1850 American Gold Tycoon

California's population is mainly concentrated in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento and nearby satellite cities. Radius

Among them, the Jinshan Bay metropolitan area centered on San Francisco has a population of 350,000, making it truly the first city in the west.

The Los Angeles metropolitan area, which rose due to oil, has a population of about 270,000, ranking second.

The capital, Sacramento, has a population of about 120,000, temporarily ranking third.

In terms of tax revenue, Los Angeles contributes more tax revenue to California than San Francisco, ranking first.

It’s just that the tax revenue contributed by Los Angeles to California is only slightly more than that of San Francisco. After all, San Francisco has a relatively complete set of industries. It is unrealistic for Los Angeles to simply rely on the petrochemical industry to leave San Francisco behind.

However, it is an indisputable fact that San Lo and San Francisco contribute more than 70% of California’s tax revenue.

“The federal government suspected that the California Customs Service was involved in corruption. The President and the Department of the Treasury called our state government and the Department of Finance to say that their commissioner was on his way to California, accompanied by a congressman. radi

President Fillmore and Secretary Conrad asked us to cooperate with their investigation at that time. "

California’s God of Wealth, State Treasurer Deng Wenyu, reported to Liang Yaohui who was looking through California’s fiscal year 1855 financial report.

If there is anything that unites America in this era, there is only one answer, and that is tariffs.

The Bureau of Customs is not an agency under the California government, but is the most important department under the federal government's Department of the Treasury.

More than half of the federal government's fiscal revenue comes from tariffs, so the Bureau of Customs is basically equivalent to most of the Ministry of Finance. The federal government has always attached great importance to the Bureau of Customs.

The Bureau of Customs is also the only department in the United States that has branches in every state port. Its official number of employees (customs directors, senior officers, general officers, customs supervisors, dockmasters, inspectors, clerks and other employees) exceeds 1,000 , is the most overstaffed of all government departments in the United States.

The highest-ranking official in the Bureau of Customs is the Commissioner of Customs, a position that requires not only presidential appointment but also congressional approval. Radius

Even in the appointment of customs directors in various state branches, Congress sometimes interferes, especially in wealthy states with developed foreign trade and considerable customs revenue.

After 1852, California was one of the states that the federal government's Customs Service focused on.

Especially after the petrochemical industry developed in Los Angeles, the federal government's Department of Finance, which had a nose as sharp as a dog's, opened another customs branch in Los Angeles that year.

"Is it suspected or true?" Liang Yao asked directly.

The Anti-Smuggling Bureau and the Customs Bureau under the Ministry of Finance often have working contacts. Whether the California Customs Bureau is corrupt or not, Deng Wenyu, the state's Finance Minister, must know some inside information.

"It's true." Deng Wenyu said with great certainty.

"These grandsons of the California Customs Service are so greedy. They are brazenly trying to get money by taking advantage of the sky and the president's distance. Last year I conservatively estimated that California's customs revenue would be 3.3 million U.S. dollars. Minister Conrad called and said that these bastards last year We handed over US$1.23 million in tariffs. radi

No wonder a little inspector from the Bureau of Customs bought a villa in Los Angeles without blinking an eye. "

With a tariff of US$3.3 million a year, it’s no wonder that the state Treasury has always been jealous of tariff revenue, which is almost three-quarters of California’s annual fiscal revenue.

In the 1850s, the U.S. federal government's tariffs were relatively high, basically above 25%. Therefore, the U.S.'s tariff revenue also increased accordingly.

The reason for this result is also related to the fact that the northern bourgeoisie has gained more seats in Congress. Although successive federal governments have ostensibly claimed to protect northern industries from the impact of the European continent, they must also protect southern plantations. to ensure that cotton, sugar cane, and tobacco from the south can be exported abroad smoothly.

But there are so many things in this world that both want and want.

In fact, we negotiate every year whether the new tariff rate will be higher year by year. To put it bluntly, it is to take care of the north.

Especially after the passage of the Morton-Morrill Tariff Act in 1857, American tariffs reached a historical peak. Radius

To protect domestic manufacturing and agriculture from foreign competition, the bill increased tariff rates on many imported goods by more than 50%.

"Are our people involved?" Liang Yao asked with a frown.

For a corruption case involving more than 2 million US dollars, it is no wonder that the federal government would specifically intervene and send special personnel to investigate.

If this case is established, it will definitely be the largest corruption case involving the amount of money since the founding of the United States.

Liang Yaoyou had heard that the director of the California branch of the Customs Bureau was the hottest position at the moment, even more popular than the director of the New York branch and the director of the General Administration.

The reasons are self-evident.

That is, California is too far from Washington, and the transportation between the east and west is inconvenient, which can easily create conditions for corruption for these corrupt elements. Radius

The California Customs Bureau was so greedy that Liang Yao would not believe it if Fillmore and Conrad knew nothing about it.

Now is the presidential election. Fillmore is investigating the California Customs Bureau at this time. He just wants to wipe his butt clean before leaving office, so as not to leave any clues to the next president and the government.

"I keep an eye on the people under the State Finance Department, and their hands and feet are relatively clean." Deng Wenyu said with confidence.

"Besides, the tariff money won't go into our pockets. The biggest intersection between the state Department of Finance and the California Bureau of Customs is nothing more than the people from the Anti-Smuggling Bureau having a meal and a drink after completing the anti-smuggling work with the Customs Bureau."

"It's fine if it doesn't happen. This is a matter for their federal government. They can mess with it as they please." Liang Yao was shocked by the corruption in the California Customs Bureau, but he didn't take it too seriously.

What Deng Wenyu said makes sense. After all, the money for tariffs is still money from the federal government and has nothing to do with California. If it does, he will investigate it thoroughly and will never tolerate it.

The problem is that the Customs Bureau is a key department under the federal government’s Ministry of Finance, and state-level governments and legislators have no right to supervise or interfere. Radius

Of course, as a California congressman, Liang Yao has the right to supervise the Customs Bureau. If he insists on supervising it, it is not impossible that he cannot supervise it.

However, he was already too busy with matters in California, and he didn't have to worry too much about the federal government's money bags.

"Last year, the state government still had a surplus of US$1.06 million. It is possible to allocate US$150,000 to state universities. But third brother, you have to think clearly about this. This is allocated to state universities every year. US$150,000 is not a one-time deal," Deng Wenyu said.

"Think it through. If you have no objections, we can vote with everyone and go through the process when the state assembly meets another day." Liang Yao nodded and immediately asked, "How much fiscal surplus has the state government had in total in the past few years?"

"After repaying the loans from Bank of America and Bank of Boston, the state government still has a surplus of US$1.85 million." Deng Wenyu replied without thinking.

In the early years, California had a three-year tax exemption policy for industrial and mining enterprises. Therefore, the period when industrial and mining enterprises could not be taxed before 1853 was the most difficult financial period for the California state government.

At that time, the state government borrowed $1.5 million from Bank of America and Bank of Boston to tide over the crisis. Radius

"1.85 million US dollars is enough." Liang Yao is quite satisfied with this figure. "Use this money to establish a state bank. In the future, whether it is issuing banknotes or managing state financial debts, it will be more convenient for the state bank to take part."

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, state banks were banks created by state governments to provide lending and savings services to promote local economic development.

These banks often work closely with state governments and enjoy certain privileges and immunities. For example, some state banks may issue bonds to state governments or obtain guarantees from state governments.

It can be simply understood that these state banks are equivalent to the central banks of each state.

Before 1913, before the establishment of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), these state banks, as well as federally and state-chartered banks, had assumed the functions of a central bank.

It is worth mentioning that the state banks in the United States do not mean that each state has only one state bank. The number and size of state banks vary from state to state. Some states have only one or a few, while some states have multiple state banks. .

With the establishment of the Federal Reserve, after the federal government centralized central bank power to the central government, these state banks either went bankrupt or closed during the economic crisis or financial turmoil, or gradually evolved into commercial banks, or were acquired by other banks. Radius

For example, Citibank was formerly the State Bank of New York founded in 1791.

Another example is Wells Fargo, whose predecessor was the State Bank of Massachusetts founded in 1811.

"California already has two chartered banks. Is it unnecessary to establish a state bank?" Deng Wenyu said after a moment of silence.

California's two chartered banks were the Bank of America and the Bank of Boston, which held the right to coin coins and the exclusive right to issue government bonds.

"It's not a waste of time. In the final analysis, chartered banks are still chartered banks, not banks' banks." Liang Yao said, "Formulating monetary policies, supervising the financial system, and maintaining financial stability, it is more appropriate for state banks to take charge of these matters."

"We in California have always been very stable. Are you saying there will be changes soon?"

Deng Wenyu had a very keen sense of smell. Liang Yao's establishment of a state bank at this juncture was definitely not a whim. Radius

"Who can say for sure what will happen in the future?" Liang Yao did not deny this and continued to ask.

“Who have been our biggest trade partners in California over the past four years?”

The ten-year cycle of cyclical economic crises is the curse of capitalism that has been inescapable since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

California was able to rise rapidly in the first six years of the 1850s. In addition to its unique resource advantages, California was also an important reason for riding the fast train of American economic development.

In 1850, the United States had just emerged from the last economic crisis. Under the leadership of the emerging industry of railroads, the American economy was making rapid progress. All walks of life showed a prosperous and vibrant scene, and capitalists across the United States were caught up in a carnival. .

Few people are aware of the crisis hidden beneath the prosperity. Overexpansion of bank credit, overinvestment in railway construction, and falling cotton prices were three long-buried landmines that would trigger a new round of economic crisis in 1857 and burst the bubbles in the banking and railway industries. Neither the South nor the North is immune.

If he wants California's economy to continue to maintain high growth and continue to attract more immigrants, Liang Yao must find a way to make California immune to this economic crisis. Radius

At least try to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis in the East on California.

"The Qing Dynasty, Britain, France, and Japan." Deng Wenyu thought for a moment and said, "But the eastern region is our largest trading partner. Because domestic tariffs are not high, most companies' products are still more competitive domestically."

"Find ways to reduce our dependence on the east. In addition, we will send notices to the banks in this state to reduce investment in the Eastern Railway Company from next month and withdraw capital as soon as possible." Liang Yao said.

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