The Power of Unity

The simplest way for the governor to seek re-election is to meet the people's demands.

So what are people's demands now? The answer is simple: to have a job, even if the benefits don't meet the minimum requirements of various labor-related laws and regulations. As long as they have a job, that's enough.

Having a job gives people peace of mind and prevents them from feeling lost and uncertain like they do now.

Having a job fills people with hope for the future and gives them plenty of energy!

As long as this problem can be solved, even just showing an attitude of "we are on the way" will win the support of the people. If some effective results can be achieved, there is no doubt that the governor will be re-elected.

But the question is, how do we solve these problems? Everyone knows how to solve one thing, like the homeless people on the street who use the money donated by others every day—why not begging? Because begging is illegal in the Federal, so the homeless people have to change their way of working. They will randomly find something that people care about or don't care about, start a project, set up a donation box, and persuade some passersby to give them the help they can to their project.

The main assistance is financial, but the homeless are happy to help if some feminists are willing to offer them some warmth.

The benefit of doing this is that the Federal can proudly say, "We have no beggars."

After drinking the liquor bought with the money given to them by donors, these homeless men would often lie among piles of cardboard boxes and newspapers, thinking that as soon as they woke up, they would find a job.

Even if it's physical work, he will complete it conscientiously, and then change himself, striving to become a valuable person, a living, breathing person.

However... this will always be wishful thinking. Poor people know that making money can change their lives, just as the governor knows that increasing employment can save York State and secure his re-election.

Everyone possesses the truth, but they can never reach out and touch it.

He was a politician, not a businessman. He could only command the city leaders from a higher position, using a tone similar to that of the Ruling Class, saying, "Hey, I'm telling you, we need to increase our employment rate, understand?"

Aside from emphasizing these issues and issuing orders, they can't do anything else.

Of course, this is just one manifestation of the essence, and it does not mean that everyone is like this. For example, the governor met with Lin Qi, and he also met with many other people, all in order to make changes and more directly promote this change.

He looked at Lin Qi very seriously. The miracles Lin Qi had created had already shaken the entire Federal. Perhaps he could create another miracle this time? Lin Qi thought for a while. He hadn't expected the governor to ask such a profound question right away. He needed time to organize his thoughts.

About seven or eight minutes later, Lin Qi had a general idea of what was going on, and his smile became brighter.

"We need industry trusts, we need monopolistic giants!"

That startling remark immediately made the governor frown.

After the first Federal settlers taught the natives about love and peace with their flower-adorned weapons and brightly colored knives, monopolistic practices began to flourish.

The profits from a business run by one person far exceed those from a business run by others. The idea that everyone can get rich together is nothing more than a hypocritical excuse for the weak to band together to fight against the powerful.

Anyone who possesses the power and foundation to monopolize the market would not utter such foolish words as "wealth should be shared by all."

The business environment in the Federal at that time was chaotic, and businessmen were often equated with violence. For example, the railroad tycoon used all kinds of violence to destroy other people's rails, smash and even assassinate competitors, so much so that almost half of the railroads in the Federal directly or indirectly belonged to him.

Every industry was in such chaos that the newly formed Federal Government was powerless to fight against these capitalists who possessed hundreds or even thousands of armed forces, and could only allow monopolies to run rampant.

The emergence of oligarchs cast a shadow over the Federal for at least forty years, until the Federal Government decided to completely eliminate these monopolistic capitalists who harmed society and endangered the personal and property safety of the people. Only then did the Federal embrace the sunshine of the free market.

Since then, the Federal government has enacted dozens of laws to prevent the emergence of commercial monopolies and has strictly monitored all capitalists in the country.

Anyone involved in the issue of monopolies tries to avoid it like the plague. There is even an agency called the "Anti-Monopoly Measures Committee" in the Senate, and the National Security Committee also has a corresponding agency to investigate monopolistic companies.

Anti-Monopoly is already deeply ingrained in people's minds, but at this time, Lin Qi actually proposed that "monopolies can save York State." This made the governor immediately think that Lin Qi might have lost his mind and that he certainly didn't know what he was talking about.

But then he realized that what Lin Qi said made some sense.

He didn't show his likes or dislikes towards Lin Qi's statement on his face, but simply listened attentively, nodding slightly, "Go on."

With that one sentence, Lin Qi knew that the governor had gone from initial resistance to exploring the possibilities.

He casually crossed his legs, took out a cigarette, and, with the governor's permission, lit it and took a puff.

The cigarette was held between his fingers, and his hand was on the knee of his raised leg. Smoke curled up and he slowly exhaled, a sudden wisp of smoke changing invisibly between the two of them.

Through the ever-changing smoke, Lin Qi looked at the person opposite him. "We are always afraid of monopolies and unwilling to touch them, but the ultimate goal of most businessmen is to monopolize."

"Because monopolies can bring huge profits, we can control an industry, set our own standards, and have pricing power."

"Even if it's just a pebble, as long as we monopolize it, we can sell it for the price of gold, because no one else can get it from anywhere else except us."

"We always say that monopolies bring destruction and instability. Our understanding of monopolies is still stuck in the past when monopolies were prevalent. We only see the bad things and ignore the things that are not actually bad."

The governor repeated, "Not something bad?"

"Yes..." Lin Qi nodded, "Actually, it's a good thing."

He then changed the subject, his tone slightly more forceful, "Governor, do you know that the Steel Tycoon monopolizes 70 percent of the Federal steel business? Besides driving some businessmen into bankruptcy, what else has he brought?"

The governor shook his head. "I don't know much about this, but I'm sure you do."

Lin Qi took another drag of his cigarette and flicked off the ash. "Yes, he brought countless jobs."

"For ordinary people, neither monopolies nor fair free markets have much direct impact on them."

"Whether they are capitalists who run monopolies or small business owners and factory owners, they all have to work."

"If the price of goods is unreasonable, people will not buy them. So before the Anti-Monopoly Law came into effect, the real victims were the capitalists."

"Small and medium-sized enterprises have become the targets of exploitation by monopoly giants. Although ordinary workers are also within their scope of exploitation, this does not mean that small and medium-sized enterprises do not exploit workers, or that only monopoly giants exploit workers."

What would happen if we removed the bad things and kept only the good ones?

"Under the guise of existing worldviews, values, morals, and sound laws, what will the newly born monopolistic enterprises look like?"

Lin Qi stubbed out his cigarette in the Ashtray. "A pillar enterprise of the local area!"

"In fact, monopolies have always been around us; they have never left. They have just changed their face to face the world!"

"The situation in some cities in York State is more severe than in other places, mainly because some key economic enterprises have gone bankrupt, and the impact of these bankruptcies far exceeds the impact of this Economic Tsunami."

"If we want York State to quickly revive its economy, then we need a dominant, monopolistic enterprise!"

In a sense, the Listoan Group was a large Group Company that had the beginnings of a local monopoly. Its collapse, coupled with the Economic Tsunami, triggered a series of chain problems.

If the Listoan Group hadn't collapsed, the Federal would have gained more influence after defeating Gefra in the naval battle, and Federal goods would have started selling all over the world, leading to an immediate economic recovery.

The dominance of pillar businesses in the economy is undeniable; combined with the power of a state, they can easily crush most non-pillar businesses.

Overseas, it also has sufficient influence. If the Federal Government provides some additional benefits, such as tax rebates or diplomatic cooperation to exempt goods from taxes, then the Federal economy will begin to recover rapidly in three to five years.

The problem now is that York State does not have such a company. It lacks dominance and cohesion. The companies, large and small, are like a pile of loose sand, fighting their own battles and even competing with each other.

This internal friction, coupled with the competitiveness brought about by international trade, will only lead to the closure of more and more small and micro enterprises and make it difficult for large enterprises to survive. This is almost a foreseeable outcome.

They didn't think about uniting as one, after all, many interests were involved.