Rise of the Argentine Empire

Eisenhower's election as President of the United States this time had a very important principle. Why didn't a military government emerge in the United States, despite its powerful military and the massive military-industrial complex established during World War II?

That is, Eisenhower had to retire from the military to run for president.

Saint-Hesse seriously considered this issue and felt it would be helpful for him to break the military government situation in the future. In fact, this matter can also be seen from a famous dynasty in his previous life. Anyway, Argentina basically doesn't need to fight wars, only civil officials are needed, while the United States is a modern version of the iron-blooded and powerful Song Dynasty.

It's better for the country's combat effectiveness to be weak than for the country to be weak, and in his opinion, this is only temporary, as long as there is enough daily training.

It's just how to 'release military power with a cup of wine' that's the problem. The military interest groups in Argentina are the most difficult to deal with.

In the United States, a system of mutual checks and balances between civil and military officials is implemented in the military. The Secretary of Defense is a civil official, responsible for managing financial matters and overall strategy. The highest position in the military is the Chief of Staff, responsible for combat command, and it is insisted that soldiers must not interfere in politics. If they want to enter government work, they must retire.

Therefore, there will be no situation where soldiers hold power. Soldiers are only used as professional and technical personnel and have no decision-making power on strategic issues.

In contrast, the power of the Argentine military is too great. They have formed independent and free kingdoms, and can even engage in military business, becoming de facto warlords. They don't retire and become Deputy Ministers of Defense, like Commander Thompson. This gives the military great power.

In addition, Argentina's centralization is not in place, which gives Saint-Hesse many opportunities for activity. It is also a game between the central government and local areas in Argentina. In terms of the overall national situation, Argentina is still somewhat lacking. This is a natural deficiency.

Moreover, Saint-Hesse personally witnessed the power of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for the first time. This was the second time he had seen the strength of the IRS. The first time was when he sold the bottle patent, and he paid a lot of taxes. This time, he made money from the futures market and paid a lot of taxes again. He would rather offend the American consortiums than offend the IRS.

After all, in the United States, tax evasion is one of the three most stupid, idiotic, and self-destructive behaviors in his previous life, unless Saint-Hesse doesn't want to continue making money in the United States.

Saint-Hesse equipped Sequoia, Blackstone, and Blue Origin with complete tax departments, specifically for dealing with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, legally avoiding taxes, and creating some profits through various methods, such as investing in emerging industry companies, which coincided with his original plan.

In the United States, both individuals and companies have to pay taxes on capital gains. The current tax rate is 20%. That is, if you earn a profit of $10, you have to pay $2 in taxes.

Of course, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service allows companies to use tax planning strategies to reduce capital gains taxes. In order to avoid the inhibitory effect of taxation on investment, capital gains taxes generally use a lower proportional tax rate.

If he had sold futures in the original way, he would have earned $17 million and had to pay at least $3.4 million in taxes. Later, through legal tax avoidance and various investment methods, he also paid about $1 million.

Back then, when Saint-Hesse asked Cross to sell plastic bottle technology in the United States, he also paid a total of about $1.2 million in taxes. This was still because the United States invested in new technologies, plus the help of law firms to legally avoid taxes, and some preferential treatment for purchasing post-war military supplies.

Speaking of the IRS, Saint-Hesse remembered a story he saw in the newspaper a few days ago.

A few years ago, Chicago gangster legend Al Capone passed away, who was once known as the 'Mayor of Underground Chicago'.

Before his death, he left behind three famous American lessons, one of which was to pay taxes to the federal government on time. As for the other two, one was also related to the IRS: a submachine gun is no match for a Gatling gun.

There is also one that is worth being vigilant about. Saint-Hesse has always kept this principle in mind in Argentina. After all, Capone died of syphilis, and he doesn't want to have illegitimate children so early.

After all, the Americans initially built the country by resisting taxes (the Boston Tea Party was to protest the British Parliament's 'Tea Act'). The Americans certainly know the most about collecting taxes. It can be said that no tax bureau in the world knows more about collecting taxes than the U.S. Federal Internal Revenue Service. This is their bread and butter.

Of course, this armed tax collection is also an old American tradition, which has run through more than 100 years after the founding of the United States and is deeply rooted.

Argentina also needs such a powerful tax bureau. The caudillos almost all evade taxes, and personal taxes cannot be collected. Argentina's tax reform still needs a long time.

Armed tax collection is a very good system. Now there are very few people paying taxes in Argentina, and there are many smuggling and tax evasion gangs. Saint-Hesse also knows many armed smugglers. He himself is one of the largest smuggling gangs in Argentina. Argentina is now trying its best to find legal tax-paying companies and fleece them, and impose heavy taxes on some companies due to insufficient tax sources.

......

Now Saint-Hesse has three major helpers in the American financial market, which is enough for him to stir up trouble.

Sain, who is invested in by Sequoia Capital, is mainly responsible for a part of futures and New York stock market investment. Recently, a batch of branch companies such as Sequoia Fund, Sequoia Futures, and Sequoia Wealth Management have been established, actively intervening in investment banking business.

Sain has worked hard and has been based in New York, reporting to Boston almost every two weeks.

Martin, who is invested in by Blackstone, is split from Sequoia. Currently, he sells a large number of large company stocks and reinvests in some potential American companies, doing venture capital, and is a private investment and wealth management company.

Little Knicks of Blue Origin Futures helps Saint-Hesse in the futures market and takes over part of the investment work of Sequoia. At the same time, he sets up a part, controls at least 280 accounts, and has more than 30 shell companies.

Chicago, as the financial center and futures center of the United States, is developing well.

Little Knicks doesn't need his subordinates to think too much about some actions and instructions.

The American financial market is changing rapidly, and I must personally sit here to seize the fleeting opportunities.

Saint-Hesse thought with some emotion in his heart. If he had been staying in Argentina, he would not have been able to make these big moves. Sain is more than enough to maintain the status quo, but not enough to be aggressive.

Saint-Hesse dialed the dedicated line to Chicago.

Little Knicks, have the people from the Blue Origin team arrange 20 shell companies and 300 accounts, and all start building positions, buying agricultural futures to fall.

During the Prohibition era of the 1920s, the Chicago underworld thrived, producing notorious mob bosses like Al Capone. As long as the conditions for gangs existed, these gangs would continue to emerge.

In Chicago, there was also a budding communications company – Motorola – in which Saint-Hesse had invested a sum of money.

"Okay, boss, at what price should we buy?"

"Onions should be bought at the highest price, one twenty-fifth of the total amount, and the rest at one-half. Clear everything out after the delivery date."

Saint-Hesse evaluated the numbers. The futures market wasn't large at the moment, but he was unwilling to stop. The futures market was already in a downward trend. He controlled 64 seats in Chicago's two major futures exchanges, some acquired, some newly purchased. Each seat currently cost around $1,000 to $3,000.

"Yes, boss."

Little Knicks didn't ask too many questions. He only focused on the results. He was currently the most efficient subordinate, unscrupulous, and handled matters cleanly and efficiently.

This time, Saint-Hesse planned to profit from both sides. In addition to buying agricultural futures contracts, he also intended to short sell.

He bought futures and bet on the stock market's decline, planning to short the futures market in advance.

Now, Saint-Hesse had transformed his Boston manor into a temporary command center, remotely directing Blue Origin in Chicago, Sequoia in New York, and Blackstone, the three main companies, via telephone.

Chicago was relatively far, more than a thousand kilometers from Boston. Fortunately, the American aviation industry was developing rapidly, much faster than trains and cars, and Boston had several airports, far more convenient than Argentina.

Even though Argentina possessed one of the world's most powerful railway systems, its maintenance and protection were very poor. The equipment was too old, and high ransoms led to a lack of subsequent maintenance, let alone the aviation industry.

Moreover, Argentina currently had almost no aviation industry.

Saint-Hesse also bought shares in several new aviation companies, as well as a significant number of shares in Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, these aviation industrial companies.

It had to be said that the United States was full of gold mines. Many American companies that would become famous in later generations existed. Saint-Hesse changed his strategy, investing in small and medium-sized companies. Although large American companies would continue to rise in the short term, the exorbitant profits from investing in small and medium-sized companies were far greater.

After all, the higher a company's market value, the greater the difficulty of continuing to rise. It was better to invest in companies that would become large in later generations, with lower risk and higher returns.

He provided a list, then led people to negotiate equity investments, a familiar process.

… …

In the mid-19th century, due to its superior geographical location, Chicago developed into an important distribution center and processing center for agricultural products in the United States.

In order to effectively avoid the risks caused by the sharp rise and fall of agricultural product prices, the Chicago Board of Trade came into being in 1848.

It was the oldest futures and options exchange in the world, trading grain futures – wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton, coffee, cocoa, butter, eggs, live pigs, live cattle, pork bellies, lumber, natural rubber, various futures, as well as the onions that Saint-Hesse speculated on.

… …

In the second half of '52, Chicago's two major futures markets were like a roller coaster, with onion futures being frantically hyped up.

Contracts initially rose two times in price in a short period of time. Several speculators obtained nearly 80% of the contracts at very low prices, hoarding and speculating.

Ordinary people couldn't find a single onion in the market.

When it reached its peak, they sold off the futures, causing the onions to rot in the hands of the planters.

The contract eventually fell to 1/30 of the highest price, which was simply shocking.

Countless retail investors who followed the trend of speculating on onions went bankrupt, directly taking a triple jump…

The agricultural futures market fluctuated, and Saint-Hesse made a lot of money.

In order to ease public anxiety, the United States Congress had to legislate to prohibit onion futures trading, creating a major black humor in American financial history.

The last two months of 1952 were still a huge disaster for the American people, especially those who had emerged from the shadow of the Great Depression due to the post-war economic prosperity. Their confidence in the market was once again severely impacted.

Saint-Hesse "accidentally" looted the American people, giving them a painful lesson.

That was, even after the war ended, they lost everything in the economic war, and even became heavily indebted. Many people added leverage, and speculating in futures was even cheaper than speculating in stocks. As long as they succeeded, the returns would be huge.

It's just that the successful person became Saint-Hesse.

How much Saint-Hesse made from the futures market was how much money others lost.

The futures market can also be said to be a very, very legal form of gambling, a zero-sum game.

… …

Saint-Hesse's "Onion War" earned him 53 million US dollars from the futures market alone, ruthlessly harvesting a wave of Americans.

This futures investment storm directly led to the bankruptcy of 17 futures financing companies in Chicago, the collapse of 47 long positions, and the liquidation of 1274 individual accounts.

This small futures disaster cost Americans at least 700 million, but it was just a small ripple. Today, the United States has more than 20,000 tons of gold and foreign exchange reserves of nearly 200 billion US dollars.

The US dollar had already been used to perfection by the Bretton Woods system, completely replacing the pound, franc, and mark.

Before the electronicization of the American futures market, the Federal Assembly used the Futures Act to improve legislation and plug many loopholes. The two brothers who started it all were arrested by the Chicago court and finally acquitted.

But the Chicago National Taxation Bureau did not let them go. They directly turned them upside down, and finally found that they had evaded taxes, illegally refunded taxes through illegal means, imposed heavy fines, and sent them to prison.

Finally, the anger of the American people was quelled.

Saint-Hesse also legally and reasonably earned 59 million US dollars from the New York stock market, which was scattered in 120 company stock accounts, without attracting too much attention.

The American stock market continued to rise all the way, and the Dow Jones index continued to break through. The new president's boost to the American stock market was very useful. Before Eisenhower took office, it rose by 22%, showing the United States' great confidence in the new president.

This time, Saint-Hesse, after deducting the tax amount of the Federal Taxation Bureau, probably earned a little more than 100 million US dollars, basically achieving the initial strategic goal of coming to the United States.

"Speaking of black hearts, the US Internal Revenue Service is the blackest."

Basically lying down and making money, it really is more profitable to build a platform.

As time went by, Saint-Hesse gradually withdrew from daily trading decisions. Now he was slowly letting go, giving the three people ample opportunities to exercise and learn.

He now only gave them pointers where necessary, and the various systems of the three companies were becoming more and more perfect.

At least Saint-Hesse currently had no company more advanced than these three main entities.

As expected of Americans, there were many talents, especially a group of American soldiers who had been remade after the war. Most of them became college students, and now it was also graduation season.

Especially those from the top 30 business schools in the United States were simply amazing. Saint-Hesse even saw a familiar resume.

"Isn't this my future old partner?"

Warren Buffett, a leader in long-term value investing in the future.