"Mr. President, we have quite a few troubles at the mont..."
The chief of staff of the presidential cabinet glanced awkwardly at the report in his hand, "The Victorious Nations Alliance, citing a lack of funds, has refused to honor our war bonds, while the defeated countries claim they need more ti, possibly several months, to do so."
The President’s stern expression softened slightly, feeling it was good news, "A few months? That’s not a problem, as long as they are willing to honor it, it’s not a problem!"
But the chief of staff was evidently not as cheerful as the President. He forced a smile, "However, so intelligence reports suggest that several core defeated countries are printing more money to combat their current financial difficulties."
The President’s expression grew stern again, even a bit resentful. It was clear that he understood the implications of these words. No one was more aware than him of the series of changes that printing more money could bring. Without a doubt, these defeated countries also intended to renege on their debts, just in a different way than the victorious countries.
Suppose the Bail Federal bought ten billion in bonds of the defeated countries and their currency equaled the Federation Sol. After the war, the defeated countries would redeem these bonds based on the standard when the war bonds were issued, say at a value of twenty billion Federation Sol or so other amount in defeated countries’ currency.
But now, the defeated countries are printing more money, which will inevitably cause their currency’s value to plumt on the international market. Coupled with negative news and inflation, a currency once equivalent to one Federation Sol could beco equivalent to one hundred or even one thousand to one.
By the ti their money is devalued, the redeed value of a ten billion war bond might not even reach one million Federation Sol!
The victorious countries can outright refuse to redeem, while the defeated countries have their own ways to avoid more losses. For a mont, this situation caused headaches for the President and the entire presidential cabinet.
Yet this wasn’t the scariest part. They received news that so war bonds from victorious nations had already been redeed. So small countries, which had declared their stance during the world war but weren’t on the front lines, received redemption first.
If no one had redeed their bonds, the Federation Governnt could argue it was due to internal issues within the Victorious Nations Alliance and their inability to produce enough funds in a short period. After all, the pensions for millions of deaths were already a headache, not to ntion the various destroyed cities.
However, the redemption of so bonds made the Bail Federal’s international standing very awkward, giving a direct perception that Bail Federal was being targeted.
With such a comparison, the situation within the Federation could quickly deteriorate, worsened by the isolation policy historically advocated by the Conservative Party. If anyone believed the current situation was caused by the President’s policy, both the Conservative Party and the presidential cabinet would face imnse pressure.
Policies previously deed most suitable for the Federation in the international society could instantly beco this president’s cabinet’s gravest mistake due to these international relations.
The people of the Federation, who enjoyed peace and tranquility, wouldn’t sympathize with the painstaking efforts of the presidential cabinet. They might turn to accuse the cabinet of the present dire dostic trend, with the unemployed blaming them for turning the Federation into an "island" due to their isolation policy, leading to the current issues.
The people’s will is never stable; it constantly changes to et their selfish and narrow demands.
Thinking of countless people demonstrating and protesting outside the President’s Mansion made the President’s head hurt. "For now, don’t let this news leak out, and have our diplomats continue negotiations. Even if we can’t redeem everything, any positive gesture will do."
Right then, the Minister of Foreign Affairs lightly coughed, and the President, displeased, looked over at him. With a bitter smile, he asked, "Mr. President, on what basis should we persuade them?"
With one sentence, the President’s displeasure shifted to a look of pain. He even began questioning whether the isolation policy was right. Although it seed good a few years ago, now he wasn’t so sure.
The content of the small eting held inside the President’s Mansion quickly spread out. In Bail Federal, the higher the level, the less of a secret anything becos. This scenario was actually quite common and realistic.
Behind every official could be a consortium or major capitalist backing different from the President’s forces. These people’s rise might be due to the President’s favoritism, but largely due to agreents among consortiums, consortia, and capitalist groups.
They helped the President obtain victory in the elections, so naturally, they would push their proxies into the presidential cabinet.
They’ve already offered the sweetest parts to the most central figures. Asking for so minister or deputy positions shouldn’t et any opposition, right?
So, no news in the cabinet can be hidden for long. Soon, so major consortia realized these issues but cooperatively refrained from acting on their plans imdiately, instead adjusting their industrial structures together.
Any early action was not allowed. Many major consortiums hadn’t fully pulled back their pace, which could result in them stumbling, so they needed ti to shed unnecessary parts and await the starting gun’s sound.
On a Saturday afternoon, Lynch was to attend a small consultation eting sponsored by the Sabin City Hall.
The City Hall invited local elites to discuss how to change the current situation and explore the city’s future.
This naturally included Lynch and bank staff like Jogriman, as per the uniform request of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The six major banks had begun piloting the new business of "credit loans" to address the current situation.
Based on their social insurance contributions, past behavior in society, and current assets and wealth, individuals would receive a credit score. With this score, they could obtain unsecured credit loans of varying degrees from banks.
This policy aid to help unemployed individuals facing hardship but with decent past records and so wealth to weather the storm.
As for the holess or those with nothing, they were not included in this plan.
Before the eting, Lynch was chatting about his club. Kane had found a relatively professional coaching team for him, and they had started recruiting new players, causing so to regain interest in the club.
People love watching blooming flowers. Of course, so appreciate the buds about to bloom, but few are interested in the steps needed for seeds to beco blossoming flowers, preferring to enjoy the result without carrying the process and responsibility. This applies to rugby as well.
People hope their city has a professional sports team, be it rugby, baseball, or any other sport. They want a reason to wave their hats during these sports events.
Previously, they were unwilling to shoulder that responsibility themselves, but now they can start enjoying it since soone else took on the troubles for them.
While discussing whether the Sabin City club had a chance to participate in the professional league next year, Jogriman approached the edge of the crowd. He greeted everyone and then looked directly at Lynch, "Want to smoke?"
Lynch nodded, "Of course..." He promptly apologized to everyone, then stepped outside the eting room with Jogriman to find a secluded corner to smoke.
This was by no ans a aningless ’appointnt.’ Both lit their cigarettes, and after checking their surroundings, Jogriman spoke softly, "If you need any loans, it’s best to settle them before October. After that, the bank will raise risk and approval criteria, making things tougher."
Banks are the most sensitive institutions to policies, national forms, and international agreents. They have more than one dedicated research lab solely studying these bank-related matters.
After news from the presidential cabinet leaked, banks imdiately reached a dire conclusion, advising that after Q3 ends, not to easily approve any more loans and reduce all loan amounts to ensure the safety of bank assets.
Jogriman received a separate notification that he would start having oversight on his approval authority starting in Q4.
This news wasn’t because the bank departnt distrusted him but because he locked in this year’s business awards early. The departnt’s suggestion was that if he made any missteps, to fix them promptly. Also, because so people gossiped, the departnt, to show fairness and justice, would start reviewing projects he approved in Q4.
When this situation would end depended on either his promotion or an improvent in the current situation. Otherwise, short-term expectations for change would be unrealistic.
"As for previous ones..." Lynch looked at him while taking a drag.
Jogriman shook his head, "They’ve all been reported to the departnt and headquarters. It’s in the past. So if you have needs, it’s best to resolve them while I can still have so influence. Later on, I won’t be able to help."
He spoke with a bit of self-mockery, but there was no alternative. In just over two months, his performance skyrocketed from lukewarm to number one, making both internal and external circles believe he used improper ans.
After all, his na was ntioned even at the headquarters board eting, with suggestions that he bypass standard processes and after gaining experience at departnt and headquarters levels, he could be assigned to be a branch manager locally, to be observed for two years before taking up a regional manager position. How could this not provoke jealousy?
This saved not only seven or ten years’ ti but also the years of building relationships and the final ’exam’ phase—it’s normal for soone to report him.
So people are like that, wallowing in their own muck yet unable to tolerate others’ success.
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