"Do you know the Republic of Aebien? You should know it. After a civil war, the people manage to remove the government, but the country is not in good shape. Much has been destroyed. The economy is in ruins. The household is difficult to cope with. The old government borrowed heavily to solve the problems. That is, to finance some nonsensical ostentatious buildings so that they don't have to live in the dirt like the people whose representatives they should have been. Social services, education and health are being cut. Interest payments are the new biggest cost in the household. Necessary investments in structure and economy can no longer be made. Government revenues continue to fall. Public institutions are underfunded and are being privatised. Investors from rich countries rub their hands. We buy hospitals, schools, roads, forests, even drinking water. The water from the well you built yourself behind your house now belongs to us. If you want to drink it, you pay for it. The forests are being burnt down to make farmland. The ancient cities are being demolished because they are standing on raw materials. All this hardly costs anything. The money earned from it doesn't stay in the country and never comes back. The money that Aebien earns from selling goes to the creditors and never comes back either. The country is running itself into the ground. The debt is never paid off. BYCH notices the decline in economic strength and cynically states, despite broad investments by foreign entrepreneurs, the Republic of Aebien has not been able to recover economically. The credit rating is sinking. Interest rates are rising. Everything is sold at junk prices. The new government is considered autocratic. There is hardly any social spending, but high taxes and a large military. The cartels and drug plantations, however, are left alone. I wonder why that is? The country is sanctioned more heavily. The schools have not been financed for a long time. The children still come, but they no longer have a book in their hands, but a sewing machine. Three quarters of all countries in the world are heavily in debt. Interest payments are always a major cost in the household. But almost no one is reducing their debts. New loans are taken out and bonds are issued whenever money is needed. But for most countries, interest payments are a normal expense. Debt is not a problem as long as nobody wants the money. So why tighten the belt? If you achieve economic growth, then you could of course start to reduce the debt, but you could also invest more to generate even more growth, and while you're at it, you might as well take on additional debt, because with the new growth, the share of interest in the budget has fallen anyway. If you now take on new debt so that the share is the same again, you won't even notice it. At the same time, you might even get better conditions. So why not take on new debt? A country with a stable government would have to act very foolishly to ever end up like little Aebien. After all, it's child's play to achieve economic growth when you own an entire slave state, isn't it, Mr Entrepreneur? While I think it's generous of you to put a piece of metal in the hands of your child labourers so they can trade it in at the nearest shop for the food that their parents have harvested, don't you think it would be better to fuck off? Probably not. Alone, the monkeys would probably be too stupid to pick a banana."
"Aebien's fate is not our responsibility. As you know, we as Free Banks are only the managing superordinate organisation of an association of several world banks. Aebien never had a loan with us directly because they did not fulfil the minimum requirements at any time. What parameters the various world banks apply to a borrower and how they conduct their negotiations is something we can only prescribe to a limited extent even today, which you certainly know. You cannot put a moral rope around our necks for this. Apart from that fact, the government was not forced into any loan. It was always a free decision."
"I don't want to put a rope around your necks. Aebien was just unlucky that Delxawe needed a marionette government in their country to protect the borders of their colony. Aebien was just unlucky that these marionettes were very wasteful. The world is not a solidarity community, even though we all like to pretend that it is. If you stumble, you get trampled so that someone else stands taller. You sent the marionettes to your daughter bank because you noticed that they couldn't handle money. What did they sign up for, six percent? Understandably, the new government was not happy with that. But when they were with you, you refused any cooperation or arbitration. I also know that Mr. Sternschreiber personally owned several of these factory schools for a long time. I guess now he just gets the profits. - Nice waistcoat, by the way, boy."
"Are you really want to hold that against us? Maybe you should check your own records first then. No one owns more in Aebien than companies from Baele. I heard that several of their public companies operate there too. What about them?"
"Yes, but unlike you, I do not claim that free trade is the solution to all problems."
"Free trade is certainly not the solution to all problems, but it is a step in the right direction. After foreign companies discovered Aebien for themselves, poverty in the country has decreased greatly. There are no more famines. The cities are flourishing. Free trade helps the poorest the most. If goods are cheaper, poor citizens of rich countries can also afford more goods."
"You pretend as if the manufacturers pass on their low production prices and thus trigger a price war, which increases prosperity. But the reality is that these companies only pass on the low production costs to the exact extent so that they can undercut domestic production. Companies with domestic production are no longer competitive and move their production abroad themselves. Employees here are laid off or paid less. The workers in Aebien are also paid poorly. All affordable products on the market are of low quality because they are not produced by skilled workers but by children. This is the result of free trade. What is the advantage for the consumer? Who has any advantage at all? The cheap products hurt the domestic market. The production waste goes to the developing countries and because it is waste, it is cheaper there than the domestic products. The revenues of all countries are lower. All countries lose their independence."
Meanwhile, the boy had finished his cup. Clinkingly, he placed it on the saucer to draw attention to himself.
"If you close yourself off, the low level of competition on your businesses will also hinder innovation," he asserted, reinforcing it with multiple nods.
"Boy, that's missing the point. How exactly do you imagine that cheap clothes and brittle steel could lead to more innovation?"
"More competition in the market always leads to better products."
"But it's not about trade between equal partners, it's about free trade."
"Surely all parties benefit from free trade? No one would trade anything if it meant making a loss. Free trade is fair trade."
"If I let you produce goods that I can produce myself but that you cannot produce without me, my margin is higher. If I buy preliminary products from you that I can produce myself and turn them into final products that you cannot produce either, then my margin is higher. If I have more money, my margin is higher. If I have a stronger army, my margin is higher. If I have more allies, my margin is also higher. My margin is always higher because I have might and you don't. It's like when I force you to sign an employment contract and you are happy to get the job, but as an employer I decide how much you earn."
Mr Jens shook his head vehemently and apparently did not agree with these statements.
"It may be that the conditions for a few products can be described in this way, but that is rather the exception and as a worker you always have the possibility to negotiate a fair wage for yourself. That is not impossible. Governments could additionally demand that if they felt that their citizens were being exploited."
"If they want a higher wage, then you just threaten to move the production to the neighbouring country, then that suggestion is done. In the case of agricultural products, for example, they would otherwise lose the plant variety, the seeds, the pesticides, the fertiliser, the machines and the land. They could not afford that. The land and some of the machinery could be expropriated as long as they paid a hefty compensation. After all, there are agreements in place for that. The rest of the machinery and the fertiliser could perhaps be afforded by themselves, provided they have enough money. The rest would be difficult. If they want to take a different plant variety and other pesticides, then they have to deal with the now resistant pests. Thanks to foreign support, they have also reached a population that they cannot sustain with natural plants. If they continue to use the plant varieties, then they are again violating international agreements that have been forced upon them. If they violate them, sanctions or other measures follow. Countries are forced into agreements. Farmers are threatened. Legislation is influenced. Heavy fines are imposed. When the wind blows badly, the neighbouring farmer suddenly has a contract with me as well. Hundreds of tonnes of food are confiscated and destroyed every year, even though the citizens of these countries are starving, and then the big companies stands up and claim that free trade would fight world hunger."
"This also applies to large countries that import plant varieties and pesticides. You have to coordinate with your neighbouring countries if you want to have more bargaining power."
"You think that's possible?" Marah chuckled slightly. "Most countries don't care about their citizens. But supposing a government from a trading partner planned on its own to introduce a minimum wage for its citizens, then I would lose my cheap goods. In the future, more money would stay abroad. That destroys my trade balance. We could easily take production back into our own hands, but we would have to adjust first and in the meantime my citizens would like to have something to eat. It wouldn't be sensible anyway. After all, we moved production abroad so that we could make high-quality goods ourselves. In other words, this fucking shithole country's decision to introduce a minimum wage hurts my balance of trade, hurts domestic companies, lowers profits, raises the cost of living for my citizens and lowers their satisfaction. It would cost me billions per year. Why would I tolerate that? I wouldn't and you know that."
"In the end, none of this changes anything, because as long as the production of the final product is more elaborate, the higher margin is justified anyway."
"Yes, all this doesn't really change anything, because the real motive is not that I earn more than the others. Protectionism or free trade is not a question of ideology. It is a question of economic interests. Protectionism is something you do if you want to grow a strong economy. Free trade is something you offer to small states so that they never become competitors. If I were really afraid of competition, I wouldn't let it develop in the first place. People tell such lies that free trade is for everyone's benefit so that they have an excuse to exploit others. Show me a single country that free trade has made successful, and I'll show you a successful country, because apparently you don't know what that is. But you are right about one thing. Baele would not need protectionism to such an extent. However, we don't need the exploitation of small countries either. So it is a dichotomy. Either get cheap goods and produce more quality goods ourselves and make higher profits in international trade or sit on our high horse. It is hard, but I think I'd rather stay on my high horse and shake my head disdainfully."
"Do you know the Republic of Aebien? You should know it. After a civil war, the people manage to remove the government, but the country is not in good shape. Much has been destroyed. The economy is in ruins. The household is difficult to cope with. The old government borrowed heavily to solve the problems. That is, to finance some nonsensical ostentatious buildings so that they don't have to live in the dirt like the people whose representatives they should have been. Social services, education and health are being cut. Interest payments are the new biggest cost in the household. Necessary investments in structure and economy can no longer be made. Government revenues continue to fall. Public institutions are underfunded and are being privatised. Investors from rich countries rub their hands. We buy hospitals, schools, roads, forests, even drinking water. The water from the well you built yourself behind your house now belongs to us. If you want to drink it, you pay for it. The forests are being burnt down to make farmland. The ancient cities are being demolished because they are standing on raw materials. All this hardly costs anything. The money earned from it doesn't stay in the country and never comes back. The money that Aebien earns from selling goes to the creditors and never comes back either. The country is running itself into the ground. The debt is never paid off. BYCH notices the decline in economic strength and cynically states, despite broad investments by foreign entrepreneurs, the Republic of Aebien has not been able to recover economically. The credit rating is sinking. Interest rates are rising. Everything is sold at junk prices. The new government is considered autocratic. There is hardly any social spending, but high taxes and a large military. The cartels and drug plantations, however, are left alone. I wonder why that is? The country is sanctioned more heavily. The schools have not been financed for a long time. The children still come, but they no longer have a book in their hands, but a sewing machine. Three quarters of all countries in the world are heavily in debt. Interest payments are always a major cost in the household. But almost no one is reducing their debts. New loans are taken out and bonds are issued whenever money is needed. But for most countries, interest payments are a normal expense. Debt is not a problem as long as nobody wants the money. So why tighten the belt? If you achieve economic growth, then you could of course start to reduce the debt, but you could also invest more to generate even more growth, and while you're at it, you might as well take on additional debt, because with the new growth, the share of interest in the budget has fallen anyway. If you now take on new debt so that the share is the same again, you won't even notice it. At the same time, you might even get better conditions. So why not take on new debt? A country with a stable government would have to act very foolishly to ever end up like little Aebien. After all, it's child's play to achieve economic growth when you own an entire slave state, isn't it, Mr Entrepreneur? While I think it's generous of you to put a piece of metal in the hands of your child labourers so they can trade it in at the nearest shop for the food that their parents have harvested, don't you think it would be better to fuck off? Probably not. Alone, the monkeys would probably be too stupid to pick a banana."
"Aebien's fate is not our responsibility. As you know, we as Free Banks are only the managing superordinate organisation of an association of several world banks. Aebien never had a loan with us directly because they did not fulfil the minimum requirements at any time. What parameters the various world banks apply to a borrower and how they conduct their negotiations is something we can only prescribe to a limited extent even today, which you certainly know. You cannot put a moral rope around our necks for this. Apart from that fact, the government was not forced into any loan. It was always a free decision."
"I don't want to put a rope around your necks. Aebien was just unlucky that Delxawe needed a marionette government in their country to protect the borders of their colony. Aebien was just unlucky that these marionettes were very wasteful. The world is not a solidarity community, even though we all like to pretend that it is. If you stumble, you get trampled so that someone else stands taller. You sent the marionettes to your daughter bank because you noticed that they couldn't handle money. What did they sign up for, six percent? Understandably, the new government was not happy with that. But when they were with you, you refused any cooperation or arbitration. I also know that Mr. Sternschreiber personally owned several of these factory schools for a long time. I guess now he just gets the profits. - Nice waistcoat, by the way, boy."
"Are you really want to hold that against us? Maybe you should check your own records first then. No one owns more in Aebien than companies from Baele. I heard that several of their public companies operate there too. What about them?"
"Yes, but unlike you, I do not claim that free trade is the solution to all problems."
"Free trade is certainly not the solution to all problems, but it is a step in the right direction. After foreign companies discovered Aebien for themselves, poverty in the country has decreased greatly. There are no more famines. The cities are flourishing. Free trade helps the poorest the most. If goods are cheaper, poor citizens of rich countries can also afford more goods."
"You pretend as if the manufacturers pass on their low production prices and thus trigger a price war, which increases prosperity. But the reality is that these companies only pass on the low production costs to the exact extent so that they can undercut domestic production. Companies with domestic production are no longer competitive and move their production abroad themselves. Employees here are laid off or paid less. The workers in Aebien are also paid poorly. All affordable products on the market are of low quality because they are not produced by skilled workers but by children. This is the result of free trade. What is the advantage for the consumer? Who has any advantage at all? The cheap products hurt the domestic market. The production waste goes to the developing countries and because it is waste, it is cheaper there than the domestic products. The revenues of all countries are lower. All countries lose their independence."
Meanwhile, the boy had finished his cup. Clinkingly, he placed it on the saucer to draw attention to himself.
"If you close yourself off, the low level of competition on your businesses will also hinder innovation," he asserted, reinforcing it with multiple nods.
"Boy, that's missing the point. How exactly do you imagine that cheap clothes and brittle steel could lead to more innovation?"
"More competition in the market always leads to better products."
"But it's not about trade between equal partners, it's about free trade."
"Surely all parties benefit from free trade? No one would trade anything if it meant making a loss. Free trade is fair trade."
"If I let you produce goods that I can produce myself but that you cannot produce without me, my margin is higher. If I buy preliminary products from you that I can produce myself and turn them into final products that you cannot produce either, then my margin is higher. If I have more money, my margin is higher. If I have a stronger army, my margin is higher. If I have more allies, my margin is also higher. My margin is always higher because I have might and you don't. It's like when I force you to sign an employment contract and you are happy to get the job, but as an employer I decide how much you earn."
Mr Jens shook his head vehemently and apparently did not agree with these statements.
"It may be that the conditions for a few products can be described in this way, but that is rather the exception and as a worker you always have the possibility to negotiate a fair wage for yourself. That is not impossible. Governments could additionally demand that if they felt that their citizens were being exploited."
"If they want a higher wage, then you just threaten to move the production to the neighbouring country, then that suggestion is done. In the case of agricultural products, for example, they would otherwise lose the plant variety, the seeds, the pesticides, the fertiliser, the machines and the land. They could not afford that. The land and some of the machinery could be expropriated as long as they paid a hefty compensation. After all, there are agreements in place for that. The rest of the machinery and the fertiliser could perhaps be afforded by themselves, provided they have enough money. The rest would be difficult. If they want to take a different plant variety and other pesticides, then they have to deal with the now resistant pests. Thanks to foreign support, they have also reached a population that they cannot sustain with natural plants. If they continue to use the plant varieties, then they are again violating international agreements that have been forced upon them. If they violate them, sanctions or other measures follow. Countries are forced into agreements. Farmers are threatened. Legislation is influenced. Heavy fines are imposed. When the wind blows badly, the neighbouring farmer suddenly has a contract with me as well. Hundreds of tonnes of food are confiscated and destroyed every year, even though the citizens of these countries are starving, and then the big companies stands up and claim that free trade would fight world hunger."
"This also applies to large countries that import plant varieties and pesticides. You have to coordinate with your neighbouring countries if you want to have more bargaining power."
"You think that's possible?" Marah chuckled slightly. "Most countries don't care about their citizens. But supposing a government from a trading partner planned on its own to introduce a minimum wage for its citizens, then I would lose my cheap goods. In the future, more money would stay abroad. That destroys my trade balance. We could easily take production back into our own hands, but we would have to adjust first and in the meantime my citizens would like to have something to eat. It wouldn't be sensible anyway. After all, we moved production abroad so that we could make high-quality goods ourselves. In other words, this fucking shithole country's decision to introduce a minimum wage hurts my balance of trade, hurts domestic companies, lowers profits, raises the cost of living for my citizens and lowers their satisfaction. It would cost me billions per year. Why would I tolerate that? I wouldn't and you know that."
"In the end, none of this changes anything, because as long as the production of the final product is more elaborate, the higher margin is justified anyway."
"Yes, all this doesn't really change anything, because the real motive is not that I earn more than the others. Protectionism or free trade is not a question of ideology. It is a question of economic interests. Protectionism is something you do if you want to grow a strong economy. Free trade is something you offer to small states so that they never become competitors. If I were really afraid of competition, I wouldn't let it develop in the first place. People tell such lies that free trade is for everyone's benefit so that they have an excuse to exploit others. Show me a single country that free trade has made successful, and I'll show you a successful country, because apparently you don't know what that is. But you are right about one thing. Baele would not need protectionism to such an extent. However, we don't need the exploitation of small countries either. So it is a dichotomy. Either get cheap goods and produce more quality goods ourselves and make higher profits in international trade or sit on our high horse. It is hard, but I think I'd rather stay on my high horse and shake my head disdainfully."
