Chapter 621: The Friendship Between the Richest Man and the President's Family (Part I)
Marvin Bush is the fourth and youngest son of Bush Sr. His full name should be Marvin Pierce Bush. Those who are familiar with the names of Anglo-American countries must know that in addition to Westerners who like to use the names of respected elders to name their newborn children, middle names generally have a special meaning.
For example, Marvin Pierce Bush, Pierce comes from his maternal grandfather, and it is also the surname of Bush Jr.'s maternal grandfather. Many people may know that the wife of Bush Sr., now the first lady of the United States, is called Barbara Bush.
But before Barbara married Bush Sr., her original name was Barbara Pierce. Her father's uncle was none other than Franklin Pearce, the 14th president of the United States.
In the long-term and unremitting propaganda of the cents, there is often such a misunderstanding among the Chinese people. Politics is not a popular way out in the United States, and being an official in the United States is a thankless thing.
Because the elected officials in the United States are so miserable, in addition to being easy to see and curry favor with voters, they are also attacked by the media at every turn. Even if someone invites you to a meal, more than $10 is considered a bribe, as if the American official is the reincarnation of Bao Qingtian.
These people's mathematics must have been taught by physical education teachers, and they don't understand probability or normal distribution! China's more than 2,000 years of history has produced only one Bao Qingtian and one Yu Qian, and there is no reason why the United States has Bao Qingtian everywhere! Could it be that American feng shui is particularly good?
According to the cents, the most popular professions in the United States are undoubtedly lawyers and doctors. Lawyers, in particular, have a gritted tooth for the profession, but everyone wants to go to law school. Because that means a good income, a life in high society!
However, the cents did not analyze the real logic thoroughly, what is the next career plan after becoming a lawyer? Politics is undoubtedly a very bright choice!
Among the presidents of the United States, there is no doubt that the profession with the most origins is lawyer! In the previous Congresses, the proportion of lawmakers was even higher!
Are American lawyers more dedicated than other professions in the United States? Are they more willing to bow down and be public servants of the American people without expecting anything in return?
Don't be funny, lawyers are moths and vampires who play with the law in the eyes of Americans!
The truly reasonable explanation should be that lawyers have crossed the threshold for entering the US political arena, and that the majority of Americans are not enthusiastic about being officials, but that they are not qualified at all! The political system in the United States is very different from that in China, and the real power of the government at the bottom is very small.
What is the difference between the so-called election of the mayor at the age of 18 advertised in the newspapers, a city with only a few thousand or even a few hundred people, and the larger administrative villages in China? How much power and influence do you think the village chief can have?
If you want to really touch the threshold of American politics, you have to at least hold elections at the state level! But this level has already begun to rise to the competition of parties and circles, and it is logical that ordinary people are excluded!
Politics in the United States is naked gold dollar politics, where the financiers provide money to politicians, and politicians use the money to promote their ideas. And after they have coaxed the voters to get the votes, they will use the power in their hands to give the financiers corresponding rewards!
Of course, the politicians themselves must also be making a lot of money, but Westerners have been practicing democracy for hundreds of years. Stupid enough to reach out and embezzle, that was a popular tactic in the early twentieth century when the fool Harding was president.
Today's American politicians are much smarter than their predecessors, and they can realize their power very legally!
Taking US presidents as an example, after leaving office, they can publish books and give speeches, and there will always be people who pay high royalties and appearance fees! As for who these presidents are willing to spend a lot of money to invite an outdated president to show his face, it is worth playing! Anyway, there is an irrefutable fact, that is, with one or two exceptions, most US presidents can live a rich and prosperous life after retirement!
If the president is too high-profile and has to have some scruples after retirement, his appearance will not be so ugly! Those former congressmen and former ministers obviously do not have this restriction, and they organize a lobbying company in groups of three or five to divide up billions or even tens of billions of dollars in lobbying funds provided by multinational corporations, various trade unions, associations, and even some foreign forces every year.
Through the contacts they have accumulated when they were engaged in politics, they have accelerated the introduction of policies and bills that are in line with the interests of the financiers, and the policies and plans that are not in the interests of the financiers are stillborn! The most ironic thing is that their behavior, as well as the protection of the "Lobbying Law," can be carried out in a righteous and bright way!
Li Xuan understands very well the truth that politics and business are not separated, and he and the Eastern Bloc are equivalent to playing away games in the United States, so it is particularly important to follow the customs of the locals! How can he, a businessman from Hong Kong, win the friendship of such an old political family as the Bush family?
Of course, it relied on a huge dollar check! This money can also be divided into two parts, one part of which is provided by Li Xuan himself. This part is truly indescribable, because under American law, he, a foreigner, cannot interfere in American elections.
But this huge amount of cash checks was handed over by Li Xuan to Bush Sr. or Bush Jr. As for how the Bush family is whitewashed, then he just asks. Because no third party knows, and the Bush family has a high power, it is actually very safe!
And in addition to this humane approach, the Eastern Bloc is deeply involved in the elections in the United States in a legal way. Some of its subsidiaries belong to U.S. corporations, and they can set up political action committees (PACs) under the rights granted by U.S. election laws to legally fund corporation-backed political parties and candidates, with no upper limit!
What can PAC do? Except for not being able to directly shout "We support so-and-so candidate", it can do everything else! It can help him do all kinds of positive propaganda and advertising, and can help him do all kinds of advertisements to smear his competitors!
According to the statistics of the relevant media in the United States, the total amount of political action committees of various groups ranked among the top of major companies in the United States, whether it was in the presidential election in '88 or in the midterm elections this year.
However, unlike Li Xuan, who was clearly labeled by the media as a Republican supporter, the Eastern Bloc invested almost the same amount of money on both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. This is also in line with the practice of most companies in the United States, betting on both ends, no matter which one comes to power, it will not suffer!
"Before explaining the problem of my relationship with the Bush family, I would like to correct one problem! At present, certain malicious remarks are constantly describing the Eastern Bloc as a robber who steals Americans' jobs.
One of the facts I want to illustrate is that since the Eastern Bloc entered the American market, it has provided tens of thousands of jobs for the American people! When we bought RCA, we promised not to lay off employees for a few years, and in fact we have done exactly that!
Although some of the positions were cancelled due to the business adjustment of RCA in the later period, at the same time, new jobs kept appearing. Generally speaking, we do not have the so-called hostile mergers and acquisitions to reduce the employment opportunities of the American people!
This era is in the period of global economic integration and the third major adjustment of the international industrial division of labor. It is a very normal thing that some low-end industries are gradually dying out in the United States! Some people will only tell the public that the textile market in the United States has been taken away by Asian countries, but they do not explain that everyone's spending on clothing has also declined.
Many of the companies under the Oriental Group are listed in the United States, generating a steady stream of income for American shareholders and investors. But there are always some people who want to use the label of "foreign company" to attack us non-stop!
For example, I have been described by them as an unscrupulous politician who has colluded with foreign businessmen to betray the interests of US enterprises! I have never denied that I have a friendship with the Bush family, but this friendship is pure and can withstand the investigation of the US Congress and the judiciary!"
Li Xuan said righteously. Because of his mysterious approach just now, everyone is now very careful when listening to his explanation, and he does not want to miss a word.
"The media in the United States described me as a hardcore Republican supporter, because I was always reported to be with Republicans! This is actually a big misunderstanding, I am an entrepreneur who runs a huge multinational company, and I often have to deal with various government departments in the United States!
But since 1980, the United States has been governed by the Republican Party. From the former President Reagan to the current President Bush, there are very few Democrats among the government officials they appointed! This has deprived me of the opportunity to get in touch with the Democrats!
In terms of personal friendships, the Democrat I have closest ties to is Senator Al Gore of Tennessee. The reason why we had the opportunity to cross paths was because of the strict scrutiny of the U.S. Congress when we acquired RCA! Mr. Gore was still a member of the House of Representatives at the time, and it was because of this that we met!
Those who are familiar with the history of the development of the Oriental Group must know that when the Eastern Group entered the American market, it encountered a big crisis! At that time, we launched a home game console, yes, the FC-1 game console, which later sold all over the United States!
As a result, Atari took advantage of their monopoly position in the American home console market to prepare to forcibly ban us. They demanded that game console dealers across the United States were not allowed to sell FC-1 game consoles!
If we had done that to American companies, they would have sued the US Department of Justice a long time ago, and then the anti-monopoly stick would have fallen on the head of the Eastern Bloc! But at that time, the Eastern Bloc, as a fledgling new enterprise, had not yet encountered such despicable means!
In the end, we managed to beat Atari with the excellent entertainment experience of the FC-1 console, but I also learned a lesson from this encounter. That is, I should take the initiative to communicate with the US government departments to protect my legitimate rights and interests!
President George W. Bush was preparing for the 1980 Republican primary, and it was in this city that Austin hosted a dinner party, to which an agent representing the arcade business in the Texas area was invited.
So I asked him to take me with him to dinner, and that was the beginning of my friendship with the Bush family!"