Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York.

night~

Southeastern Manhattan, on the Brooklyn Bridge connecting Brooklyn.

Next to several police cars with their lights flashing, Cohen from the DA security company led several soldiers wearing body armor and heavily armed to find Superintendent Oston, the head of the auxiliary police office.

Cohen took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to Alston, and asked.

"Why are you the only one here?"

"Where are the people from other bureaus?"

Auston smiled and shrugged, lit the cigarette with the lighter provided by Cohen, and said.

"Tonight, there are still many places where they are needed..."

"I'm here... isn't it nice?"

"Oh~" Cohen nodded as if in agreement.

He fiddled with the cigarette with his fingertips, looked around, pointed in a direction and asked again.

"Let's go there~"

"If anything happens, can you call me on the walkie-talkie?"

"Okay~" Auston glanced at Cohen and nodded without any hesitation.

"..." Cohen looked into the distance, waited for 2 minutes while smoking a cigarette, then flicked the cigarette butt away, tilted his head and looked at Auston and asked.

"Don't you want to say something?"

"..." Auston looked down at the cigarette in his hand and remained silent without saying anything~

"Okay~" Cohen shrugged indifferently, turned around and led the soldiers to a street store under the bridge.

. . .

Cohen and others left.

Auston leaned against the car with a solemn expression, looking far away to the southernmost tip of Brooklyn.

----

Brooklyn, the southernmost point of Allston.

Brighton Beach.

Vertically from north to south, there are almost no pedestrians on the dozen or so roads leading to Brighton Beach~

Many residents living in the apartment buildings on the street seemed to feel that it would be extremely "cold" tonight, and they all hid quietly in their homes and locked their doors. .

Fourth Street.

A dozen young men wearing light coats and hats, holding pistols with their hands behind their backs, were sticking to the darker areas on both sides of the street, trotting towards the Caribbean Club on the north side. .

At the same time~

On the east coast of Brighton Beach, five cars speeding from the north made a right turn onto the street in front of the Caribbean Club.

When they were about to pass in front of the Caribbean Club, the leading car suddenly turned the steering wheel towards the street and slowed down a bit. The person sitting in the back seat of the car took the opportunity to throw two plastic bags out of the car window towards the door of the club. bucket.

After the four cars in front flew away, two figures poked out of the window of the last car~

One of them dropped the lit Molotov cocktail on the ground among several plastic barrels. .

The other held a submachine gun of unknown model, pointed it at several plastic barrels in front of the club, and pulled the trigger. .

"Da da da da~"

Dozens of bullets, like raindrops, instantly exploded the plastic bucket on the ground~

The thick liquid mixed with gasoline + sugar in the barrel immediately burned quickly when it encountered the flames of the gasoline incendiary bottle.

In an instant, the front door of the Caribbean Club was once again engulfed in flames. .

----

On the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii.

Evening~

Honolulu Island, Waikiki Beach.

Amid the fiery red sunset, the cool sea breeze made many people who spent the day at the beach feel unprecedentedly comfortable and relaxed.

Attorney George F. McCarron sat up from a beach chair and waved to the family members in the distance, indicating that it was time for them to go back~

After hearing her son's call, George's mother pulled her husband and called out to her little son who was playing in the waves.

After half an hour.

Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

As soon as George led his family to the front of the hotel, he saw Roland Perkins and Donald D. Klein from CAA Company, walking out laughing.

"Hi~"

"Such a coincidence!"

"Are you going out?" George said hello to the two of them first.

"Uh...Hi! George."

"Just in time, we were still thinking about where to find you..." Roland Perkins said in a very relaxed tone after hearing George's voice.

"Oh?"

"You are looking for me...?"

"Yes~"

Klein took the initiative to step forward, briefly greeted George's family, then turned to George and smiled.

"The gardener found me and wanted me to help find you and Roland so we can have dinner together at David's house~"

"Uh..." George looked back at his family, thought for a moment, nodded and smiled.

"Ok!"

"Let's go to the room upstairs and change clothes, and we'll come down soon... okay?"

"Of course~"

"Ok!"

. . .

398 Corudilla Avenue, Honolulu Island.

Lawn in the yard.

Butler Acklade once again lit up the rows of lanterns.

Cui Yingying held little Lindsay in her arms, standing next to the barbecue stove, looking at a large pan, and said helplessly and angrily.

"This is how to do ah.."

"Haha~" Next to her, Elena, holding little Bernice in her arms, couldn't help laughing.

"The stove and pot you mentioned... I've seen them in Chinatown, London~"

"But we have searched all the shops on the island and can't find it..."

"Yes." Cui Yingying sighed with her lips pursed, turning her head to look at little Lindsay in her arms, pretending to be aggrieved.

"Look, our plan fell through..."

"We can only wait until we return to New York to make hot pot for you."

"Okay~" Little Lindsay stared at the pan for a few seconds, imitated Cui Yingying's tone, and opened her hands to her sister, Little Bernice, in Elena's arms.

"Hey~ we can't have hot pot tonight..."

"..." Little Bernice pouted and rolled her eyes at him, hugged Elena's neck, and asked Cui Yingying in a soft voice.

"Then we can eat it later...fish balls?"

"Of course!"

"Shall we go in and cook the fish balls now?"

"Okay~"

"Hahahaha~" Cui Yingying and Elena laughed when they heard the hint of happiness unconsciously brought out in little Bernice's voice.

It seems that both of them were inspired by David and found the best way to get along with their children ~

. . .

On the second floor of the vacation home, in the study.

David walked to the door, opened it gently, waved to Chasida, the maid outside the door, took a bottle of cold apple juice, and closed the door again.

He walked to the table, poured himself a glass and drank it, then gave Bloomer the apple juice, walked to the phone with his head shaking, and continued.

"What I want to say most today... I've already said it~"

"However, I would like to take a few more minutes of your time to share some of my personal views and feelings from another perspective~"

David held his hands on the table and looked at Giles and Bloomer. After waiting for a few seconds and seeing no movement on the other side of the phone, he said with a smile.

"After reading a lot of information about the last oil crisis, I have been thinking about it..."

"Actually, our country has basically completed the development process of comprehensive industrialization and is about to enter the post-industrial development period of moderately developed countries~"

"What is the definition of a developed country?"

"I believe that developed countries are countries that are at the forefront of the world in terms of economic level, technological level, per capita income and living standards."

"Therefore, developed countries can also be called industrialized countries, or high economic development countries (medc)."

"Since the end of World War II in 1945, the United States has experienced rapid development for more than 20 years~"

"In the past 20 years, many blue-collar worker families only need one person to go out to work to support the whole family."

"They live in a big house bought with a loan, drive a new car bought with installment payment, and the whole family can go wherever they want every weekend~"

"Relatively stable income + long-term stable prices + novelty things that are constantly emerging are all gradually affecting the consumption concepts and value orientation of blue-collar workers' families."

"The objective factors brought about by the development of these times make people seem to be slowly forgetting... the smarter lifestyle of the previous generation!"

"Preparing for a rainy day has become synonymous with conservatism..."

"Positive and optimistic about the future, people seem to be unwilling to make longer-term considerations. Instead, they pay more attention to the present, the life and enjoyment in front of them."

David slowly stood up straight, his hands hanging down naturally, his head slightly lowered, looking at the phone on the table, and said softly.

"But~"

"The unfinished part of my definition of developed countries just now... caused the blue-collar workers after the outbreak of the last oil crisis to enter the most difficult period of work and employment..."

"Another important feature of developed countries is the deindustrialization transformation in the post-industrial development period!"

"Manufacturing, construction, textiles, etc., highly labor-intensive industries will once again usher in a wave of overseas transfers after the United States becomes a moderately developed country!"

"So I think that 73 was a very important turning point of the times for the United States and many countries in the world!"

"It is not difficult to see from our various domestic development data in recent years..."

"Whether it is the government, the president, or various experts and consultants, they all have no good solutions for the rapid deterioration of the economic development situation after 73."

"It seems that all the magical operations they used to do are no longer working..."

"For example: In just two years from 74 to 76, the US government's financial expenditure on welfare food stamps nearly doubled!"

"For another example...around 1950, the average total tax paid by households across the United States only accounted for about 3% of total household income."

"And what is this ratio now?"

David took a deep breath, walked slowly behind Bloomer, who was bowing his head in thought, put his hands on his shoulders, and said.

"The statistical method used to describe the relationship between unemployment and national income was a new invention during the Great Depression."

"It is this discovery that prompts the government to adopt effective policies and measures to intervene forcefully in economic development!"

"Because once the unemployment rate is reported by the media as a percentage of the labor force, it is no longer just a vague social problem."

"Members of Congress must actively stand up and say something or do something in order to give an explanation to the voters who voted for them."

"Even though... they don't know what the problem is at all, they just do it because they have no choice but to do it under various pressures~"

"But from a political point of view, no matter what action we take, it is much better than directly admitting our incompetence to the public."

“So, we might as well get a glimpse into the future here.”

"From my personal point of view, in the future of the United States, difficult times will be a norm that people have to accept, rather than a rare exception~"

"And there are many obvious factors that lead to this~"

"For example: energy prices have risen sharply, leading to a corresponding increase in industrial costs."

“After many years of fixed exchange rates and the transition to floating exchange rates, the violent fluctuations in exchange rates have also increased uncertainty in business development and disputes and frictions in international trade.”

"Today, when the inflation index and unemployment rate have increased significantly, people's consumer demand for cars, housing, household appliances, etc. has begun to weaken significantly, which has directly led to the gradual shrinkage of the total market volume of related industries."

"In addition, the age of marriage and childbearing of our generation has been significantly delayed by several years, which has also led to a slowdown in population growth and a series of long-term social problems~"

"For example: pensions, the question of whether to enter the market!"

"But I think that in addition to these obvious factors, there are two hidden... more dangerous and important factors!"

"The loss of productivity and social understanding..."

"I won't go into details about the issue of productivity..."

"What I am personally more concerned about is that the social consensus and tacit understanding established before 73, under the background of the rapid development of the domestic mixed economy after the war, gradually collapsed with the outbreak of crises one after another. "

"For example: after the Watergate incident was widely exposed by the media, the public's credibility in the government has declined almost visibly."

"For example: after the implementation of floating interest rates, the domestic trade deficit for consecutive years + the total amount of domestic deposits absorbed by foreign banks continued to rise + the foreign exchange speculators in the international currency market triggered a series of chain reactions."

"This has made the public have a big question mark in their minds about whether the government can effectively control exchange rates, inflation, unemployment and other issues."

David exhaled slowly, walked slowly behind Giles, put his hands on his shoulders, turned his head to look at the afterglow of the sunset, and whispered.

"In my opinion, the hundreds of policy memorandums issued by the US government in recent years are basically useless efforts."

"The original intentions of those strict regulatory policies targeting the transportation, communications, financial and energy industries have also been changed little by little."

"The reason why I think the last crisis was a turning point in history."

"It is because of its huge negative influence that the American people have to turn their attention from domestic news for a long time to some major news happening abroad."

“Multiple rounds of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have caused most countries around the world to focus on: how to expand their total export trade; how to maintain sufficient market competitiveness for their export products; and how to be flexible. The use of exchange rate tools for trade settlement and other new issues."

"The successful establishment of the International Bank Fund Clearing System (SWIFT) has facilitated the settlement of international commodity import and export transactions and entered a new era of development!"

"As early as when the Persian Empire ruled the Middle East, they had already begun... holding a sword in one hand and spices in the other, conducting country-to-country trade with Europeans~"

"At that time, there was no SWIFT, and there was no such thing as a bank..."

With a smile on his lips, David walked back to the phone, spread his hands to Giles and Bloomer and smiled.

"I know, I went off topic again~"

"I also know that it's already dinner time and everyone is hungry..."

"So, let me briefly summarize."

“Globalization!”

"I think, in a general sense, globalization refers to the international flow of goods and capital."

“It has gone through stages of transnationalization → local internationalization → continental-level internationalization → trans-oceanic internationalization, etc., and gradually developed into today’s globalization.”

"future!"

"The rapid development of international trade will definitely make the concept of globalization gradually come to the fore!"

"And~"

“In the process of globalization, corresponding regional and international economic management organizations and economic entities will inevitably appear, and countries will enter into transnational exchanges, collisions, conflicts, etc. in terms of traditional culture, lifestyles, values, ideologies, etc. Debate and integration stage..."

"I have to admit that the inflammatory word "Go Niuhua" will definitely attract strong criticism from many critics.

"Because globalization will inevitably lead to multi-level and multi-field mutual influences and constraints among countries around the world in terms of science and technology, economy, politics, rule of law, management, organization, culture, ideas, interpersonal communication, international relations, etc."

"For example: Globalization will increase the number of common standards internationally, and copyright law will become a prominent point of contradiction!"

"For example: the rapid development of the global financial system will in disguise promote the rapid growth of the number of companies controlled by super multinational corporations... The whole world will usher in an era of large-scale mergers and acquisitions that will last for several decades!"

"In addition, due to the vast differences in history, culture, customs, values, etc. between countries, the international cultural impact brought about by globalization will also have good or bad effects in various forms."

"For example, the export of Hollywood movies will gradually spread the culture that originally belonged to Americans to the whole world~"

"Let the diversity of world cultures gradually become more entertainment-oriented and more homogeneous...until the various cultures around the world enter the stage of integration and innovation~"

When David said this, he saw a smile in Bloomer's eyes~

He raised his eyebrows, smiled at Bloomer and Giles, and continued.

"Of course~"

"I have to mention one more thing..."

"Globalization is a social phenomenon that has never happened before in history..."

"Because historically, the boundaries between countries cannot be blurred for the sake of certain cultural or economic development."

"So, for the time being, I prefer to use internationalization, a word that can better highlight the role of a country, to describe the development of multi-level relationships between countries in the world in the current international situation that is still in bipolar opposition."

"In other words, the degree expressed by internationalization is much lower than the degree of globalization!"

"But~"

"I believe that with the development of the times and the continuous growth of international trade, the interdependence between countries will definitely continue to deepen, and the boundaries that once existed will definitely become more and more blurred."

"For example: The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, after its internationalization develops to a certain extent, will definitely become a piece of history that people will not forget!"

David smiled, put his hands on the table, and spoke into the two phones.

"Whether it's internationalization or globalization..."

"They all represent...The world will definitely not go back to the past, because we are all witnessing history moving forward!"

"Those who reject globalization are doomed to have no future!"

“So, when we face increasingly frequent global crises and challenges, we must insist on not shirking responsibilities, not watching the fire from the other side, not being alone, and not being stubborn... Only in this way can we form synergy, unite as one, and achieve a win-win situation! "

. . .

"Professor Bartlet, Professor Samuelson, Uncle Wharton!"

"Let's do this for today~"

"Let's go have dinner first and talk some other time!"

"Uh... right!"

"Dad, are you listening too?"

"Lilith and I want to play here for a few more days..."

"Yeah, I got it!"

"That's it first!" Before David could finish his words, he hung up the phone.

Professor Samuelson seemed to have heard Old Morgan decisively hang up the phone and say with a smile.

"When you return to New York, come over to my house!"

"Let's meet and have a nice chat!"

"Okay, I will definitely go!"

"Goodbye, Professor."

"Well~bye, David!"

Ps:

On January 1996, 1, the World Trade Organization (WTO) officially replaced the Provisional Institutions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Today, the WTO, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are collectively known as the three pillars of the world economic system.

The total trade volume of WTO member countries already accounts for 95% of the world's total trade volume!

So, say it is a super Big Mac. .That's not an exaggeration, right?

my country was admitted as a key observing member state by the WTO in July 95.

In November 01, it officially joined the WTO.

Successful accession to the WTO has opened a new leap-forward period of rapid development for our country!

另～

The paragraph at the end of this chapter was not made up by me. .

Instead, I excerpted part of a big shot’s speech at a press conference. .