by James Rosone
“You almost sound like a Democrat, Mr. President,” said Speaker Fultz with a chuckle. Congressman George Fultz was a retired Army Colonel. He had joined the Freedom Party in 2029 after getting to know Henry Stein while he was running for Governor of Florida. Henry had recruited George to be one of the first party members to run for Congress and upon being elected, he was made Vice Chairman of the FP. In concert with Stein, he would run the party and focus on recruiting likeminded people to run for political office under the FP banner. Several Congressional members in both the House and Senate also joined the FP, but with strings. They were required to back the party and to not accept any Super Pac or special interest monies.
Speaker Fultz ran the party with an iron fist, carrying out Stein’s vision and keeping members in line with the FP agenda. The FP was not for sale, and Fultz ensured its members stayed honest or they were out. George was 6’4”, muscular, and possessed a commanding presence when he walked into a room. As a young officer he had served in the second Iraq War just as President Stein, so they had that shared experience in common.
“Well, I do not believe we need to raise taxes; we just need to establish a process that effectively collects the taxes due. That is what this new code will accomplish. The average person and corporation will pay less in taxes, but the government will bring in substantially more income, simply by ensuring corporations are not using an overly complicated process to cheat the system.”
“If you all will grab the blue folder; we will move towards the jobs program. Monty, please walk us through this next initiative,” said the President, nodding towards Monty.
“Certainly. Moving towards the jobs program…we have a large workforce that is currently unemployed, we are going to start putting them to work. We have bridges that need to be repaired, we have an energy infrastructure that needs to be upgraded, and we have roads and schools that need to be serviced. We are also going to begin immediate work on establishing high-speed rail throughout the country. So, taking a page out of FDR’s playbook, we are going to start government work gangs to put people back to work.”
“There will be a government bid for one hundred American companies to manage these projects; the pay for these contractors will be set in line with the government pay grade system of WS-7s, WS-9s, WS-12s, and WS-13s. Let me also emphasize these are not government positions; these are contractor positions with pay that is equivalent to those government pay bands. The President envisions this work plan having a ten-year shelf life, with positions gradually being eliminated as the program heads towards the ten-year mark and the projects are completed. The number of people employed will surge through the first six years with close to twenty two million people, and then decline during the final four years until it ends at the end of the tenth year,” Monty said as he guided the group towards the next section of the program.
The President interjected briefly to say, “While attending Oxford, I studied Program Management. This work program is going to be the largest major program ever conceived and executed in our country’s history, and perhaps the world. Because of the scope and size of this program (along with the price tag of $2.6 Trillion dollars), I have spoken with the director of the Oxford Center for Major Programme Management Studies, and they have agreed to assist in the management of this program. I am confident that bringing in an outside and world-renowned group to head up this project, we will see tremendous success. Sorry for the interruption; please continue Monty.”
“Yes, Mr. President. If the infrastructure projects are not completed and the program needs to go beyond the ten years, then it will have to be approved by the Congress and the President. This is not meant to be a new long-term government program or entitlement program; this is designed purely to put people to work on necessary infrastructure upgrades.” Monty paused for a moment to take a drink of his coffee before he continued.
“Make no mistake, people in this program will work and work hard. The Army Corp of Engineers, along with the Oxford Group, will manage the overall program for the government. This program will help give people a reason to wake up in the morning and will be the first step in rebuilding this country and putting people back to work. As things begin to improve, more and more people will leave this work program to go to work for other businesses. The program will be paid for by shifting monies from personnel currently employed at the IRS and other government departments as we continue to trim the government down to become more efficient and lean. The American First Corporation’s profits will also be incorporated into paying for this public works program. Before anyone asks me about that last part, we will discuss it shortly.”
Monty paused long enough to look at the President, and then continued. “Until such time as the long-term overarching goal of having people employed by the private sector can be realized, we need to do something to help stimulate the economy and put people to work.”
The President interjected at this point and said, “I refuse to pay people welfare and not have them work; people will be fed and taken care of, but they will work for it. Our nation has unfortunately created a nanny state where people believe the government has all the answers and will take care of everyone. This ideology has been implemented and tested for the last 70 years and it has failed. Particularly the last 40 years…people do not know how to do basic tasks such as balance a budget, plan a meal or work a 40-hour work week. 25% of the country can no longer support the other 75%--nor will it under my watch. Under this plan, there will be jobs for people to be able to work (both through the public works program and through America First Corporation), and unless they are physically or mentally unable to do so, they will.” Senator Landrew cleared her throat, a little too loudly. “Excuse me, Mr. President, but it seems to me that you will be taking people in the welfare system and throwing them out onto the streets. I mean, seriously--giving them one hundred and twenty days to transition? How can you do that?”
The President knew Landrew would be difficult and could throw a lot of hurdles to hold up his reforms, but he also knew that she had concerns similar to his that she wanted to address. Because of this, he knew they could find common ground and work within those areas, giving her something her branch of the party wanted in exchange for something he needed.
The President had prepared for this response. “If you will go through to page 23 of the packet in front of you, you will notice that we will provide something which should have been nationalized a long time ago--education on basic job and life skills. People leaving the government subsidy system will know how to balance a check book, create a budget, plan a family menu that is not dependent on fast food, go to interviews, write resumes and perform the functions of being an employee with the basic consideration that most supervisors would consider to be a minimum standard of efficiency. People will not just be thrown into a different way of life without being taught the necessary skills to survive in the world. There will also be ample job opportunities for them through this new jobs training and work program.”
Ms. Landrew interjected, “--but Sir, can you really expect a few months of education to change a lifetime of being under a broken system that has created entire generations who have never worked?”
The President paused for a minute before responding, collecting his thoughts. “I am sure there will still be some problems with those who have been under the welfare system for multiple generations, and I do anticipate some violence in the beginning from those who feel they are entitled to a free lunch. However, it is time for people to wake up. There is no money for the country to keep paying those who are capable of working but choose not to do so. That said, we need to foster an environment where they can find work, and that is what we are intending to create through the new tax code and the America First Corporation.”
“Simply put, if you don’t work, you don’t eat--simple as that. Those who voted the for the FP are tired of people who have new smart phones and freshly lacquered manicures asking for government assistance while the
re are people who would be happy just to have enough food to eat and who are willing to put in labor for that privilege. They will be given the tools on how to survive in the working world, and it is up to them to walk through the open door,” said the President, who at this point was clearly annoyed but still realizing he needed Senator Landrew.
“I am not ignoring the importance of what you are saying, Senator Landrew. However, we have a lot more ground to cover today. Do I have your permission to continue?”
With all eyes turning towards Senator Landrew she suddenly became very meek in her response, “Of course, Mr. President.”
The President took a deep breath and slowly let it out; the meeting was going well but he was definitely irritated with having to deal with a progressive liberal who just did not understand the financial situation these entitlement programs had placed the country in.
The President continued the briefing, moving on to the energy agenda. “Our economy is still dependent on fossil fuels, and so is the rest of the world. We have seen what $400+ for a barrel of oil has done to the global economy. America has fared better than others because we have energy resources, but they are not enough. We need to become 100% energy independent and lead the way in finding realistic alternative energy sources in order to ensure the world is never again held hostage by one country or region.”
“Going forward, we are establishing a new energy plan and policy. Our new policy will be a multifaceted approach. We are going to move full speed ahead with ethanol-based fuel for vehicles. As a country we can produce enough crops to convert into sufficient fuel for our domestic needs. This will increase demand in the farming sector and reduce our need for gasoline. Oil is too important to the rest of the economy for us to use such a large portion of it as fuel for vehicles when there are clean renewable alternatives available.”
“We will also expand the exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas in our own country. Petroleum is used in nearly every aspect of the economy; to ensure economic stability, further exploration needs to be done.” The President stopped for a second to take a drink of water and turned towards the economic advisors and Congressional leadership before speaking again.
“The US has been sitting on an enormous surplus in oil and natural gas for the last couple of decades, yet we have never realized its full potential to increase our exports and revenue. This industry is also (believe it or not) a means to transform our economy into a more Green economy. For the last one hundred fifty years, administration after administration has federalized immense amounts of public land to turn it into federal parks; at this point, over 50% of America has been turned into a federally protected park.”
The President paused for a second, continuing to gauge the response of the Congressional leaders who were not part of the FP, since they had not been made aware of the forthcoming Executive Order (EO). “With Executive Order 902, I am officially creating the America First Corporation, or AFC. The Congress will vote on this later in the year to make it a permanent organization beyond my Administration. AFC will be run like a private enterprise, with the exception that 60% of the profits will be used to help fund the federal government. Ten percent of the profits will fund an internal R&D department with the sole purpose of creating new ways of capturing the sun’s energy and will include space-based platforms. There are no shareholders or other special interest groups to interfere with this type of research, so I am confident we will see an alternative to fossil fuels within next decade or two.” A few whistles could be heard in the room by one of the Republican representatives; even Senator Landrew smiled at the thought of finally being able to move away from fossil fuel-based energy.
“The remaining 30% will be used to develop organic growth, employee training and community programs. AFC will initially be funded with $15 billion, and will have exclusive rights to drill and mine for minerals and resources on all federal lands except for certain specific National Heritage Parks, which will remain as pristine treasures for our future generations. CEO pay for AFC will be capped at no higher than 250 times the lowest paid employee. There will be no stock sold in AFC, and there will be no bonuses or dividends paid to banks or investors (as there will be none). All internal CEO bonus pay is also capped at no more than 50 times the lowest bonus given. This will ensure that AFC will remain a corporation that serves the people of America and the Government; there will be no excessive pay, yet it will still allow for merit pay and bonuses when warranted. We want the best and brightest to work for AFC.”
Seeing approving looks thus far, the President continued. “AFCs sole purpose is to earn money to help fund the federal government and entitlement programs, essentially a sovereign wealth fund. It will compete on the open market for materials and will receive no special privileges, with the exception of only being allowed to operate on existing federal lands. I am also authorizing the construction of ten additional oil refineries so as additional oil is brought to the market, we will have the refinery capacity to handle it and produce our own gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in the quantities needed to be completely self-sufficient.”
America had trillions in unfunded liabilities, primarily Social Security and Medicare. If these programs are going to remain solvent, then a sovereign wealth fund solely dedicated to generating a profit to pay for them needed to be developed. The President also believed AFC would, in time, generate more than two hundred thousand new high paying jobs, which was greatly needed in the wake of the Great Depression.
“During the campaign, I said I would work to provide America with clean energy, and I plan on doing just that. As President, I am authorizing the construction of additional natural gas and nuclear power plants. As we build a new power plant, we will close down the dirtiest of coal plants, replacing them with natural gas and nuclear power. The goal is that over the next decade we will replace virtually all coal plants with clean natural gas and nuclear power. Most of these new power plants and AFC facilities will also be located in coal producing states and counties to help offset the job losses that will occur as we move away from coal.”
“I have directed the Department of Energy to work on increasing America’s generation of nuclear power by 22% to 40% within the next ten years. Each of the new plants will have a built-in capacity to handle the nuclear waste they generate in a safe and guarded manner until scientists are able to find a better means of disposing of it.”
Monty quickly interjected to point out, “--Older nuclear plants will be replaced by the new ones, with the increased waste storage facilities so that they can be decommissioned or rebuilt.”
After years of working together with Monty, President Stein was used to him bringing up important points during his presentations, and continued completely unfazed. “As part of the Clean Energy Act, we are also going to begin construction of eight large-scale wind farms, both onshore and offshore. We will expand and build new solar farms in the southwest and geothermal plants as well. I’m also determined to put the devices that harvest wave energy on the market; this has been held up too long because of lack of funding. These initiatives will take time, but over the next decade we will reduce America’s carbon footprint and bring cheap inexpensive power to the marketplace through common sense energy policies, thus lowering the production cost of manufacturing and increasing job growth. This comprehensive approach will increase renewable energy generation by 30%, nuclear power by 40% and natural gas power by 30%.”
The President saw Senator Landrew looking as if she wanted to say something, so he gestured to her to invite her to speak.
“Mr. President, we may not agree on a lot of the issues we have been discussing. However, I am surprised and excited to hear you speak so confidently about this renewable and clean energy plan and policy. I had figured all that talk on the campaign was just a way of drawing Democrat voters to your party,” said Senator Landrew.
With the liberal Senator starting to come around to the FPs agenda, the President was more congen
ial in his response. “Senator, I was clear on how I would run the country if elected, and expanding and building a clean renewable energy plan is something America needs; it is not just a matter of financial security--it provides a way to protect ourselves from dependence on other nations. Likewise, we need oil and natural gas, not just for our vehicles but also for manufacturing, and unless we can bring down the price of oil and begin to get ourselves independent of the use of foreign oil, we will continue to be entangled in the affairs of those regions of the world. I want to bring to a conclusion our endless involvement in small conflicts over resources and bring our country truly into self-reliance. I hope that I can count on your support for all of these initiatives which will benefit our country?”
With a look that was neither approving nor disapproving, Ms. Landrew began a very metered political response, “Mr. President, it will be hard for me to gain support from the Democrats in the Senate on your oil drilling and the America First Corporation initiative. However, I do feel that if the legislation includes all of these green energy projects you mentioned, I think I can get them to agree to support your legislative agenda. They would be hard-pressed to vote down legislation that includes some of their cornerstone ideas and projects.”
The President knew that this was the closest thing he could expect to a glowing approval and show of support, and smiled before responding, “Excellent. Then that is the approach we will take. These initiatives will be put into a single bill. It will provide your colleagues with a victory of their own and still allow us to move the country in a direction that will end our dependence on foreign powers for energy and resources.”
