[Chapter 878: Capital Rules]
William White had a point, but there was an unavoidable issue. If it was a small company with a few hundred employees, the union could potentially be kept at bay. But if the number ballooned to over a thousand, there would be no way to avoid them.
These days, unions had beco bureaucratic organizations. Despite their daily hustle, they were ultimately driven by self-interest.
Building a nationwide distribution network, even without relying on local delivery drivers, would still require several thousand people to pull off. As sales numbers grew, so would that workforce.
Eventually, these characters would stage their own coup d'etat; it was simply unavoidable.
In Hong Kong, the landlords loved to strategize. If the tenants of her stores made a fortune, she would practically raise the rent daily. If business declined, she would rush to evict them. Occupying a pri location without making money was a sin punishable by death, in her eyes.
Arican unions operated similarly. If the bosses made too much money, it was unacceptable; wages had to be raised. "Hey, we're overwheld here; you need to hire more help."
With larger unions ca bigger headaches. The Arican steel industry had crumbled this way, and the auto industry followed suit. They held the highest wages in the world, yet their productivity barely asured up to seventy percent of Japan's.
If they still couldn't stay afloat, it was a travesty.
"Honey," he called out.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"When can I get back to work?"
William White looked at Nastassja, who had obviously put on so weight. He was conflicted. "You've never seen anything like it. Wouldn't it be enough for you just to look pretty? Why the hustle?"
"You should at least wait until the baby is a year old, right? She still needs to nurse. Aren't you being a bit cruel? Poor thing, now there's going to be another milk-guzzling mom around to care for."
"Co on, who really nurses a kid until one year?" William pointed at himself. "Excuse , it's two years."
"Cough, cough, cough. You're really sothing! I can't handle that."
William sighed, shaking his head. Nastassja was smart, but he couldn't help but think that she didn't have much substance.
"Alright, alright, I'll let you go for a couple of hours, but you'll manage from the sidelines remotely. It's mainly to get you so fresh air. I'll provide for the family; you just focus on looking good."
Nastassja rolled her eyes, clearly untroubled about her and the child's future. From the mont her daughter was born, they had a trust insurance set up for them.
That long list of company nas had left her dumbfounded. In fact, marrying William White wouldn't provide her with much more security than that.
"Honey, Hollywood feels a little strange lately. After having a baby, I feel like things are unfamiliar."
William was surprised. Although he spent his days in Hollywood, he didn't share that sentint. "What do you an?"
"The major studios have gone mad. They're throwing tens of millions, even billions, around like it's nothing. If box office numbers don't et production costs, one or two films could go down in flas."
"Co on, what's a billion? Haven't you heard about Titanic's budget? Stop bragging about blockbusters to . And the latest Jas Bond film, didn't it have a budget over a billion? Not even sure that's enough. What did I say wrong?"
Nastassja grew frustrated as she saw the nonchalant look on his face. "Your Bond film has already started turning a profit, hasn't it? What's the comparison? As for that big ship, it's probably just another the park project. Your grand plans have already been figured out long ago."
"No, I'm serious. Talk sensible, no funny stuff; your daughter will need a al soon."
"Cough, cough, alright. I got your point. Hollywood isn't the only one with cash; Wall Street is swimming in it too.
In fact, it's like the floodgates have been opened. Do you know what our biggest export is now?"
"What?"
"Money. Besides that, everything else we import. The whole world is producing for us while we're just cranking out dollars. Good God, the Federal Reserve's printing press has to be smoking by now."
"Good grief, is inflation on the rise? It sounds serious. No wonder those trust companies are holding onto foreign assets."
"Not for now. No need to be alard. As for the trust companies, they're just avoiding taxes. The money we print can't be used abroad, so it cos back to us.
Hollywood isn't the only place; you have Wall Street, the bond market, and the real estate market. They buy up anything they can using dollars."
"I knew it! So that's where Murdoch is getting all those funds. What about a little shot at it?"
"Do I look that foolish? It's won who turn dumb when pregnant. Schindler's List and Forrest Gump, those kinds of films don't draw any crazy attention.
Independence Day fits the bill too; if they can capture that kind of effect, they won't have to worry about box office returns. So yeah, I act a little more generous."
"Pfft, you sly dog!"
William understood well that Nastassja was a smart woman. The only reason he said this was due to concern that he might ss things up.
Hollywood was quite different now than it used to be. Rather than determining who was tougher, it was more about who attracted more investnt.
Everyone was playing the capital ga, and pointless rivalry was unnecessary. You went after Fox and Paramount, and the ones getting hurt were the backers.
Just keep things steady; whoever yaps too much will find themselves wiped out.
Joking aside, while the rivalry between peers might be fierce, stopping people from making money was a far worthier cri. If one didn't want constant battles, everyone would play by the rules.
William had a certain admiration for these guys; the waters of Hollywood were extrely deep. No good scripts would ever survive without investnt. Those with the ans to invest were usually already involved.
Whether you supported foreign releases or could grant so filming conveniences, without contributions, there was no way anyone could get good projects.
Hollywood had plenty of pitfalls but still drew in capital from all corners of the globe. It was almost funny how soone from Japan wanted to invest in Independence Day when they could play around with Universal instead. After all, they were practically neighbors; the pain caused during a cash grab wouldn't be too severe.
"Filson, don't go after the delivery company; I've thought about it--this plan can wait."
"Sir, the cooperation from other departnts is a lot. What you're asking for with the automatic recognition system isn't sothing we can whip up in a hurry."
"Naturally, Filson, didn't you realize so of Bell Labs' projects are just too specialized? I'm not saying they don't hold promise, but being ahead of the curve isn't always good. Rember IBM's touchscreen phones?"
"Yikes, smartphones, huh? I'd bet one day they'd be all the rage. But unfortunately, the current technology doesn't allow for that."
"Alright, I get it. For the lab, this shouldn't be too tough."
"What difficulty? It's just a robotic arm, right? Automatic welding is feasible. What's hard about that? If you weld sothing incorrectly, one part gets wasted. You shipping packages from New York to Los Angeles isn't a big deal; just as long as it doesn't happen too often."
William was well aware that the so-called Third Industrial Revolution referred to these robotic arms. Truth be told, automated warehousing was rely an extension and theoretically simpler than KUKA robots.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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