Chapter 24
Shadow Men ...............1987
“Knowledge is Power” –Sir Francis Bacon
“Opening our meeting today will be Red, known to our friend Mercury as Hypnos,” Zeus said with a humorous lilt in his voice.
“Hypnos was the Greek God of timeless sleep. Do you like the moniker, sir?” he said, then caught himself.
“Mon dieu, I am speaking to you in Brit! I do apologize. In French we would say: ‘au nom de la loi.‘ In English it would mean an amusing name to identify you to others - to preserve your true identity.”
“What you call me matters not. ‘Red’ is not pleasant name, though. If there is to be name, Hypnos is most adequate.”
“Oui, c’est cela. Quite! Communications are a bit confusing, oui? We try to make it simple....” Zeus added wistfully.
Mercury smiled at Zeus for using his new names, and enjoyed the shared double entendre.
“Mot à double entente,” he said to himself silently. “Or is it ‘un double sens?’ I’ve got to practice my French!” he reminded himself with a grin.
The short old Chinese man stood up, as he began to speak to the group.
“I have most pleasant news. With the help of a prestigious American professor Dean, we beginning a most major expansion of Hong Kong University. We focus on Engineering Research, Sciences, and Business firstly. This is most major expansion of any University in
“I speak for everyone here, I think,” stated Zeus, “when I say that we all want to support your efforts! Bringing technological advances to
“Yes,
Mercury was a bit troubled at the vague reassurances in that affirmation, but he held his tongue. They had a devil of a time finding a leading technological Academic for the University; and were lucky to secure a disgruntled Dean who had lost out in a close bid for the Presidency of his alma mater, Georgia Tech. He was quite stung by the loss; and his bitterness at the perceived insult, was just the element needed to turn him to their uses. His anger and ego had created a personal sense of humiliation that drove him to prove his mettle in a whole new arena. It was quite easy to persuade him; once the monetary benefits, and freedom of action, were explained. He was to be given all the resources he needed to buy the best faculty in the world; and to entice the best graduate students.
“He and the Chinese will be given all the rope they need to establish a major institution. After that is done; the academics will control everything, and we will control them through research grants and discretionary spending funds.”
That is what Zeus had told Mercury, when he first shared his concerns about the whole affair. Mercury wondered; but, held his tongue.
“The whole University thing is wonderful,” interjected Hades, but we need to cover a couple of important issues before I have to leave.”
"Ok,” responded Zeus. The old Chinese man sat down quite pleased with himself - apparently clueless to the insult, or unaffected by the abrupt change of subject.
“Cronus? Are you able to stabilize the Savings and Loan debacle?” quizzed Hades.
“Yes, quite messy that. We got the Federal government to prop up the Resolution Trust Corporation, and the assets will all be sold off. Additionally, the pressure on the banks will ease as the mergers go through....forcing the combination of sick banks with healthy banks; and again bringing the Federal government into play with the worse ones. It’ll be buried in a budget somewhere. I won’t suffer much; it will ultimately be covered by tax revenues. Have no worry for our solvency.”
“Yeah, so long as there isn’t a rush to withdraw cash,” countered Hades.
“Who uses cash these days, dear fellow?” Cronus stated blithely; trying to minimize the whole situation. He didn’t want to have to explain his problems here.
Hera, however, had different plans.
“This was what I have been warning about.....too much autonomy, and too many opportunistic players out there. In themselves they mean nothing, but in their ignorance, and blind ambition, they are dangerous. We are making blind people too powerful.”
“Just a few bad loans. Relax it, Hera!” chided Hades.
“The assets will be sold......eventually, and losses will be absorbed by the populace; with no one the wiser. There are more important things to discuss now that Cronus has reassured us all is under control. Our venture capitalist fellows are being quite clever, and are tapping into retirement assets to use for growth expansion. We need to keep forcing the 401k concept. Let the people think they are managing their retirement funds by being able to purchase higher risk growth stocks, and by investing in IPOs. Did you realize that the Teacher’s retirement system in Georgia is the largest source of venture capital in Georgia? With restrictive vesting requirements, the employer matching portion stays in the fund when the employees leave - if they aren’t vested. With higher turnovers, vesting doesn’t happen, and the fund has grown in a major way. Again, it’s a great way to re-channel tax receipts through legal budget expenditures. This is the same case in our Insurance company funds. There is tons of untapped money in these retirement systems. By giving the workers the opportunity to invest as they please.......in our mutual funds, and stocks.....we pull revenue from both the employee, and from taxes. Then, we get the tax rates raised to cover the losses in revenues, and everyone is happy. The workers feel like they are managing their futures, and we tap into great amounts of working capital......risk free to us. And, if the investment stock goes bad......who cares? Who can they blame? Only themselves. Its brilliant, and fool proof.....although there are fools involved, of course.”
Mercury spoke up before anyone else could.
“Aren’t you already tapping the workers through higher purchases, and high interest rates? There has to be a limit, isn’t there? They can’t possibly be squeezed further without troubles.”
“That's the beauty of it all......they are being bitten by the possession thing....big time! Their desires seem to be insatiable, and they are willing to work however harder to get more; and, they think to get rich. The marketing campaigns are going well.....purchases, and general spending, are at all-time highs. With women so prevalent in the workforce now, there are often two incomes per household.......so, they are easy to entice into spending more. The sky is the limit. Our retail business is astronomical.....especially in luxury goods. The marketing is working great to increase consumption. In the household disposable/deplete-able food and supplies segment, we are getting 500% returns by branding products, and through inventive packaging.....therefore effectively conveying perceived status in their purchase. For durable goods, appliances, and cars we finance them easily. If they don’t keep up on payments, so what? We reposes, then resell the products through our second purchase retailers.....AutoMax with cars, Rents-All with appliances, and Houses-to-Go with furniture. On the second go round, we offer higher interest, 100% financing, to those who couldn’t qualify otherwise......tapping into the lower income groups, and poor credit customers. If they don’t pay, you strong arm them, or repo and resell again. Sometimes we even resell them three or four times, can you see the size of those profit margins? So the point is, that we need as much manufacturing capacity as you can provide. And, you need to be prepared to move assembly to low cost labor areas - regardless of where the natural resources originate, or where the end products are to be sold. Think globally, think big....really big. Then, double it. We need to keep pricing at the level the market will bear.....not too high, we don’t want to stifle demand. But, that doesn’t mean that you won’t get huge profits.”
Hera spoke for the first time, then.
“So, Hades, how in the hell are you going to keep the environment in stasis? We know the effects of greenhouse gasses now on the biosphere, and with rampant strip mining, deforestation, and factory emissions.....not to mention all of the new cars on the roads....the planet is going to heat up to your namesakes home!”
“Global warming.....pluueeease! This planet can handle a lot more than we are developing. Its better to develop ‘natural’ areas - its a much more productive use of the land. Who needs parks? Who goes to parks anymore? People all over the world are flocking to cities to live. Most never leave a 50 mile radius of where they were born! And, as for global warming, is that so bad? So what if the polar caps shrink? We know its happening; but, it also opens up more areas for oil exploration. When the waters rise a little, low lands will be submerged, but it also means a lot more water for irrigation, eh? Aren’t your factory farms needing more water, and minerals, to produce all your new genetically engineered produce? Farm production, since your land consolidation, has exploded. We have more dairy products and grains than we could ever use.”
“You are right on a few things, we do need more water.....and, the newer crops require a lot of extra ‘ingredients’ to make them pretty and shippable. I’ll reserve judgment for a while.”
Undeterred, Hades went on boldly, to gain a quick consensus.
“So, are we all in agreement on significant increases in factory production; especially in underdeveloped areas?”
“Its the only way. We can’t let the tree huggers pass costly environmental laws before we get firmly established. We can keep them diverted by letting them think they have made sustainable gains in developed countries. Then, we can move into place in the lower cost areas; and, then we can get most of the requirements reversed through international trade law exclusions,” interjected Apollo.
“Clever, quite clever, my lad,” complimented Cronus.
“The last piece of the formula is the oversight groups on the activities of the stock markets; and, IPO and Venture capital initiatives. We can’t have our bureaucratic structure hold all the development back, can we?” asked Hades rhetorically.
“We have to maintain the appearance of an objective market, yet we have to have it flexible enough to provide for healthy, broad, and sweeping expansion! I think Apollo has a few ideas on this.”
“Well, .....” he started; and, then he was abruptly cut off by Hera.
“You are all nuts to even listen to this, much less take it seriously!! We have spent decades getting a reliable system in place.....with adequate checks and balances.....and now you want to bypass it? Crazy.....you are certifiable!!”
“I felt you would disagree with us on this issue, dear Hera,” Hades said condescendingly.
“So, I took the liberty of speaking with everyone individually on this issue, and we all agree that it’s necessary to open up the capital reserves hidden in corporate asset books.....especially the retirement funds, and undervalued assets that have been fully depreciated. We need to fuel our global expansion, and consolidation, efforts. All concerns must fall second to establishing, and retaining, total control of all areas....... so that the entire larger system will work efficiently, and therefore more profitably. The plums are there to picked, we merely need to make the effort - allowing our bright corporate executives, the MBAs and Attorneys, the room they need to handle the asset conversions. We’ll let them think they are quite clever, and entice them with financial successes. We’ll sweep away old, fully depreciated, plant and property assets on corporate books by forcing the sale of the companies; then, the acquiring corporations will reinvest the gains of the sales in new plant and equipment in cheaper labor markets. In this way, we eliminate the old workforces without messy labor union interruptions; and sell off the undervalued physical assets. Trade names, patents, and branded products, can be transferred to new corporations for further exploitation. I think Apollo has been very clever in thinking this all up. Actually, he’s been doing it since 1980, and has worked out the bugs so we can go full scale now. He even has the economists calling it ‘efficient market theory.’ It’s all about growth, power, being profitable, and economic conquest. It’ll be all over before anyone can figure out what happened, if they ever do.....or even care when they do. By then they’ll be invested in the system, and will understand that their standard of living will decrease significantly if they get any pangs of conscience. It’s legal, anonymous, and therefore unassailable; and it fuels our consumption engine to supremacy. The key is to have the expansion into third world countries look like a great economic opportunity to them; and to keep the annoying environmentalists, and other extremists, distracted and fragmented so that they’re kept ineffective. It’s easy to turn these groups in upon themselves; and to keep them going in circles on silly looking legal initiatives. We even help fund some of them, so that we can place our own subversive personnel within them. It’s almost amusing to play with them.....”
Hera quickly responded.
“I consider it short sighted, inhumane, economic debauchery!“
Turning on Zeus, Hera asked him directly: “Even you agreed to this? Why wasn’t I consulted?”
The pain in her voice was audible, as her voice began to tremble at the apparent betrayal.
“Hades has been rather generous with his overstatement of our discussions; and is now only putting all the pieces together for us all. Unfortunately, I now see that its unavoidable to fight him on this. My agreement was to utilize the excess military manufacturing capacity. We have whole industries of people dependant upon those factories, and to shut them down would not only expose their large presence, but would be economically devastating for the affected areas.....particularly
“Then, to continue with my recommendation?” offered Apollo quietly, but firmly.
"Ok, then.... I agree with Hera enough to say that everything shouldn’t be circumvented....if only for perception purposes...they all must believe that they are driving these changes. Part of the problem with an educated workforce is that you have to have very clever and subtle plans that can’t be connected together; and if that happens from time to time, we need to have ways to buy them off - so its in their interest to keep quiet. If that doesn’t work, then we discredit them, and/or resort to firmer measures. But I think we all agree that a willing and eager servant who thinks he’s independent is much better than a beaten one. So, I recommend that we increase consulting services for oversight accounting firms and insiders; so that there’s only positive monetary incentives to be more relaxed, and less restrictive. If they know that their clients, our corporations, are supportive of their efforts and there aren’t any possible penalties in the market oversight areas; then they’ll of course take the profits. It means making a few of them modestly rich, but minor to our interests. Stock brokerages stand to make the most money, since their turns of stocks increases through the huge activity increases associated with individual 401k transactions. Additionally, all will benefit from the fees and charges associated with getting IPOs up and running. What real work is there to do in due diligence and public filing preparations, for new companies who have a clear business plan and ready buyers in line? Its easy money for them. They’ll swallow it hook, line and sinker.”
“Won’t they be ‘feeding from both ends of the trough,’ so to speak? Asked Mercury inquisitively.
“Oui, but of course!” said Zeus.
“That’s the clever aspect of it all. All parts are sewn up neatly before you even float the paper. Apollo has been very clever in this strategy. We all win. Everyone gets profits, and therefore everyone is happy.”
“Sounds like a done deal to me,” said Cronus confidently.
“Can we wrap this up? I have some pressing things to resolve.”
“Oui, it is resolved. We’re all in accordance on this new strategy, and we should move ahead as quickly as possible.”
Then, speaking directly to Hypnos, Zeus asked: “Are you ready to produce all the goods we need? Are you committed to this economic development initiative?”
Nodding with barely suppressed glee, Hypnos replied: “Yes, indeed! We have over one billion workers. Very industrious. Very cheap labor. Very easy manage, they give no problem. We have no bothersome restrictions on business. We need University, we need to continue to exchange student and worker everywhere to learn your method - so we can do them at home. You give us knowledge, technology, and resources, and we build anything....cheap. But good! We win, win!” he said jovially.
“En effet!” said Zeus conclusively. We are done here today. Goodbye......”
©Tibet,
***************
©Tibet, Lamplight Unto a Darkened World…the American Delusion, a Parody of life ( L'illusion Américaine, une Parodie de Vie); is copyright protected, by author, Patrick Mahoney. Online Internet Reproduction/Propagation/Quotation Encouraged, with this citation. Any Printed reproduction, other than for personal reading, requires written permission by author, patrickm at http://patrickm.gather.com/ or patrick1000000000@yahoo.com
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