Careful Measurements

by Layne D. Hansen

  Jennifer’s house, which was serving as Wilson’s campaign headquarters, was empty by eleven o’clock. The balloons and confetti they had bought to celebrate a Wilson victory would stay in a cupboard for now. Sitting on the couch and commiserating over beers, Patton, Frank and Mike vowed to remain vigilant and keep a wary eye on David Asher and what he had planned for Blue Creek.

  PART THREE

  THE DEVIL YOU DON’T KNOW

  CHAPTER

  16

  Bao was headed into work yet again. Since the creation of the government in Blue Creek, work had become a nightmare. Bi-monthly meetings had turned into weekly meetings. Weekly meetings turned into bi-weekly meetings. Now it was a meeting nearly every day. Bao was so busy, he was finding it nearly impossible to maintain his cover as a vending service owner. Not only were his two lives blending into one another, he was utterly exhausted.

  Bao’s Subaru WRX zipped across the landscape. He guzzled an energy drink and cranked the volume on his music. Without caffeine and loud music he wouldn’t be able to function in either job. In fact, he was so exhausted it was becoming more difficult to keep his two lives separate.

  Today’s meeting was about the latest economic reports coming out of Blue Creek. The new government had been elected in January and began work on March 1st. Governor Asher and the Council had gotten off to a fast start. In fact, so many bills were passed in the first week, many people suspected that they had been drafted before the government had been formed. Bao was convinced of this idea – not because he knew anything about politics – but because he had been spending a lot of time with Patton and Frank. Patton had some wild theories, including one that Charlie Henry was behind everything that David Asher was doing. Furthermore, Henry was instituting policies that liberals had dreamed about pushing on Americans.

  However, as things progressed, Bao became convinced that Patton was right about everything. In the beginning of the summer, Bao wrote a report discussing Patton’s conspiracy theories. The report was passed up the chain. Many of the higher ups at Insight Resource took it as a joke, but the report had struck a chord with many of the scientists behind the experiment. That’s what was bringing Bao to work today. He was being asked to discuss his report in greater detail.

  Bao approached the shack that served as the entrance and exit to Blue Creek. He slowed down and was about to give a nod to the security guard and then drive through. Luckily he looked up in time to see the closed gate that blocked the road ahead of him. Bao slammed on the brakes. He fish tailed, but luckily came to a stop inches from the gate. He swore and slammed his hands onto his steering wheel. He let out a deep breath and was about to start hyperventilating when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. It was the security guard. Bao glared at him angrily through his window, but rolled down his window. The security guard seemed embarrassed.

  “Hey Bao,” he said nervously.

  “Hey Bryan. What’s with this?” Bao asked, gesturing towards the large, white metal gate that nearly demolished his beloved car.

  “New policy. Bill passed last week and they just installed it last night.”

  “What bill?”

  The kid – Bao thought of him as a kid, although they were probably the same age – straightened his dark uniform and looked around as if he was being watched.

  “Asher talked about it on TV last night. No one can come in and out without checking in here. They have to register their vehicle. People from outside can only come into town for twelve hours.”

  Bao exhaled deeply. He’d stopped watching any news or speeches or anything political. He was tired of the whole thing. Now it was starting to affect his everyday life, which was starting to piss him off.

  “So how does this affect me?”

  The kid shrugged. Bao rolled his eyes at the gesture.

  “Well, what am I supposed to do then? I have to go out and talk to a client.”

  The security looked around again and leaned in closer.

  “You can leave for four hours without prior notice. You can leave for twelve hours with permission.”

  “Permission? From who?”

  The kid shrugged again. “Don’t know. I’m sure it’s on the city website. Anyway, it’s 9:34 AM right now. You’ll need to be back by 1:34.”

  Bao looked at his watch.

  “Back by 1:34 huh? Well, if I’m late, you can tell Asher to kiss my ass.”

  The security guard smiled and walked back to his shack. He opened the gate and smiled wider when Bao did a Hollywood-style burnout and sped through the gate.

  Bao cranked up his stereo again and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. He looked at himself in his rearview mirror and grimaced.

  “Patton’s gonna love this,” he said out loud. “Damn.”

  Damn was right, but Patton already knew about the gate. One of his employees had gotten a job with the city in the planning department and she’d been leaking information to Patton ever since. He still paid her the full wage. It was well worth it to him. Not only had Patton known about the gate before Bao, he drove out and watched it be built. Everything that had come before had made Patton angry. The income taxes, the minimum wage, the talk of other policy ideas. Those were boiler plate ideas, typical of any government. And Patton had written about them in his blog where he explained their negative impact on the economy. However, he knew they would largely go ignored because they were policies that most people were accustomed to. This, however, was different.

  When Patton was a kid, his father watched everything political—speeches, news conferences, and debates. During one particular news conference, Ronald Reagan was asked about his Berlin Wall speech. He’d said something to the effect that some countries build walls to keep enemies out, but other countries build walls to keep their own people in. Why would a country do that? The only explanation was because people would flee if they had the choice. Patton wondered what Asher and Charlie Henry were up to.

  It had been a solemn moment for Patton and that feeling had carried on with him. He’d seen the evils of control by a nation’s elites, but that had been in someone else’s country, not his. These policies were now affecting himself and his friends. When Patton returned home just before daybreak, he sat at his computer and wrote a blog piece.

  “I have long been a critic of David Asher and his puppet master Charlie Henry. I have been ridiculed as a conspiracy theorist for my continual claims that these men are connected behind the scenes of your new government. I am fine with this ridicule. This has always been part of politics. I would be a hypocrite for complaining because I have often ridiculed others, including the Asher regime. I have also tried to infuse humor and sarcasm into my blogs. However, today I do not feel humorous. Let me tell you why.

  “Early this morning I drove out to the security gate that has been a part of this town longer than many other buildings. When we arrived here we all saw the gate. It’s nothing special. It resembles guard shacks at apartment buildings and businesses all over the country. However, Blue Creek’s front gate has a new feature.

  “No longer can a person drive through the gate. A security guard has to verify that you have a reason to leave Blue Creek or to enter Blue Creek. Up until this morning, we residents could drive in and out at will. Scanners and cameras recorded your license plate to see who was coming in and out. Now, however, you have to have a reason to leave. Even worse, you have to justify leaving Blue Creek.

  “During the Cold War, half of Europe’s population lived behind walls and fences. Those barriers were built to keep enemies out, but they were also there to keep those people in. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had these barriers. If they didn’t, how many people would have fled for freedom?

  “I know I will be ridiculed for claiming that the government building a gate is the first step to establishing a dictatorship. But the question remains, why would the Asher regi
me put in a gate? The simple answer is, for the same reason why countries in the past, and present, build walls to keep people in—because their policies will drive them away, but they don’t want them to leave. This is particularly problematic for we residents of Blue Creek. To leave, we have to pay the penalty.

  “This makes us a captive audience to whatever the government decides to implement. This is exactly why I fought against having a government and why I fought against David Asher and Charlie Henry. They don’t want what’s best for you and me. They want to build their power and control over us. Why do they want this, you ask? I have never found a logical reason why people seek power and control over others. There are theories about this in the field of psychology, but none of them are complete. One thing is clear, however—seeking power over others is evil and can only lead to negative outcomes.

  “There are many policies in the pipeline. The government started operating on March 1st. It is now nearly Labor Day. Already, the government has passed a series of bad economic policies. There are discussions of many more bad economic policies that will be passed in the coming months. These policies will have nothing but a negative impact on an economy that has already slowed down. Unless we work together as a city and elect better leaders, we will someday be forced to flee.”

  Patton wrapped up his blog post and closed his computer. He wouldn’t be going into work today. In fact, he was thinking about taking some time off. He undressed and climbed quietly into bed. He must have woken Jennifer because she turned and wrapped her arms around him. As thoughts of the gate, and the fears they conjured within him, poured through his mind, Patton began to shudder.

  Bao gazed around the conference table and chuckled to himself. These meetings were usually very formal. Even the agents like himself had to wear button down dress shirts and slacks. Now, however, everyone was dressed down. Even Mike Varner, the CEO, was wearing jeans and a hoodie. The crush, caused by the massive amount of legislation, was taking its toll.

  “So Mr. Hahn, what differences have you noticed at the street level?”

  Bao was shaken out of his mental stupor and forced himself to engage in the conversation that had been going on for over two hours now. He sat up straight in his chair and cleared his throat.

  “First of all, I was almost late today because of the new gate.”

  “What gate?” asked Varner, his interest obviously piqued.

  “There’s a gate,” Bao said, then paused. “Big white metal thing that the security guard has to open and close. The guard also told me I only had four hours outside of town without prior permission.”

  Many people looked at each other in shock at this development.

  “And with permission?”

  Bao leaned back in his seat again. “Twelve. I guess you have to contact the city office to get permission to leave.”

  There were several whispered side conversations. This went on for a half minute until Varner started tapping on the glass table with his coffee mug.

  “People! People! Let’s get through this.”

  The CEO turned his attention back to Bao and gestured for him continue. Bao shrugged, having nothing more to add. Varner turned to someone on the opposite side of the table.

  “Dr. Hunter, can you give us a rundown of the legislation that’s passed?”

  Dr. Emily Hunter was a political scientist from somewhere in the Midwest. Bao thought she was attractive, even though she had to be at least ten years older than him.

  “Sure Mike,” she said, pulling out a binder. She stood and leaned over the table. “First was the tax bill. It established a progressive income tax with three brackets. The rates are five, ten, and 12.5 percent. This bill also established a corporate income tax with two rates. This was based on number of employees. Um…” she said, turning the page and running her finger down the paper.

  “Then we had the tariff that taxes goods coming from outside Blue Creek,” she continued. “Then there was the minimum wage and the restrictions on outsiders from working in Blue Creek.” Her finger continued down the page.

  Bao thought of his conversations with Patton after the laws had passed. He shook his head and chuckled again. A massive headache was on the horizon. He was going to need another energy drink and an Excedrin.

  “…then there’s been talking of a living wage, printing money to monetize experiment credits, price fixing, wage caps…”

  Bao massaged his temples. Mention of the living wage policy idea was going to push him over the edge. Patton’s reaction to the minimum wage was bad, but when he heard about the living wage, his anger became volcanic. In fact, after the idea was floated by one of Asher’s aides on a news talk show, Patton took a week off of work. By the time Patton had returned to his office he had a new website with a daily political blog, which was now the most viewed webpage in Blue Creek.

  Dr. Hunter finally finished rehashing the last few months worth of legislation and sat down. Bao watched under the glass table as she crossed her long, muscular legs. He exhaled loudly. She must have noticed because she glanced over at him and smiled seductively.

  “Thanks Dr. Hunter,” Varner said, glancing down at his own binder. “Now Dr. Edmunds, what have been the ramifications of these policies at this point?”

  Edmunds, who had nearly dozed off, jerked awake and straightened himself in his seat. He was average height and a little pudgy. He looked to Bao to be half black. He was one of the economists, and seemed to be the best at tracking economic changes in real time.

  “Well,” he said, clearing his throat. “The personal income tax was well received, believe it or not. People are accustomed to paying taxes and they see the benefits they get from them. The economy hasn’t been affected by these taxes too much, but the corporate income tax is a different story,” he said, flipping to the correct page in his binder.

  “The corporate income tax – or business tax, as it’s been called – has put a dent in economic activity.” He motioned towards an assistant, who turned on a large screen and a projector. A graph appeared on the screen. The assistant handed Dr. Edmunds a remote control. He stood and walked to the front of the room.

  “From March, when everyone arrived, through Christmas and into this last spring, economic activity was robust as you can see here,” he said, pointing at a large bar on the left of the graph. “However, once the government took over March first, activity began to slow.”

  “Could that be due to any other factors?” another researcher asked, obviously skeptical that the economic slowdown was due to the government beginning operations.

  Edmunds was either a very patient person, or he was too tired to be annoyed with being questioned.

  “That’s a good point, and you are correct. The government began to operate March 1st. However, you have to remember that during the election, and after Asher and the Council were elected, there was a two month period of time where they revealed their strategy and talked about policies they were going to implement. We’re still analyzing the data, but our initial findings are that post-election rhetoric helped to cause the slowdown.”

  He looked around the room to see if there were any other objections to his claim. After a brief pause, Varner spoke up.

  “What other factors led to the slowdown that we’ve seen?”

  Edmunds clicked to the next slide. “These are the results of our analysis. As you can see, there are many variables here, but based on survey data, citizens were really affected by their perceptions based on rhetoric.”

  “That also shows that previous spending was also a factor,” replied the critic.

  Edmunds rubbed his face, obviously annoyed. His lack of sleep was definitely catching up with him.

  “That’s true and that is the biggest factor, statistically speaking. It’s also an obvious control variable that we expect to be significant. However, the fact that political rhetoric from elected off
icials shows up as being significant is huge. Remember, in these kinds of analyses we can’t capture variables perfectly.”

  There were nods all around the table. Sensing the contention that was beginning to build, Varner stepped in with another question.

  “So why have things gotten so bad so fast?”

  Edmunds returned to his seat and opened his binder. He looked around at his colleagues, hoping someone else would take the floor. After an awkward pause, Edmunds continued.

  “Like I said, the personal income tax was well received, but the corporate income tax has clearly had a negative impact on spending. Governments see these taxes as an extra avenue for revenue. However, these taxes are basically inflators. They drive up the costs of both goods and services because business owners have to maintain their profit margins in order to keep operations steady and predictable. They are able to do this by passing their tax bill onto customers.”

  Edmunds stood again, returning to his role as professor.

  “The increase in costs hampers spending on both goods and services because wages don’t automatically increase. You see, wages increase when companies’ profit margins increase. Because companies are trying to maintain their profit margins they’re not investing in expansion or in raises to their employees.”

  “What about the minimum wage. That’s an increase of wages,” said another researcher, obviously not an economist.

  Dr. Edmunds rolled his eyes at the question before he could catch himself. Everyone in the room was more and more on edge.

  “Again, the key term is artificial. When a governmental implements a policy, it tends to have an artificial influence on the market and what we call the business cycle. Let me use an example.