[Chapter 703: The Unwelco Old Bush]
Looking around at the tall beauties in the room, Bush Jr. felt a bit dizzy. He had gained a profound understanding of just how unreliable William White's life really was.
"Don't look at like that, George. None of this is my doing; Jason and the others brought them here," he said.
"Co on, you're not doing much better. I an, living like this every day is a bit much, don't you think?" George shot back.
Seeing Bush Jr. in such a good mood, William White couldn't help but be impressed. This guy had so psychological resilience; many others would have flipped out without their little trophy, yet here he was, unbothered.
"Life is so dull. If I don't find so fun soon, this whole thing will feel wasted. So, what's the plan?"
"For now, I'm just the team manager. The Rangers aren't doing so hot," Bush Jr. said with a roll of his eyes. When talking about Texas, Houston ca to mind, and from Houston, he thought of the Houston Rockets.
"Buddy, if I were you, I'd try to poach soone. Just go buy the Yankees' pitcher, and they'd be done for," William suggested, offering his typical outrageous ideas. Despite basketball's skyrocketing popularity, a pitcher still held more value than Michael Jordan back in those days.
Basketball was really just becoming popular after the 80s. The real reason the Detroit Pistons were good? Their ho court was literally hell on earth.
Yes, whether playing or watching basketball, the proportion of African Aricans was ridiculously high. Only in the past couple of years had there been changes. Yet, in terms of endorsent deals and salaries, basketball simply couldn't match baseball. The gap with football was even wider.
"What kind of ridiculous idea is that? Just stick to drinking. Anyway, your Major League Soccer isn't much to brag about either, buddy. We're not going to get slaughtered next year, are we?"
Whenever soccer ca up, William White looked like he had bitten into a sour lemon. Why did they have to keep holding the ball? Apart from a couple of guys who went to Manchester United's youth academy, the rest weren't too promising.
"George, if all else fails, we can hire a ref from South Korea."
"Pfft, what kind of nonsense is that? Even if we win, what's the point?"
"Don't you get it? The skill gap isn't that huge; the referee's decisions matter a lot. What if we sneak into the knockout rounds? We could still rely on penalty kicks!"
Speaking of penalty kicks, in terms of national teams, the U.S. actually wasn't too shabby. Their league didn't allow for ties, after all.
"Just stop talking. If winning looks this hard, your league is dood."
"Hahaha, you know well. Losing is fine, I just don't want to get eliminated in the group stage. If they don't perform well, those guys are all getting fired."
The two bantered on about stuff that didn't really matter. William White was curious about why Bush Sr. wanted to disarm the bomb.
Naturally, these things weren't appropriate to ask right away. Since this guy intended to get drunk tonight, let him drink.
Bush Jr. thought about quitting drinking; he wanted to beco a devoted believer. William White planned to head ho soon, so this was probably as wild as it got.
...
"Hey, Lisa, what ti is it?"
His assistant wiped her damp hair and complained, "Sir, it's almost noon. You've really stretched things out this ti."
"Was yesterday's drink fake? Why is my head pounding like this? You didn't hit last night, did you?" He looked at his assistant with an incredulous expression.
If this were a couple of years earlier, his assistant might have been scared to death. But now, she wasn't intimidated by the stern-looking guy.
"Hmph, I have bruises all over, and I don't know where you found so much strength."
Looking at the bruises on his assistant's knees, William White felt a little overwheld. He really couldn't handle drinks; it just didn't get better quickly.
"Alright, alright, I apologize. Have them arrange breakfast -- no, lunch. Whatever, let's just eat and then go to the airport. By the way, have those guys woken up yet?"
"Sir, it seems like you were the only one who got drunk. They're busy wrecking your cigars."
"Damn it, I should just open a cigar factory in Cuba."
The warm water continuously washed over him, and mories he thought he lost seed to return.
Bush Sr. was right to flop. This was sothing William White learned -- the arms dealers didn't care for him. The pharmaceutical guys didn't like him either, and there was nothing he could do about that.
In Arica, pharmaceutical companies and arms companies were the most bizarre types. Generally, ordinary people wouldn't co into contact with them, nor would they think they were that remarkable.
In fact, these two types of companies were closely linked with the governnt. Moreover, without backing from powerful consortiums, you wouldn't even get a toe in either industry. If they didn't let you play, it was pointless to feel envious.
"Damn it," William White rembered. The Democrats raised a lot of taxes to push through dical reform. "I need to notify Filson imdiately. Those taxes must be wrapped up quickly; this can't be delayed."
So said that multinational companies' overseas earnings ant you could just keep them there without opposition, right?
Coughing, saying it this way wasn't wrong, but who in the world would want to be a target? William White already had enough opponents; there was no need to add more.
Plus, this ti, the Democrats had the moral high ground. Not cooperating at this mont was simply asking for disdain, especially from the poor.
Arica's health insurance didn't cover everyone; it didn't even cover half. This only referred to those with legal status, not even getting into the other chaos.
Haha, there was still a significant gap.
How much money was really needed for this segnt? William White couldn't calculate that; it felt utterly terrifying. And this didn't even include the rumors of universal social security coming.
Alright, the Donkey versus Elephant struggle was basically about this.
The U.S. wasn't a welfare state; its tax rates were quite low compared to other developed nations. Naturally, with lower taxes, there weren't many benefits. If you wanted to turn into a welfare state, just raise taxes as much as possible.
But here's the looming problem: who were you going to tax? Welfare states sound great for middle and low-inco groups; it's even better if you don't have to work to get by.
Haha, is it really that simple?
...
"Sir, are you saying we should wrap up the tax situation as soon as possible?"
"Yeah, Bill is pushing for dical reform. He wants most Aricans to have healthcare."
"Sir, is this guy drunk? Isn't that just a campaign slogan?"
"Filson, no, while this proposal will face resistance from the Elephants, it would be utterly useless. The securities sector is basically immovable. If he tries to impose a capital gains tax, the massive drop before in our stock market would serve as a strong warning. In that case, it's only about corporations and inco tax."
"I get it, sir. We'll clear the related taxes before the end of the year."
"Ugh, paying so many taxes at once. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave a dal or sothing. If I were in London, I would probably already be a lord."
Filson didn't take the boss's grumbling too seriously. After all, anyone would be annoyed losing that much money, even the richest man.
But really, wasn't this driving all the wealthy people away? If all that's left are the broke, where would these tax revenues go?
William White finally connected the dots on why manufacturing was struggling in Arica. If soone wasn't nuts, no one would want to open a factory here.
Wages were already high to start with, and that was sothing he could endure. The living standard in Arica was too high to allow for low wages. Strikes were rampant; he could tolerate that too. If there were no constraints, capitalists really would go overboard.
Health insurance and social security must be paid; otherwise, workers wouldn't have any safety net.
Coughing, that was still tolerable; everyone would eventually grow older. Everyone could get sick.
Was there a shortfall that needed tax increases?
Damn, you all take your ti playing around; I'm planning to move!
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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