Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 227 Mr. Jones, Mr. Sam Walton would like to say hello to you
The midterm elections that Ethan and Evelyn had discussed before had actually ended a month ago, and the new members of the American Congress had all been elected and took office.

Although the Donor Party lost three seats in the Senate and the Elephant Party took away 15 seats from the House of Representatives, after the results were announced, the Donor Party still controlled both houses of Congress with a "slim" advantage.

At the same time, 36 states and two territories in the United States also completed the gubernatorial elections. As in the congressional elections, the Donkey Party still suffered a defeat, allowing the Elephant Party to take control of six states.

However, even though the blue ocean was hit hard by the red whirlwind, Barbara Babcock's husband still achieved his own success in Arkansas.

As the longest-serving chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in history and former assistant to former Senator Fulbright of the Democratic Party, the young man who ran for governor as the Attorney General of Arkansas easily won the party nomination. Then, with the support of major forces, he easily defeated the candidate of the Elephant Party. The vote rate of nearly 70% can even be said to be a crushing victory, and this result also made him the youngest governor in American history.

For a guy who is only 32 years old, the most important thing is to take office happily and gloriously. But perhaps because he looks too young, after learning that he was elected, various media outlets dubbed him the "teenage governor" and questioned his ability.

To be honest, the emergence of such questioning voices is actually very normal, because only in this way can freedom of speech be reflected and it can prove that the media direction and social opinion are controlled by big capitalists.

What the young governor needs to do is to turn a deaf ear to what is happening outside and wait until he takes office.

And this guy did just that. After winning the election, he first gave a speech in Little Rock, Arkansas, thanking his supporters and reiterating his goals after taking office. Then he retreated from the public eye and connected with the current Arkansas functional departments to lay a solid foundation for taking office next year. But - plans can never keep up with changes, right?
When Ethan Jones showed his new game to all the people of America through a nationwide live broadcast on December 1, the thunderous admiration and unparalleled attention made the young governor feel like he was being scratched by a cat, and his mind immediately became active.

According to the agreement between the two parties, if the young governor can be successfully elected this year, Michael Blanco Manufacturing Company can go to Arkansas to conduct on-site site selection within one year after he officially takes office, and try to build a branch factory in the eastern part of America.

But now, when the game of fate has blown up a whirlwind in America, the young governor hopes to build the factory in advance. He hopes that Michael Blanco Manufacturing Company can complete the site selection of the branch factory during the handover and transition of the governorship, so that he can announce on the day he takes office that he has fulfilled his campaign promise to bring more jobs to Arkansas.

He believed that with such practical achievements and the support of public opinion, his vote base in Arkansas would be more secure, which would enable him to participate in the 1980 election with a greater advantage.

"and many more!"

Hearing this, Ethan immediately raised his right hand, palm facing outward, and motioned Michael Blanco to stop. "You said he was going to run in the 1980 election?"

Ethan looked surprised and cast a confused look at Michael Blanco.

"What do you mean?" He didn't understand.

Because in Ethan's memory, the Governor of Arkansas was a prominent figure in the 1990s.

Under his leadership, America turned a record-breaking budget deficit into a budget surplus, core unemployment and inflation rates were at historic lows, and the economy entered its longest period of expansion.

Although all this is related to the collapse of the Russian bear and the historical wave of the Internet era, no matter how strong the factual factors are, they cannot erase his contribution to the rapid development of America, right?
Especially in the future, when experts and media see the poor economy in the 21st century, they will habitually talk about his historical achievements. This is not only a remembrance of the good times, but also a criticism of the current situation. When everyone is already observing him with a magnifying glass...

He actually participated in the general election in 1980?
'Oh! Sxxt!'

'How come I don't know about this?'

Ethan just felt like his brain had crashed!
Ethan's confusion also stunned Michael Blanco, who was reporting on his work. After the two stared at each other for a while, Michael Blanco finally reacted.

"Oh Ethan—you got it wrong..."

Michael Blanco smiled and shook his head, saying, "He still wants to participate in the Arkansas gubernatorial election. Because the governor of Arkansas only serves a two-year term..."

Most people think that the term of office of governors in the United States is four years, which is correct. However, the term of office of governors in a few states does not meet this standard, such as Vermont, New Hampshire, and Arkansas, where the term of office of governors is only two years.

There are many factors that contribute to this situation, most of which are historical issues that are beyond the reach of modern people. Perhaps it is because the terms of office of the governors of these three states are ridiculously short, so as soon as the governors take office, or even before they take office, they are already studying the next election.

Similarly, when Ethan Jones said that he could build a factory in Arkansas, the young governor was extremely excited. This kind of down-to-earth investment attraction would make his resume even better, and solving the employment problem as soon as he took office would also make the people full of confidence in his subsequent reforms.

"Oh--"

"So that's why he called you and asked you to come to Arkansas?"

Ethan understood.

"Yes."

Michael Blanco nodded and said, "He hopes that I can go to Arkansas in the next few days. Because he will take office after the New Year, he wants to use his free time to help me choose a site."

Ethan could understand the young governor's attentiveness, for the sake of the position under his buttocks~
But understanding doesn’t mean unconditional support, right?

They could certainly speed up the expansion of the manufacturing company, but—

"So...what's the price?"

Ethan crossed his arms in front of him and asked with a smile, "What is he willing to pay?"

"Now is the time for him to show his sincerity, right?"

"Oh——" The straightforward question made Michael Blanco raise his eyebrows with a smile.

He moved his body to a more comfortable sitting position and said, "He is willing to pay a lot, and most of the content can be directly redeemed..."

Anyone who has been baptized by the Internet age should know that American governors have enormous power. They are responsible for enforcing state laws and supervising the operation of state executive departments. They can also use various tools to promote the revision and updating of various policies and plans, and they can even directly appoint the heads of state departments and agencies and appoint judges of state courts.

Therefore, when the young governor hoped that they could complete the factory construction within a month, the chips he threw were all real: for example, he promised that after taking office, he would immediately give the factory under construction a state government subsidy of $500,000 that could be directly deposited into the bank account;

At the same time, after the factory officially goes into production, he will also sign a five-year governor's order for tax incentives and exemptions. As long as the number of local employees recruited by the factory reaches 30%, 50% and 70% of the total number of employees in the factory, it can obtain the same proportion of tax incentives for all tax categories. When the local employees recruited by the factory exceed 70% of the total number of employees and the total number of employees exceeds 100, they will also return the 30% of taxes paid by the factory in the form of tax refunds in the next year, and bear the full federal taxes for the factory in the form of state subsidies.

"A direct subsidy of 500,000?"

"Isn't this equivalent to letting us build a factory at zero cost?"

"If a factory has more than 100 employees and employs more than 70% of its employees locally, can it pay zero tax?"

"Oh - I already feel his sincerity -"

Although the young governor's promise was not as exaggerated as the Reedy Creek Improvement Act that the Walt Disney Group obtained in Florida, Ethan was still very satisfied with the fact that they were paid to build a factory.

However, at this moment, he is not the chairman of Michael Blanco Company, so——

"What do you think?" Ethan asked with a smile.

“I feel great,” Michael Blanco replied.

"Are you confident that you can recruit 100 employees within two years?" Ethan reminded, "The tax incentives, tax subsidies and tax refunds he offered are all requested by the workers." "Of course!" Michael Blanco had thought about this a long time ago, "We have people in Arkansas too. Inviting them to work in the factory is easier than drinking water."

"This is not only because the average income in Arkansas is the lowest in the country, but also because our people cannot find suitable jobs when it is at the lowest."

"So..."

"When I get there, I'll contact the local Veterans Affairs Office first."

Michael Blanco shrugged.

Perhaps because he was able to help his own people, he appeared very relaxed at the moment.

"Okay, now that you've thought it through, just go ahead and do it."

Ethan waved his hand and said, “After all, the manufacturing company is yours now.”

“What Evelin and I want to do is sit and wait for you to give me some money.”

"Hahaha--"

Ethan's straightforwardness made Michael Blanco laugh and nod.

"Okay, okay -"

After talking about production, Ethan asked the second question, which was what Michael Blanco had mentioned before, about sales. When Ethan said that he did not understand the meaning of this sentence, Michael Blanco decisively abandoned the previous topic and talked about the present.

It turns out that, like the owners of North American theaters, other arcade operators in America, and Ethan Jones' enemies, when the full-meter live broadcast introducing the home console and the "Starfield" game was released, anyone with a little bit of brains could see the value of these two products of the Destiny game.

As a result, merchants in various states in America wanted to get in touch with Destiny Games and introduce Johnson consoles and the "Starfield" game into their own stores. Unfortunately, Ethan Jones was busy handling work in New York at the time, so he did not learn about this in the first place.

It was not until he boarded the return flight that he learned that Bruno's, the largest shopping mall in Florida, Piggy Wigley's, the largest shopping mall in Tennessee, and Bilo's, the largest supermarket in Georgia, had all approached him.

But when these people found out that Ethan Jones was so busy that he had no time to take care of his own headquarters, a feeling of disappointment came over them. Some people waited patiently, while some guys who were eager to make a deal began to resort to trickery, constantly trying to find connections and use backdoors.

For example, Kroger, one of the largest supermarkets in the United States, approached Arnold Spielberg, Steven Spielberg's father, who had been providing technical support for its electronic checkout system, and expressed its desire to obtain the exclusive rights to the Destiny home console.

Since their stores are not all over the country, like Birmingham, Alabama, Chicago, Illinois, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the whole Milwaukee... there are no supermarkets in these places, so when Ethan in New York received a call from Steven Spielberg, he hesitated and said that he did not have time to think about these things for the time being.

He asked Steven Spielberg to give him more time.

Just now, after announcing the adjournment of the meeting, Ethan did not celebrate with everyone, but decisively went into the office. That was because he needed to solve the problem of home console sales channels.

And now...

Michael Blanco, or the Governor of Arkansas, also carries the dreams of some people.

"When he called me, he told me that their largest local store wanted to cooperate with you."

“Cooperation for exclusive rights.”

Michael Blanco smiled and said, "If you agree, their founder will immediately fly from Arkansas to Palo Alto where we are to discuss the details of the cooperation with you in person."

"And he hopes you'll accept it."

"Our governor believes that this cooperation is truly a win-win-win situation for all parties."

This news made Ethan frown.

At this moment he sincerely wondered if the young governor of Arkansas was a little too greedy.

If the behavior of urging the establishment of a factory can be excused by saying that there was an early agreement, then now, helping the local large shopping mall to obtain the exclusive franchise of the Destiny game home console?
This is crazy——

Isn't this just an attempt to use the power of their game of destiny to continue to consolidate their position in Arkansas?
Although there is nothing wrong with this approach, because everyone has desires, but if you want the sales rights, it can be considered normal cooperation, but if you want an exclusive franchise? This is really ugly, right?
Who the hell do you think you are?

"Oh, is that so?" After listening to Michael Blanco's words, Ethan showed his displeasure and said with a fake smile: "Michael, don't you think this is too much?"

"A regional supermarket wants to get the exclusive rights to our home console?"

"Even if this franchise is limited to Arkansas!"

"They are too greedy!"

Just when Ethan was wondering whether he should ask Barbara to help him pass a message to Arkansas, asking them to put themselves in their proper place and not to ask for their money recklessly, Michael Blanco, who heard the complaint, smiled and shook his head, saying, "Oh, Ethan - they don't want the exclusive franchise in Arkansas."

'? '

Ethan frowned.

"A single city?"

"if it is like this……"

"Then they are quite sensible."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Michael Blanco denied it: "No, no, no, they want the exclusive franchise of the entire shopping mall industry in America."

"Because our governor said it was Walmart that approached him."

"He wanted me to tell you..."

"Mr. Sam Walton wishes to say hello."

Note: ① The governor of Arkansas was in office for two years before 1986, and the person who changed it to four years was the teenage governor. Although he said that this was to allow future governors to better lead Arkansas, in fact, this had a lot to do with his loss in the 1980 gubernatorial election. ② The governor who changes office every two years is thinking about the election before he even takes office, because the time is too short and he may be removed before he can even warm up to the position.

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(End of this chapter)