Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1492: Rome or Mule Horse (First update, please subscribe)
The phantom before the collapse of glory!

There are too many such phantoms in the world - and not just in the Soviet Union.

For example, Latin America in the 1980s and Southeast Asia in the 1990s seemed to have fantasized about becoming developed countries like Western Europe and the United States one day.

But the cruel reality tells them...that is just a dream!

Why do dreams die?
It is not just the Western capital forces that are reaping the benefits. Even if the Western capital deliberately wants to reap the benefits, if they do not create an environment "suitable for harvesting", then the Western capital will not be able to reap the benefits completely.

In essence, whether it was the Soviet Union, Latin America, or Southeast Asia, they all had their own problems.

That night, Li Yian once again studied the "National Income Doubling Plan". More than ten years ago, it was this income doubling plan that allowed everyone to share the dividends of development and laid the foundation for today's consumer society.

All methods of stimulating consumption are essentially putting the cart before the horse. Without money, there will be no consumption. With money, consumption will come without any stimulation.

"Humans are the laziest animals in the world. In order to hunt with less effort, humans invented bows and arrows, javelins. In order to farm with less effort, they invented farm tools. In order to weave with less effort, we invented textile machines, and then steam engines, trains, and cars..."

Leaning back in his chair, Li Yian looked at Tian Yongzhe in front of him and said:
"So, no one will endure hardship. The key is to increase income."

“Your Excellency, there is absolutely no need for us to launch the Universal Income Doubling Plan again.”

Tian Yongzhe, a special director of the Ministry of Labor, is not an official from the official residence. As a professional bureaucrat, he has worked in the Ministry of Labor for many years, from the local branch to the center, from section director to executive director, and then to special director. He is a typical technical professional bureaucrat.

In fact, this is also the characteristic of the officials here - technical officials.

"Oh why?"

“Your Excellency, as a result of the implementation of the National Income Doubling Plan, the actual annual average growth rates of GDP and national income reached 12.6% and 12.5%, which means that the growth rate of people’s income is actually very balanced with the economic growth rate.”

The balance is basically consistent—everyone benefits from development!

This is exactly what Li Yian is proud of, because there is no situation where the company makes money, the boss gets rich, but the workers' income does not increase at all.

It is precisely because people’s income continues to increase that the foundation of a consumer society is laid, and what Li Yian wants now is to further consolidate this foundation.

"And last year?"

Li Yian asked back:

“What was the growth rate of national income last year?”

“Your Excellency, last year’s GDP growth rate was 14.6%, although the national income growth rate was only 10.6%.

But we cannot maintain such a growth rate for a long time. The minimum wage standard set by the Ministry of Labor is based on normal economic growth, and we must take into account the interests of enterprises, whose equipment also needs to be upgraded.

After all, the production equipment of those enterprises was purchased in the 1950s, and a considerable part of the equipment used by the companies is even from the 1930s.

This also means that companies need to update their equipment. Excessive wage and welfare expenditures will restrict the development of companies. If the skin is gone, where will the hair be attached? "

Facing Tian Yongzhe's rebuttal, Li Yian fell silent. He immediately nodded in agreement:

"Youchu, you are right. The salary and welfare expenditures of enterprises cannot be at the expense of the enterprise. This is a basic principle. Otherwise, in the long run, the entire economy will suffer the most."

It's like another world, the decline of the American auto industry. Basically, Americans are destroying their own auto industry.

At that time in the 1970s, the United States was facing serious environmental problems, and then the Muskie Act was passed, which directly killed all car companies with automobile exhaust certification.

When American auto companies were tortured to death by environmental protection requirements for exhaust gas, the American Automobile Association imposed unlimited conditions on the companies and even set up a job relief office.

If the factory closes down, the workers can stay here and do whatever they want, read newspapers, drink coffee, chat, but they can still receive 95% of the salary from the parent company. In the end, every working worker has to bear the cost of three or four non-working workers.

In the end, the three major automobile companies could no longer bear the chaos and had to move their production capacity out of the United States. Some companies could not bear the chaos and went bankrupt directly. The American automobile industry declined.

Well, in addition to this, unions are also hindering the development of industrial technology. Not to mention that dock workers reject automation, even workers in the US auto industry are also opposed to automation. And this is not a new demand, it has always existed.

So, it is the same with everything: never rush.

"So how do you think about our revenue growth rate?"

“Your Excellency, in the past few years, the Ministry of Labor has worked with a number of research institutions to analyze business operations and workers’ incomes. Taking into account corporate profits and equipment wear and tear, renewal, etc., the income growth rate should be 90% of the economic growth rate.

Based on the considerations of overall corporate profits and the promotion of investment, the 80% level is a basic line. As long as this basic line is maintained, investors and companies can profit from it, and workers can also share the dividends of development. "

After thinking for a while, Tian Yongzhe said:

"Of course, we must ensure one thing, that is, limit the high and increase the low, that is, limit the income growth of corporate executives and ensure the income growth level of ordinary employees. This is the only way to ensure that everyone can benefit from it. If executives swallow up the development dividends, then ordinary employees will inevitably become poorer and poorer..."

After saying these words, Tian Yongzhe looked at His Excellency, thought about it, and said in a slightly low tone.

“And the Department of Labor exists to prevent that from happening.”

“That’s certainly what our work is about.”

Li Yian nodded and said.

“Isn’t this what we are working hard for and creating here?”

As he spoke, Li Yian stood up, walked to the window, stared out and said.

“Someone once asked… What do I want?”

After a brief pause, Li Yian said:
"Actually, what I want is very simple. I just want everyone here to live happily.

Here, everyone can achieve personal success based on their own abilities.”

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

After he finished speaking, Li Yian, who was standing by the window, stared out and fell into silence.

“Maybe this is a social experiment. Who knows?
Because humans have never had such a society, and no one knows how to build such a society?

Any social experiment is cruel, because once it fails, it will be irreparable."

Social experiments are always cruel, just like the one in Cambodia, which was a direct de-urbanization. Well, only the locals can feel its cruelty.

This is the most realistic and cruel part of society. No matter what social experiment idealists conduct, they will eventually pay a heavy price.

In fact, this is also the biggest characteristic of idealists: they always replace reality with ideals.

Compared with those idealists, Li Yian is both an idealist and more of a realist.

As a realist, he knows very well what human nature is.

What is human nature?
The greatest characteristic of human nature is reality.

You cannot replace reality with ideals, paint a pie in the sky that is out of reach for everyone, replace reality with the pie, and then indulge yourself in reality.

To put it bluntly, you can talk about ideals, but the premise of ideals is that they must be based on reality.

Like Li Yian, he previously emphasized sharing dividends rather than directly denying the existence of dividends fundamentally.

The dividend of development exists regardless of the environment. Just like steamed buns, they are real things. You can deny them and then embezzle the dividends by denying them.

But there will definitely be a price to pay in the end, no matter if it is the government or the company itself that embezzles the dividends.

Therefore, the realistic choice is to release the dividends, rather than denying the existence of development dividends, or using various excuses to cover up the reality that the development dividends are occupied by the government or embezzled by a small number of people.

This is also why he emphasizes doubling income.

It is because as a realist, he knows very well that there are only two possibilities for the dividends of development - either they are embezzled by the government or enterprises, or they are shared by ordinary people.

There is never a middle ground in this process. You can use all kinds of reasons and excuses to cover up everything for 10, 20 or even 30 years. But in the end, all the problems will be exposed, and at that time, everything may go out of control.

Just like South America and Southeast Asia in another world, they have either completely become failed states, or have gone to one extreme or the other in terms of the gap between the rich and the poor.

The risks of conducting any social experiment under such circumstances are obvious. However, such experiments are inevitable.

After all, what Li Yian hopes to do is to build a completely new society.

"Whether we succeed or fail, who knows? But I hope to build a society where everyone can succeed."

After saying this, Li Yian turned around and looked at Tian Yongzhe, the head of the Ministry of Labor, and said:

"So, I hope you all can achieve this goal with me."

Is this goal achievable?
He didn't have the answer in his heart, but there was a voice deep in his heart that kept telling him that there was only one result in this experiment, and there was only one way to victory.

If they fail, then what awaits them will surely be eternal damnation, just like Big Brother thousands of kilometers away. Rather than saying that they were pushed to the gallows step by step by Reagan, it would be better to say that they sent themselves to the gallows!
(End of this chapter)