After the idealists—especially idealists who held power—had been eliminated, the world returned to reality.
So what was reality for the Federation at this time?
Wealth was reality! The people of the Federation had actually pondered this question more than once: Why did the Federal Government always have one problem or another? Bu Peien was central enough, right? The Presidential Palace and Congress were both in Bu Peien's special district. Logically speaking, in the absolute center of this country's economy and politics, officials should have been incorruptible. At the very least, they should not have displayed their corruption.
But people had not seen that.
Of course, not everyone was like this, but there were always people who were.
The Integrity Department existed for these people. Even the laws concerning official crimes had been established for them.
But why couldn't this problem be solved?
It was not just the Federation. Any government seemed to have great difficulty solving this problem.
Ultimately, it still came down to choices made on many different levels.
This was not merely the choice of politicians or capitalists. It also included the choices made by ordinary taxpayers at the bottom of society.
Everyone had pushed it into its current state together. It was not the decision of any one person or group.
When a mayor held the future development of a city, as well as the fate of the residents and investors living there, in his hands,
the salary the Federal Government gave him was only enough to keep him barely alive.
That sounded somewhat... horrifying.
But that was simply the truth.
The lowest-level politicians in the Federation, such as City Councilors—"big shots" who seemed extremely respectable in many people's eyes—sometimes earned even less than ordinary people on average wages! Ordinary people could now earn more than four