I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 924 The Russian Version of the Iron Curtain
During the World Wars, the personal income tax rate in the United States once reached 94%, an unprecedented level.

Although wealthy people can use various methods to avoid taxes, 94% of the regulations remain on the surface.

The 77% estate tax in the United States is enough to cripple the "old money" on Wall Street.

Franklin D. Roosevelt not only ruthlessly targeted wealthy Americans, but also established policies such as pensions, unemployment insurance, and medical assistance in the United States, laying an important foundation for the American welfare system.

In Constantinople, Franklin D. Roosevelt also discussed with George the role of the state-owned economy in the national economic system.

Franklin D. Roosevelt greatly admired Russia's state-owned economic system and decided to vigorously promote the development of the state-owned economy after returning to the United States in order to replace the dominant role of the private economy in the American economic system.

This may be the real reason for Franklin D. Roosevelt's death.

Even before the world war was over, Russia began to promote the transformation of its military-industrial complex into civilian industry in order to avoid a severe economic crisis.

There will definitely be labor pains.

However, as long as Russia's economic model remains unchanged, a Great Depression like that in the United States will never occur in Russia.

During World War II, the U.S. military industry developed rapidly and became the dominant force in the U.S. economy.

Now that the world war is about to end, American capitalists are still desperately opening new factories, recruiting workers, and increasing the production capacity of military products.

The question is, who will buy them?
Capitalists wouldn't consider this issue.

If a US president cannot find markets for American products, then the president is incompetent.

Therefore, even if Franklin D. Roosevelt hadn't died, he wouldn't have been able to win a fifth term.

Like Attlee, Truman's rise to power was also very beneficial to Russia.

During Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, Truman lived in Roosevelt's shadow for a long time, serving as vice president in name only and having no real power to participate in major American decision-making.

Truman lacked the boldness of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Instead of continuing Roosevelt's policies and expanding the proportion of state-owned enterprises in the national economy, he significantly reduced investment in domestic infrastructure in order to cut spending.

Domestic infrastructure development was an important part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal." After the US economy began to recover, the US government continued to invest in domestic infrastructure to boost economic growth and reduce the US unemployment rate.

While Franklin D. Roosevelt's Lend-Lease Act brought vitality to the American economy, it also placed a heavy financial burden on the US government.

Truman's third move to reduce government spending was to cut government agencies.

The Public Works Administration and the Civil Works Administration, established by Roosevelt, provided jobs for tens of millions of Americans and played a vital role in stabilizing the American economy.

Truman abolished a large number of temporary agencies, including these two, reducing the number of temporary agencies established during the war to only 12 out of 165.

This decision not only led to the unemployment of a large number of temporary workers, but also reduced the number of government employees from a peak of 610 million to only 550 million.

Truman's three-pronged approach did indeed save the US government a significant amount of money.

However, it also caused a large number of Americans to lose their jobs and brought economic development to a standstill.

Unlike Truman, Russia's approach to the economic crisis was to push its military-industrial enterprises to transform and begin producing civilian products.

The aircraft factory that produced bombers began to transform into a manufacturer of civilian passenger planes.

The factory that produced armored vehicles has switched to producing tractors.

The factory that produced explosives started producing fertilizer.

Armory factories that had no other option for transformation, while retaining basic production capacity, had their workers switch to the construction industry to participate in Europe's post-war reconstruction.

Vasily was not concerned with domestic economic transformation; instead, he pushed European countries to form governments in the Russian style, restore their rule, and stabilize domestic order.

During the World War, many European countries that had been conquered by Germany fled to Britain to establish governments in exile and continue fighting against Germany.

Vasily acknowledged the contribution of the government-in-exile to the victory.

However, if the exiled governments do not reform according to Russia's demands, then like the Polish government, they will never be able to regain their rule.

George was also surprised that Churchill, at Roosevelt's funeral, once again heavily promoted the Russian threat.

Neither George nor Vasily were able to travel to the United States to attend Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral due to their busy schedules.

This was not impolite; neither de Gaulle nor Attlee went. Only Churchill, the former prime minister, had time to travel to the United States.

"From the Atlantic to the Pacific, the Iron Curtain covering Eurasia has fallen. This Iron Curtain shrouds the capitals of all ancient countries: Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and so on. These famous cities and their populations are under the oppressive rule of the Russians and are being completely controlled by Russia. Democracy has disappeared from Eurasia. This is a tragedy for Europe and a tragedy for civilization!"

Churchill's speech resonated strongly with American capital.

Truman not only drastically reduced public spending, but also drastically cut military spending, causing widespread devastation in the U.S. arms industry.

American capitalists don't care who rules the people of Paris and Berlin, nor do they care about the profound disasters that war brings to people all over the world; they only care about their own interests.

No war, no orders.

No orders, no profits.

When the bubble burst completely, memories of the Great Depression began to resurface in everyone's minds.

Churchill's rhetoric about the "Russian threat" perfectly aligned with the interests of American capitalists, who hoped the war would continue indefinitely and orders would never disappear. Following Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech, the Manhattan Evening Post declared, in a chilling tone, that the world was on the brink of World War III.

That's ridiculous.

World War II wasn't completely over yet.

As Churchill campaigned, Truman faced increasing pressure.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt was in office, Truman was merely a mascot by Roosevelt's side, a chick living under Roosevelt's wing, and had never faced such a complex situation.

Whether Russia is a threat to the United States is another matter.

As orders for American businesses decrease, factories have begun to close, and large numbers of workers are losing their jobs. The pressure is rapidly spreading from the industrial areas of the Great Lakes to Washington, D.C.

"These damned bastards made countless profits during the war. Can't they spare a small portion of those profits to help us through this difficult time?"

Truman launched into a tirade in the White House, wondering why those who had been as docile as lambs when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president had suddenly bared their fangs.

"They've always been the same, they've never changed."

Cordell Hull was helpless; this was the reason why Franklin D. Roosevelt ruthlessly cracked down on capital.

Truman wouldn't even dare to lay a hand on him, let alone kill him.

Hoover sat silently in the corner of the presidential office.

As Roosevelt's closest confidant, Hoover was aware of all this and strengthened Roosevelt's protection to prevent any accidents from happening.

After Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, Hoover conducted a thorough investigation of everyone around him, including Truman, who succeeded Roosevelt as president.

Hoover did discover some problems, but he was undecided about whether to report them to Truman.

The dead cannot be brought back to life. Even if Hoover had killed all the suspects, it would not have changed the fact that Franklin D. Roosevelt was dead.

Truman did not touch Hoover and allowed him to continue serving as FBI Director.

A mysterious figure has already sent a message to Hoover, hoping to maintain peace and coexist peacefully with him.

"John, what suggestions do you have?"

Truman placed his hopes on Hoover.

Hoover remained expressionless.

This is the biggest difference between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

Franklin D. Roosevelt never consulted Hoover's advice; he only gave Hoover orders and told him what to do.

"If you need someone to die, you can tell me their name."

Hoover's words startled Truman: "Is this how you and the former president work?"

This is so fucking exciting!
"We should follow Russia's example and actively participate in the reconstruction of Europe."

Deputy Secretary of State Edward Stetinius took the initiative to suggest it.

"Yes, we have to do it!"

Truman grasped at this straw as if it were a lifeline.

But participating in the reconstruction of Europe is easier said than done.

Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech was correct in at least one respect: Russia's influence in Europe is increasing dramatically.

Now, not only Germany, but also France has embraced Russia and is becoming increasingly distant from the United States.

During the World War, de Gaulle accepted all American aid without hesitation, with everything based on the premise of defeating Germany.

With Russia's support, the two Frances were successfully unified, which not only allowed Vichy France to escape the punishment of a defeated nation, but also enabled Free France, as a member of the victorious nations, to participate smoothly in the handling of Germany.

Following Roosevelt's advice, Germany should be divided into occupation zones and thoroughly demilitarized to prevent history from repeating itself.

George supported the occupation of Germany and its demilitarization, but he resolutely rejected de Gaulle's suggestion to transform Germany into an agricultural country.

De Gaulle wanted to transform Germany into an agricultural country once and for all, out of French interest.

Germany occupies a very important position in the Russian-led collective security system. George does not want to deindustrialize Germany; on the contrary, he needs to rely on Germany's industrial capabilities.

Germany was the only European country capable of competing with Russia in terms of industry. The reason Germany lost in the World War was not because of its inferior industrial level, but because of its lack of resources and scale.

After Germany's surrender, Russia, following a list provided by Alpha, sent more than 1500 German researchers to Russia under the guise of investigation, allowing them to continue their work there.

Without this influx of German researchers, would the United States still have the Star Wars program?
dream!

(End of this chapter)