At one dinner, at the dinner table, Bart and Angel discussed voting. Next year is the year of the general election, and as emerging entrepreneurs, they must pay attention to the establishment of the next government.

"I think we should support the Republican Party, because their governing philosophy is more in line with the interests of our big business." Bart held up the steel fork in his hand and said as he ate.

Angel was a little upset when she heard this, and she said, "You are rich now, so you will say this." But you can't just think about yourself, you have to think about the situation of others, especially the poor. ”

The Republican Party is a party that favors the wealthy, and usually the high-wage earners and capitalists vote for the Republican Party, because this party advocates tax cuts, so the people who make more money are the ones who benefit. In addition, the Republican Party is a hawkish party in the United States, which likes to fight, and the main supporters of the Republican Party are arms dealers and oil dealers.

The Democratic Party is different, this party is mainly for the sake of the middle and lower classes, advocating for high-income groups to raise taxes to provide benefits to low-income families, so as to balance the income gap between all classes in the United States.

"Alex, do you think it's better to support the Republican Party or the Democrats?" Bart didn't want to argue with his wife, so he threw the topic to his eldest son next to him.

Alex thought for a moment and said, "No one supports it, I'm not old enough to vote." ”

Many times, when Alex faces reporters, he is always asked about his political leanings and whether he supports the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. When asked this question, Alex always laughs and says, "I'm still young and don't have voting rights yet." I don't know much about either party. ”

The Carpenter would talk about it over dinner because they were asked it on a variety of occasions. The Carpenter family has also grown to the point where they can influence elections, and their fortunes are so large that they can support the entire election expenses of a candidate in a certain constituency with only a small fraction.

In the United States, people who don't care about elections are people who don't have status. A person of position who ignores the election and distances himself from the election campaign is likely to be excluded from his original class.

Alex's contact with Howard Hughes during this time allowed him to peek into a corner of American upper class. He used to think that as long as he worked hard to make money and was honest, he would be able to live freely. In retrospect, that thought was naïve.

When Hughes chatted with him, he consciously or unconsciously revealed the cruelty of the struggle at the top. Hughes, in particular, had to fight with the CEO of Pan Am for the sake of Global Airlines. At that time, the CEO of Pan Am Air Lines, in collusion with members of the U.S. Congress, tried to put pressure on Hughes to monopolize the operation of air routes in the United States.

In the face of heavy pressure, Hughes did not give in, but continued to fight, and as a result, the other party's means were endless. Investigations, searches, interrogations, etc., put Hughes on his back, and he was determined to make sure that his plane flew into the sky.

In this struggle, Hughes's office and home were searched by government personnel, and he had to go to court to face the commission of inquiry, and finally defeated his enemies with the fact that Hercules planes could fly.

Hughes didn't offend anyone, he just got in the way of other people's money. His company was so big that it became a stumbling block for others, who saw him as a thorn in the side. In the face of this kind of pressure, normal people can become abnormal, let alone Hughes.

The Carpenter family has risen too fast, and in just six years, it has already had assets of more than 100 million, which can't help but make people a little hot. Many newspapers and radio stations have begun to feature them to attract more people's attention. This put a lot of pressure on the Carpenter family, and all the newspaper and TV viewers were asking "how did the Carpenter family get rich" and "where did they live".

Crowds of journalists and photojournalists gathered around their neighborhood, trying to capture a picture of Carpenter's family.

They also received calls and letters from relatives and friends they had never heard of, from all over the world, who were trying to reap some advantage from the Carpenters. There are also all kinds of scammers surrounding them, trying to extort a sum of money.

Luckily, when Bart saw this, he immediately moved and hired bodyguards to protect them. The Carpenter brothers were also forbidden to appear in public, and it took a long time for curiosity about the Carpenter family to diminish slightly. The scammers who tried to gain advantage found that they could not get close to them, so they also scattered.

However, there is still an invisible pressure that makes them breathless all the time. The pressure is coming from all sides, and not only Alex is aware of it, but Bart and Angel are also starting to worry about all kinds of troublesome things. They are like children who have no ability to protect themselves, walking in the downtown with their daughters, and many people are eager to move on their wealth.

The Carpenter family may be at peace for a while, but if they want to be at peace for a lifetime, they must have the ability to protect themselves. The easiest way is to take sides, whether it is an elephant or a donkey, and after having its own political position and party affiliation, at least it can withstand a lot of malicious attacks.

A better way to do this is to control public opinion and reduce public appearances. Even if there is a news report, try to report something positive. People from the era of the information explosion will not be unaware of the importance of public opinion. To a certain extent, controlling public opinion is equivalent to having the ability to manipulate public opinion.

After Alex figured it out, he approached his parents and said, "Let's buy a newspaper or a radio station!" ”

In this day and age, the main channels through which people receive information are reading newspapers and listening to the radio. If you want to control public opinion, it's best to have a newspaper or radio station.

Unfortunately, very few people think about it. Alex's suggestion was not approved by the Carpenters. They think that the Carpenter family has enough money now, and they can't manage it at all if they buy newspapers or radio stations or whatever.

"Why do you want a newspaper or a radio station?" Angel asked, knowing that her eldest son would not do useless things.

Alex thought about it for a moment and told his parents what he thought. He believes that if the Carpenter family had one or two newspapers or radio stations, it might be able to influence other people's perception of the Carpenter family, or at least let people know the good side.

After hearing this, Angel shook his head and said, "Things will not be as simple as you think, one or two small newspapers and radio stations will not make a difference." You have to become the leading boss in the country to be able to influence public opinion, but in terms of our family's current wealth, it is simply too self-sufficient to want to play this kind of thing now. ”

Bart also nodded in agreement, it was not that they did not think about controlling public opinion, but they were powerless. They can only influence government policy by supporting their own candidates, and then let the government protect the Carpenter family's property.

Now the Carpenter family's industry has developed to a bottleneck, they seem to be very powerful and rich, but in fact, as long as the government comes down with a policy, they can make their industry disappear. The Carpenter family is now like a castle on the beach, which is washed away by the waves.

"Son, the electronic products produced by our Carpenter Electronics Company have caused many companies to go bankrupt and go out of business. If we want to be able to continue driving, we have to hug the thighs of the military tightly and let them keep buying our products. Computers, in particular, are happy with this kind of thing. Bart put his hand on Alex's shoulder and spoke his thoughts.

After a pause, he continued: "But this alone will not work, so we have to participate in this election. Place a good bet, if you win, we can go smoothly, if we lose, then it may end here. ”

"Aren't our products always good? Those people want to ask us for bribes? Alex didn't have any experience in this area after all, and he didn't quite understand why Bart was involved in the election.

Angel laughed too, and she now found Alex to be less intelligent in some ways, explaining, "Your father is saying that if the Carpenter family wants to go further, they have to be actively involved in politics. I ask you, what is the purpose of the election? ”

"Elect the president of our new man?"

"This is just one of the points, the purpose of the elections is to bring to power people who represent our interests. Everyone has the right to vote, but the choices of the poor and the rich are certainly not the same, and the people they choose are not the same. So in order for your own people to be able to come to power, you have to invest and bet! You get the idea, right? ”

Angel's words made Alex somewhat understandable. Who told him that he came from a country that had the right to vote but had never fulfilled the election, and in his previous life, he had not thought about what the election had to do with him. But in the United States, it's different, where everyone is concerned about the election process and the outcome because it's in their own interest for years to come.

It's normal to provide campaign money to your own candidates. Of course, the government will allocate a sum of money, but this money is simply not enough. So the candidate pulls sponsorship from the voters, which is something that everyone does. In an election year, the wealthy are busy attending sponsorship gatherings, and at such times, candidates try to explain their governing policies and win over the majority in order to win campaign donations.

But the people who sponsor the campaign funds are not living Lei Feng, they are willing to give money because they want to support their own agents to come to power. In this way, after the bet is successful, the policy carried out by the agent will be tilted in favor of himself. Gun dealers, for example, don't donate to candidates advocating for a gun ban. Oilers don't want to limit emissions or anything, chemical companies hate environmental policies, and so on.

If the Carpenter family does not participate in the election, then others will definitely not take care of the Carpenter family after they come to power. It's not bad if you don't get in the way, and if you want to get policy tilt, that's a dream!

Regardless, Alex was a little uncomfortable with this kind of political activity, and he knew that his parents were doing the right thing. However, he just couldn't help but want to solve the problem with his own way. He still wants to protect the Carpenter family by controlling public opinion.