That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1371 Capital's Pursuit of Profit
After Li Ye finished speaking, Pan Xiaoying asked in surprise, "You don't think highly of the lighthouse? Then who do you think highly of?"

"I"

Li Ye smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, what I want to say is to take good care of yourself. Do you believe me?"

"You're exaggerating way too much."

Li Ye's words greatly surprised Pan Xiaoying.

In the eyes of mainlanders over the years, the United States has been the pinnacle of the world, a beacon of freedom, and the most powerful force in history, far ahead of other countries in terms of technology, culture, and systems.

But Li Ye actually "doesn't have a good impression" of this country?

So who do you think has the best chance?
Do you have confidence in yourself?
Hehe, so you're still living in the era of twenty years ago, when people were just shouting slogans all day long?
Because of the presence of Teacher Ke and Wen Qingsheng, Pan Xiaoying did not continue to tease Li Ye. After all, the gap between China in 1992 and the Lighthouse was so great that it made most people despair.

Yes, it's despair.

The war that just ended in the Middle East shocked the world. The Soviet Union, which could have been a match for the United States, has now disintegrated. So who can be a rival to the United States now?

Even someone like Pan Xiaoying wouldn't believe that her side had only taken thirty years to catch up to the finals, overtaking the leaders of England, France, Germany, and Japan.

However, after hearing Li Ye's words, Teacher Ke smiled with interest and said, "Li Ye never brags. Since you say you don't think highly of the lighthouse, then tell us your reasons!"

Li Ye said seriously, "Although this is my personal opinion, I'm not just talking nonsense. Six years ago, when Xiao Yu and I went to the Lighthouse, we conducted a corporate survey, and we've been following up on this issue ever since."
At the time, we discovered that before 1983, the corporate tax rate in Lighthouse was no less than 50%, capital gains tax could even exceed 70%, while labor income tax was no higher than 15%.
However, starting in 1983, the tax rate on capital steadily declined, while the tax rate on ordinary people steadily increased. We asked some middle-class residents of the "Beacon City" why this dramatic fluctuation occurred.
Most of them were vague, but a few older lighthouse keepers gave me an unbelievable answer.

Li Ye smiled and continued, "They say Suzhou is declining, so the capitalists in the Lighthouse are no longer afraid of being targeted."

Hahaha~, hanging a street lamp!

Pan Xiaoying couldn't help but laugh, but as she laughed, she realized that her parents-in-law weren't laughing either.

Teacher Ke and Pan Xiaoying are not from the same generation. She and Wen Qingsheng both experienced the peak of the Red Storm. At that time, the red ideology had the momentum to take over the world. If it weren't for Khrushchev's momentary lapse of judgment, it's hard to say what things would be like now!

Just think of Gelava's famous quote, "Because we have been here," and you'll know that under such terrifying pressure, even the most greedy capitalists will have to show their generosity and benevolence.

After all, in terms of ideology and production relations, Sugo did represent the more advanced side; it simply lost to human nature.

"Whoo~"

Li Ye sighed and continued, "Since last year, the tax rate in Lighthouse has changed even more drastically. The corporate tax rate has now fallen below 30%, which is half of what it was during the Cold War, while the labor income tax rate has nearly doubled."
In fact, starting a few years ago, the capital behind Lighthouse had already foreseen the decline of Suzhou Goose; they no longer had any scruples.
If this trend continues, the days when an ordinary lighthouse worker could support a family of four and a dog on a single salary will be gone forever.

"."

After Li Ye finished speaking, Teacher Ke and the others fell silent. Only Pan Xiaoying, still somewhat skeptical, asked, "Li Ye, is there any basis for what you're saying?"

It's no wonder Pan Xiaoying suspected Li Ye, because at that time, the world's view of the Lighthouse was that a Lighthouse worker could support a family of four or five, plus a big house and two dogs, after graduating from high school and working as a screw tightener. The Lighthouse's own people believed this even more.

Otherwise, why would everyone envy the Lighthouse? Little do they know that the preferential treatment capitalists gave to industrial workers stemmed from the fear that the powerful Soviet Union instilled in them.
When the Soviet Union began to decline, capital smelled the sweet scent of blood. Now that the Soviet Union has collapsed, Western capital has rapidly and significantly shifted to finance. After all, there's no better way to make money than by exploiting others or being a middleman.

Just like those steel mills in mainland China decades later, the top three steel groups in the country only make tens of billions of yuan in profit a year, which is less than a fraction of that of an internet company. Even if capitalists were to lose their minds, they would know which direction to invest in.

"What basis do I have for this?!"

When questioned by Pan Xiaoying, Li Ye resumed his casual and carefree demeanor: "I was just making predictions based on the profit-driven nature of capital. I've made some money in overseas financial markets over the past few years, and my deepest feeling is that the US is paying less and less attention to manufacturing."

When Li Ye mentioned "stocks," Pan Xiaoying's eyes seemed to light up. Even if her mobile company was making a fortune every day, what did that have to do with her, the vice president?
But before Pan Xiaoying could say "Take me to play the stock market," Teacher Ke interrupted her.

She asked Li Ye, "Do you think this trend is temporary or ongoing?"

Li Ye chuckled softly and said, "I think it's unstoppable, and once it reaches a certain point, and once the current batch of workers gets old, this trend will be irreversible."

If a high school graduate can support a family and several dogs, his mindset will influence his children, and this influence will persist for many years, just like many older workers in inland areas who always demand "a stable job" from their children.

Back in the 1980s and 90s, a large proportion of young people studied engineering or manufacturing-related majors. But by the time Clinton took office, they had completely shifted away from the real economy and into the internet and finance industries.

Once mindsets change, it's hard to go back to the past. These workers represent the last chance for Beacon to regain its industrial power. The younger generation is keen on studying quick-money fields like medicine, finance, or high technology, which has inadvertently undermined the solid foundation of Beacon's industry.

By this time, the small group at the very top of the lighthouse controls 70% of the wealth, but they pay less than 20% of the taxes. In contrast, the middle group bears 70% of the tax burden.

In such an environment, you either lie down completely and let capital squeeze no profit out of you, or you become the food on the table. Over time, the greedy bigwigs become more and more greedy, while more and more people lie down. How can the whole society reverse this situation?

"But this is a good thing for us."

Seeing that Pan Xiaoying and Teacher Ke were both silent, Li Ye casually said, "In recent years, with the changes in the tax rates of the Lighthouse, the pace of globalization of manufacturing has been accelerating."
Moreover, I believe this large-scale relocation is the last chance for developing countries like ours.

"Hehehe, Li Ye, you've come full circle, but you've still come back to your path of being number one in manufacturing. Don't worry, we all believe in you."

Pan Xiaoying smiled again.

Shortly after marrying Wen Leyu, Li Ye repeatedly emphasized to Teacher Ke and others the necessity of developing the manufacturing industry, seeking the full support of his in-laws. Now, Wen Leyu owns more than a dozen manufacturing units.

Therefore, Pan Xiaoying has become "desensitized" to Li Ye's remarks.

However, Li Ye and Teacher Ke exchanged a glance and both smiled faintly.

The United States has been advocating globalization for several years, but it was built on its strong industrial strength. How could it possibly abandon its founding principles?
But now that Sugo has fallen, Lighthouse is left alone and undefeated. Those low-end manufacturing industries that don't make much money are simply thrown out for everyone to fight over, aren't they?

In this process, whoever has a better industrial foundation and higher technological investment and R&D level will have the opportunity to develop and compete for the top of the value chain.

If Sugo hadn't collapsed, it would have been a miracle for the beacon of globalization to have truly taken hold.

(End of this chapter)