow one to usurp its position, gain complete control of the consortium, and become its leader.
If you think about it that way, joining the Boston Consortium would actually be the best option.
Just as Ernst was weighing his options, Massim spoke first: "How about adding another $30 billion? Let Ernst Asset Management manage it."
In Massim's view, Ernst's hesitation was no different from a refusal; it was just that Ernst didn't want to offend the behemoth that was the Boston Consortium, so he tried to increase the appeal through other conditions.
Ernst was taken aback for a moment, but inwardly he was overjoyed.
This sudden increase in investment made him realize the Kennedy family's urgent mentality.
Does this mean I can ask for more?
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