Masks and Escapism
As the music in the hall began to subside, people who had formed circles around them stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the center of the crowd.
Some of the people who had been resting in the VIP room changed into clothes suitable for the upcoming reception and reappeared in front of the public, including the Wo Delike, of course.
Wo Delike smiled at Lin Qi in a friendly manner and waved. He showed no arrogance whatsoever and was a very approachable person.
But if you really think that's the truth, then the truth will definitely surprise you.
Today's celebration is less about the President's successful ascension to the highest stage of Federal power and more about a potential... trade fair?
Those present were all supporters of the President. In order for the President to gain their continued support in the upcoming election, he must clearly tell them what they can expect in return for their support in various ways.
In simple terms, it's about how these people contribute money and effort, and what kind of returns they will receive if they continue to contribute money and effort.
This is the unique feature of the Bayer Federation: everything has a price tag, and every effort will inevitably be rewarded! The people never believed it was true, but it is true.
It was only then that Lin Qi noticed some people who hadn't appeared before, but now they were there, including the executive director of the largest medical group in the Federal.
Since dental healthcare groups have encouraged the public to believe that separating Dental Insurance from Social Insurance is a responsible approach, larger healthcare groups are now doing the same.
They even established a very large professional public relations team to try to convince people from all walks of life of their nonsense—paying for more expensive Medical Insurance to enjoy more comprehensive medical services and protection! The purpose of doing so is, on the one hand, to get rid of the supervision from government agencies. After all, a part of the medical expenses are paid by the Federal Government, and in order to ensure that every penny they pay to medical groups is worthwhile and appropriate, the Federal Government will monitor every medical project.
They also specify guidelines for the use of certain medicines. For example, for the common problem of influenza, which is neither a major nor a minor issue, the government will tell the public that there is essentially no difference between medicines costing 19 cents, 39 cents, and 9.9 yuan. At the same time, they will also tell the public that only medicines costing 19 cents are included in social security programs.
If the doctor prescribes medication at a different price, the citizen will have to bear the full cost of it.
This means that many people—no, the vast majority of people—must use Federal Government designated medications if they want the Federal Government to cover a portion of their medical expenses.
This is actually very much against the interests of the medical group. The difference in ingredients between the 19-cent, 39-cent and 9.9-yuan drugs is indeed not much, but the profit difference is tens or hundreds of times.
They prefer people to use medicines that cost 9.9 yuan instead of 19 cents, and they also don't want the government to be watching them all the time.
The simplest solution is to separate people's Medical Insurance from Social Insurance, just like dentists do. As long as the government doesn't have to pay for people's medical expenses, then the government has no reason to continue monitoring every medical service and order; that's the insurance company's job.
This also means that some people will have to pay hundreds or thousands of times more for illnesses that could be cured with cheap medicine.
Even if the health Insurance Group covers even 50% of the cost, their profits are still over 100 times! To this end, these medical groups also promote the drawbacks of "Cheap Medical Treatment" on television and in newspapers. They also use examples of well-known figures to tell the public what kind of treatment services these wealthy people receive, and what kind of treatment services they receive.
They also talk about the equality of life, making people think that they should also have access to better, more comprehensive, and more reliable medical services, rather than "cheap treatment."
On the other hand, increasingly greedy medical groups are no longer satisfied with just taking a bite out of one side of the business. They have set up companies that specialize in Medical Insurance, intending to take the insurance premiums as well.
Everyone knows that Medical Insurance cannot be ignored. No one knows when they will encounter some trouble, but not everyone will get sick every year, which means that at least hundreds of millions of insurance premiums are buried every year.
If only I could put this money in my own pocket...
Seeing these people, Lin Qi suddenly realized that compared to them, he was still too kind and soft-hearted!
These people are truly cannibalizing people, and the entire Upper Class understands this, but no one says it, not even the Federal Government itself.
Because they are well aware that if people are willing to pay for their own Medical Insurance and healthcare groups cover that expense, it will undoubtedly save the Federal Government a significant amount of money.
Whether these patients, who have paid even higher fees and undergone more expensive treatments, can ultimately achieve satisfactory results is another matter entirely.
Everyone remained silent. Faced with enormous profits, almost everyone was the same, including the president affectionately known as "the one who tells the truth." In addition to the medical group representatives, some well-known Chemical Enterprise representatives were also present.
The chemical industry is also a major affected area, facing many troubles and legal disputes, so they hope to solve these problems from the top down.
The best way to do this is to find a politician to support him in the election and put him on the presidential throne. Then he will naturally provide the chemical group with plenty of favorable conditions.
The music in the hall finally stopped, and the president stood in the center of the crowd. He needed to say something about the evening's reception to express his proper attitude.
After looking around, he paused for a moment, then solemnly uttered a single word, "Thank you!"
"I want to thank everyone for coming here, and I also want to thank you all for your support over the years!" His voice gradually rose, and the hall was so quiet that only his voice could be heard.
"Although we lost the election last time, but..." he said with a slight smile, "We were lucky!"
People laughed good-naturedly at his self-deprecating humor. In interpersonal communication, being good at self-deprecation and having a good sense of humor can be very helpful in interpersonal relationships.
The laughter subsided after a short while, and the president continued, "I've been thinking lately that now that I'm president, people won't have to think about how to give me some face before addressing me..."
People smiled kindly again, and the atmosphere was great; it seemed that every important person was a master at setting the mood.
"Now that I'm president, I have to do things that only a president can do."
"We all know that the current situation in the Federal is not optimistic, and we should put away our blind optimism and face some problems squarely."
"If you have read my previous speeches, you will have noticed a very special point of view: that we should assume more international responsibility in the International Community, and this statement came from a young man."
"To be honest, I never thought such a view would come from a young person, but it also reminds us that we have actually discovered the problem a long time ago, but we have been choosing to pretend we can't see it!"
"Mr. Lin Qi!" The president looked around, his gaze finally settling on Lin Qi, and the crowd parted, exposing Lin Qi to the public eye.
Even Wo Delike looked at Lin Qi with some surprise. He didn't quite understand why such an insignificant little man would attract the president's special attention on such an important occasion.
"This view, first put forward by Mr. Lin Qi, made me understand that isolation does not mean giving up all rights and obligations, nor does it mean giving up all responsibilities."
"That's not an isolated and correct way of writing; that's escaping responsibility and escapism."
"I will involve the Federal more in international affairs. This time, we will no longer be 'deserters.' The mistakes we made in the past will serve as a warning and wisdom to guide us on the right path."
"For the Federal, for the people, Long Live the Free Federation!"
The president raised his glass, and the people raised theirs too, chanting the same words, "Long live the Long Live the Free Federation!" The atmosphere instantly became high-spirited! What followed was more in-depth, one-on-one conversations, where everyone could talk to the president about things they cared about and were interested in—which was, of course, the core of the celebration.
They will put forward their own ideas and demands, and if the president deems it appropriate, he may give them some confirmation, but it will definitely not be a promise.
Besides, this was also a very high-profile social occasion, where top capitalists, top politicians, and all sorts of elusive Broker gathered together! Some people began to look for people to chat with, but most continued to surround the president.
After dismissing the two guys who came to chat with him but didn't say anything substantial, Lin Qi approached the president, where they were already discussing something.
"I recently spoke by phone with the President of [Country Name], who highly praised our reintegration into the International Community and agreed to, based on the current situation, to promote bilateral trade to a limited extent..."
"Over the next period of time, we will arrange for some people to go abroad to see and investigate the investment environment and market economy of other countries, and to look for business opportunities..."