American Strategic Deception Bureau

　"Father, please don't blame Brother Anthony. This will not help solve the problem."

　Ferry rubbed his temples with a slight headache, looked up from the map, and said to his father, "After all, Dad, what were you thinking before? You actually bought so many houses in the small town of Eden in the San Fernando Valley! You even took out a mortgage?"

　"Isn't this a rare opportunity to buy at the bottom? Because of last year's civil war, housing prices in Eden have dropped to 5% of their original value! Those are all rare, all-reinforced concrete houses! There are almost no wooden houses in the entire town, which is very rare in the entire United States!

　I discussed this with Bernard and decided to seize the opportunity to buy the house at a low price. After the war, the value would definitely appreciate again.”

　Father Patrick muttered, "Besides, Ferry, didn't you also buy property in that town?"

　"I only invested in a building in that town. I had no plans to rent it out or sell it. Even if it collapsed or burned down, it wouldn't be a major disaster! But you bought up half the town! Three whole streets! You even mortgaged your old house on Sunset Boulevard to get a loan!"

　Ferry sighed, "Now, the war is over, but drought and wildfires are coming. And a series of new nudist towns have appeared in South Los Angeles. The housing prices in Eden Town in the San Fernando Valley are not going to rise anytime soon! It's even impossible to sell!"

　Add to that the loss of money in my second brother’s movie and your financial advisor’s failure in shorting the US dollar…”

　"What's even worse is that the property tax in Eden Town is still being collected based on the rate when housing prices were at their highest!"

　Maria, the younger sister, muttered and interrupted, "Brother Bernard is really useless. He can't even get a tax deduction or legal tax avoidance..."

　Hearing his sister's contempt, Bernard, who was now powerless due to the end of his term as a congressman and the failure of his election for governor, looked even uglier.

　-

　As an emerging wealthy family that has produced a Democratic congressman and a commander of the US military in Vietnam/commander of the Space Force, the Kim family in Hollywood cannot be said to be extremely wealthy, but at least they can be said to have some wealth.

　When Fili was just starting out, Patrick's father's total assets had reached 30 million US dollars, and it has been fluctuating around this figure ever since. When Fili and Bernard became successful and were able to give back to the family, the total assets of the Jin family continued to soar to

　More than $300 million - of course, this is also due to the rapid depreciation of the US dollar.

　Thanks to the political status of his two sons and his own connections, although Patrick's father's business skills are not very good, he can still barely maintain his wealth.

　However, in the past few years, the US economy has been deteriorating, and by 1970, it had reached the point of an avalanche.

　All the stocks that Patrick's father bought in recent years have plummeted, and in the end he had to cut his losses and got out of the market.

　Frustrated, Patrick decided that stock speculation wasn't an option these days and that he needed to invest in real estate. However, running a real estate company was too risky, and the Hollywood film and television industry, the only industry he was familiar with, had been struggling recently. The films and TV series he produced were either critically acclaimed or commercially ineffective.

　The famous 20th Century Fox company has even fallen to the brink of bankruptcy again.

　Investing in the film and television industry in this environment is like throwing money away. At least there is no easy money to be made!

　Therefore, Patrick, who felt that he lacked energy, wanted to make easy and stable money, so he turned his attention to real estate.

　The civil war between President Nixon and Congress spilled over into California last summer, triggering civil unrest and a plunge in Los Angeles real estate prices. This was particularly true in the San Fernando Valley town of Eden, where the middle class, celebrities, and wealthy individuals who had previously resided at the nudist camp, attempting to cultivate the practices of "Tantric Masters," fled in droves to more fortified estates and villas.

　It's just like the rich people in ancient China during the turbulent times built forts in the countryside, and the nobles in medieval Europe built castles to live in.

　As a result, the properties in the once popular Eden Town suddenly became deserted. The almost new houses were all covered with "For Sale" signs. The prices kept falling, even to the lowest price, but they still couldn't be sold.

　Patrick, who got inside information from his sons and was convinced that the civil unrest was about to end, took the opportunity to buy at the bottom last summer. He sold and mortgaged most of his other assets, and gambled all his family fortune to buy a house in the small town of Eden in the San Fernando Valley.

　Then we just had to wait for the population to return after the war, for the housing prices in the town to appreciate, and then sell it for a huge profit.

　Who would have thought that the civil war in California would be a minor conflict compared to the nuclear war on the East Coast? Although it was indeed a minor conflict, and almost all the sporadic conflicts were concentrated in Sacramento, the capital of California in the north, it ended abruptly without causing any damage to Los Angeles.

　However, although the short Second American Civil War did end, wildfires and droughts came!

　Following a forest fire in the fall, the entire suburbs north and east of Los Angeles were burned red and hazy.

　Although Eden Town had thorough fire prevention measures and its buildings were all reinforced concrete, far more fire-resistant than the plywood houses common in the United States, it suffered little direct damage from the fire. However, the surrounding plantations and greenery were completely burned. By the time the fire was over, the town stood like an oasis amidst the scorched earth.

　After much effort, everything that could be burned was finally finished, but the town still lost power, which wasn't partially restored until around Christmas.

　Next, due to the hot and dry climate, California's North-to-South Water Diversion Project was suspended again, and Los Angeles fell into a serious water shortage.

　——Los Angeles is famous for many things, but the most embarrassing problem for Los Angeles is definitely drought and water shortage.

　To solve the fresh water supply problem for Los Angeles and Southern California as a whole, Americans have long diverted water from the Colorado River to the city. However, the Colorado River's runoff is limited, and the states within the river basin must share the river water in fixed proportions according to an agreement.

　As cities like Los Angeles and other Southern California cities grow and their populations increase, water diverted from the Colorado River is becoming increasingly insufficient. However, California has no way of gaining more water from other states: Las Vegas, the gambling city upstream, only receives 4% of the river's water and has long complained about it. If Nevada continues to squeeze its water allocation, it will definitely lead to a fight with California!

　So, after World War II, California launched the "North-to-South Water Diversion Project," aiming to divert water from the relatively humid and rainy Northern California to the parched, cracked, and smoking Southern California through canals. However, this project was enormous. Not only did it require the construction of a massive, man-made reservoir, the tallest and largest dam in the United States, at Oroville in the northern mountains, to serve as the water diversion project's reservoir, but it also required the relocation of the Western Pacific Railway and Highway 70, which would be submerged by the reservoir. The main canal, totaling 660 miles, also had to cross mountainous terrain, requiring the construction of 28 dams and numerous culverts. Furthermore, 22 pumping stations and accompanying power plants were required—the electricity generated was specifically used to pump water up the mountain.

　In addition, the domestic economic difficulties and social chaos in the late 1960s interfered with and delayed the implementation of the project, resulting in the fact that until 1971, the progress of California's North-to-South Water Diversion Project was far behind expectations, and it has been unable to be used to this day, and even stopped due to lack of funds.

　The problem is that even though the water diversion project has been delayed, farms and plantations around Los Angeles have already expanded their plantings ahead of time based on the project's water diversion capacity. If farmers were suddenly told that water from Northern California wouldn't be arriving, wouldn't their fields be doomed to drought?

　Such a

　In recent years, in order to prioritize the water supply in downtown Los Angeles and the water supply for surrounding farms and plantations, suburban towns in the San Fernando Valley have received strict water-saving orders and their water quotas have been greatly reduced.

　As a result, the lawns and golf courses in Eden Town were left with no water, and large areas of them quickly died. The streams and ponds that served as water features also dried up. The town, once full of birdsong and flowers and lush greenery, became like a desert. Who would want to live in a house with a desert view like this?

　As a result, Father Patrick, who bought most of the town of Eden at a low price, was almost crushed by this heavy asset.

　I can’t even afford the property tax alone!

　Chapter 575: The family's survival is on my shoulders

　Anyone who has been to Los Angeles knows that although the local climate is said to be Mediterranean, it actually feels closer to a desert climate.

　Before European immigrants came to Los Angeles, this place was an arid and sparse grassland with bare mountains and deserts everywhere. The common vegetation was almost only drought-resistant weeds, cacti and Joshua trees. It can be said that there were no decent forests, but they were really pitifully few.

　The palm trees that can be seen everywhere on the streets of Los Angeles today are not the original vegetation of this place at all, but were transplanted by humans later.

　Therefore, in Los Angeles, if you want to see more green vegetation, you have to rely on artificial irrigation. Otherwise, if no one waters them, whether it is a forest or a garden, those plants that are not drought-resistant will quickly dry up.

　Obviously, any high-end community where rich people live must have good greenery. Only the communities of poor people are dusty and have no greenery.

　As a result, it is obviously impossible for the town of Eden, where there is so much water shortage that even the lawns have died, to sell the housing prices in the high-end community.

　Even worse, property taxes in the United States are levied based on the materials used. Wooden houses made of plywood are the most vulnerable to fire, but they also have the lowest property taxes. Sturdy reinforced concrete houses are both fire-resistant and earthquake-resistant, but they also command much higher property taxes.

　Generally speaking, the property tax for a concrete house is at least three times higher than that of a wooden house of the same size!

　Unfortunately, when Eden Town was built, it was intended as a model for a "superpower experimental training base." Much like NASA's space base, it was considered a "high-tech" scientific research facility and enjoyed special tax exemptions. So, naturally, they took advantage of the situation, with all the concrete mansions.

　But now the United States has gone through a great chaos, its finances are almost bankrupt, and the treasury is heavily in debt. President Nixon is desperately cutting jobs, cutting agencies, and slashing funding. Even many space exploration and research and development institutions in the Houston Space City are laying off employees and closing down in large numbers.

　As for the "scientific researchers" who were studying the "way of dual cultivation between men and women" in the San Fernando Valley, they naturally lost their jobs long ago, and the entire organization no longer exists.

　So, when the house in Eden Town was sold to Ferry's father, it had become an ordinary real estate and all the tax-free benefits were gone.

　In addition, the houses in Eden Town are all reinforced concrete, and the property tax is still collected based on the high price when the houses were first built. Moreover, the IRS also stipulates that the tax amount must be increased according to the inflation coefficient, so that property owners cannot take advantage of the crazy depreciation of the US dollar to gain any advantage.

　Why do the remaining upper-class residents flee a neighborhood once it's run down? Because property taxes are always collected at the highest rate!

　Even if you buy a $100 million mansion surrounded by slums and the price has plummeted, the IRS will still collect property taxes based on the $100 million price multiplied by a percentage. What? A reassessment of the house price? That'll take years.

　That's why there are houses in Detroit that cost one dollar but no one is interested in them - the house is sold to you for one dollar, but the property tax is not collected based on one dollar!

　On the other hand, if a hotel or luxury home is suddenly built near your house, causing land values ​​to rise, the IRS, with its keen sense of smell, could see your property taxes skyrocket before the luxury resort opens—because the IRS has already assessed your property's value. But if you only have one house, even if the price goes up, if your income doesn't, wouldn't the burden actually be heavier?

　The IRS will advise you to sell your house and leave. Poor people don't deserve to live next door to rich people. If a rich person wants to move in near you, you should move out yourself to avoid being an eyesore to the master. The main message is: "Get out of here! Don't breathe the same air as the master!"

　In short, the San Fernando Valley's Eden, though now a desolate mess, surrounded by wildfires and practically a desert, is still listed by the IRS as a community of high-class people, requiring the same high tax rates as when the houses were first put on the market.

　If the house cannot be sold quickly, the remaining assets of Patrick's father will not be enough to pay a year's property tax!

　Of course, while the saying in the United States is "only death and taxes are inevitable," it is ultimately used to restrict ordinary people. For truly influential politicians and capitalists in the top circles, the IRS's deterrent power is limited to that.

　Gentlemen have countless ways to "reasonably avoid taxes," or simply promote legislation to obtain tax breaks, various exemptions, and subsidies for their own industries. Even after their businesses fail, they can still obtain financial assistance from the government: that is, using the taxes of the poor to help the rich.

　Once

　Although Bernard, who had served as a congressman, was not the most influential in California, he was still able to help his father in this matter - after all, he was the heir to the Jin family, and the bankruptcy of the Jin family was equivalent to his bankruptcy.

　While American history is full of individuals who bounced back from bankruptcy and achieved new success, it is also full of those who could not withstand the blow, never recovered, and quickly became mediocre. After all, no one wants to endure the bitter experience of bankruptcy.

　What's more, the reason why Patrick's father risked all his family fortune, even mortgaging his old house to get a loan, to buy at the bottom in Eden Town was also due to the help of his elder brother Bernard - it was he who participated in promoting the construction of Eden Town in the beginning, and had a lot of feelings and confidence in it.

　And when the house in San Fernando Valley was in tatters and the family finances were about to explode, Bernard did run around trying to save the situation.

　But the problem is that since Bernard entered politics, he has always been in the Democratic Party circle, but now the Republicans are in power in California!

　--At this point in time, the Democratic Party's "California Gang" that will dominate the West Coast in the future has not yet taken shape. The old witch Pelosi is still at home as a housewife, taking care of her husband and children. The Republican Party in California is still very powerful, often making California "turn red."

　Until the end of the 20th century, California, the largest state on the West Coast, was always a vibrant and competitive state in every election. The Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and various local parties competed with each other, and no one could gain an absolute advantage in California.

　As for the Democratic Party's success in making California a solid deep blue state, that was a 21st century event.

　But even so, California in the early 21st century produced a Republican star governor like "Terminator" Schwarzenegger.

　In the timeline that Firi is currently in, California is now a state of "all red" - the governor is a Republican, the state legislature has an absolute majority of Republicans, and even the Los Angeles City Council has a relative advantage for the Republicans.

　Because of its poor governance in the 1960s, the Democratic Party is generally recognized as a disaster for the country and the people, and its reputation is as bad as a rat crossing the street.

　Bernard, the eldest brother of the Kim family, is not a popular celebrity, nor does he have a fervent fan base. Moreover, with his term as a congressman having expired and his run for governor having failed, he is currently in a "white-collar" position, his influence at its lowest point.

　So, he couldn't give the small town of Eden in the San Fernando Valley a property tax break or increase its water allotment.

　On the contrary, while Bernard was trying to find help and solutions over the past two days, he heard more bad news:

　As a special community for practicing dual cultivation and joyful Zen, Eden Town will soon have more competitors, and its future is becoming increasingly bleak!

　Because the San Fernando Valley's Eden, originally intended as a "nudist camp pilot zone," was driven by California Democrats, leaving Republicans with few benefits. Furthermore, Eden's operations have been less than ideal, and this hasn't stopped public outcry.

　Otherwise, the housing prices in this town would not have plummeted to such a low point that even the "middle-class family" like the Jin family could buy at the bottom.

　Now that the Republicans are in power, they naturally have to start anew. In the south of Los Angeles, four or five new "nudist spiritual communities" special real estate projects are now being planned. The largest one is located on Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles. This island, 40 kilometers away from Los Angeles, has beautiful scenery and fresh air. It is known as a paradise. The new mayor is ambitiously wanting to turn it into the "Island of Adam and Eve"!

　With so many replacement projects with better environments and newer facilities, can the small town of Eden in the San Fernando Valley still recover?

　I'm afraid it will soon be forgotten just like Atlantic City, a long-established American gambling city whose ecological niche was taken away by Las Vegas?

　In short, after finally figuring out the current situation at home, Fili couldn't help but feel dizzy.

　He looked at his useless father who had failed in his investment, his eldest brother who had lost power and was powerless, his second brother who was an artist but could only make noises and make things worse, and his naive little sister who was about to vomit her soul after reading the financial statements. He couldn't help but shrug his shoulders and let out a long sigh.

　Alas, it seems that the burden of saving the Jin family still has to fall on the shoulders of me, the commander of the space army!

　But what should I do now? Well, it seems that the only thing I can do is find a buyer for Eden Town as soon as possible...

　"Ahem, Father, Brother Bernard, judging by the current situation, if we want to save our family from bankruptcy, it seems we have no choice but to find a buyer for the house in Eden Town before the next real estate tax payment. Even if we have to sell it at a loss, it doesn't matter, right?"

　After thinking for a moment, Ferry looked up and asked Father Patrick.

　"Yes, I don't care about making money anymore, as long as I don't lose too much. But the problem is, who would be willing to buy a house in the desert?"

　Patrick's father said sadly, "Besides, we still have to pay such expensive property taxes."

　"Of course it's people who don't have to pay property taxes, father. Just like the Mormons who built Salt Lake City in the desert last century." Ferry shrugged. "I'll contact someone and see if I can sell the house in Eden Town to the Xirik (Prince of Lies) sect.

　......"

　Author's words: PS: A joke from hell: Why are all American shooting athletes white and all track and field athletes black?

　Chapter 576: The Holy Land of the Cult of Deception in San Fernando Valley

　Real estate taxes in the United States are very expensive, and unlike mainland China where you only have to pay once when you buy a house, real estate taxes in the United States have to be paid every year.

　In the United States, the proportion of property taxes in local government tax revenue can easily exceed 50%, and in some places it even exceeds 90%!

　——This is the American version of land finance! And it has been going on for many, many years!

　The average American who lives in a wooden house spends more than a month's income on property taxes each year. If they choose to live in a reinforced concrete house, the cost is even worse: three or four out of twelve months' salary go towards property taxes.

　Therefore, although compared to sturdy reinforced concrete houses, wooden houses are neither warm nor soundproof, are prone to fire, cannot withstand earthquakes, and often have their roofs blown off in large areas during storms...but the vast majority of Americans can only live in wooden houses.

　There is no way, the real estate tax is too expensive, not to mention ordinary Americans. Even celebrities who have just become wealthy are reluctant to pay so much money.

　Every year, you have to pay 1.5% to 3% of the house price! Add in other miscellaneous taxes, and it’s like having to buy the entire house all over again in 20 years!

　This is also why many American billionaires do not build small reinforced concrete houses, but instead follow the trend and live in wooden houses.

　(Musk is already the richest man, right? I don’t know what his current house looks like. It was built of wood more than ten years ago.)

　Even the wealthy can't afford property taxes, and for the average American family, they're a heavy annual expense. In the past, poor Americans could afford small, run-down houses, but now, even the smallest houses are subject to property taxes, forcing the truly poor to live in trailers and tents.

　Oh, and by the way, sleeping in your car is also illegal in the US. Unless you pay for parking, the police will tow your car away!

　However, there are exceptions to this. Government buildings and religious buildings in the United States do not need to pay property taxes.

　In the United States, the only places where reinforced concrete can be piled up and pressed are government buildings and religious buildings, in addition to villas for the super-rich and commercial buildings.

　In fact, this is not only true in modern times, but also in ancient times. After every major fire in medieval Europe, the wooden houses and huts of the poor were completely burned down. Only the stone churches that could be used for stacking materials remained intact. The charlatans took the opportunity to use this "miracle" to attract more people to convert to religion and donate.

　The same is true for the king's castle. It is a stone castle that is built to defend against disasters and can withstand them, and it can also make more people submit to the king's power.

　Ahem, back to the topic, as a substantially religious country, the United States has many preferential policies for religious organizations.

　Religious buildings are exempt from property taxes and even have their property fees paid by the government (not every state does this). Furthermore, they receive discounts and subsidies on utilities and other expenses. Even the US president takes an oath of office, so even if you're broke, you can't afford to neglect God!

　Then, because the United States is a Protestant country, it does not have the hierarchical churches that are parallel to the government organizations like in Catholic countries. The grassroots churches are all religious organizations that emerge one after another. The main feature is that there is a chaos of demons and a mixed crowd. Anyone who can fool people can set up a church.

　During the Cold War, even the most loyal Bolsheviks in the American Communist Party could disguise their party branch as a cult.

　Then, all kinds of scammers who are only interested in making money can naturally come up with all kinds of strange ways to affiliate their emerging religious groups with Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and other religions, register them with legal identities, and then enjoy a series of tax exemptions to avoid the cruel exploitation of capitalism.