Chapter 747: Impotent Rage 3
It was Prime Minister An Xinjie who broke the silence in the conference room. He looked at the Minister of Finance with red eyes and was extremely angry. This Sato Shiichiro was a representative nominated by major domestic financial groups. The exchange condition at that time was to provide a large amount of campaign funds to his own party. At this time, Sato Shiichiro deliberately mentioned the issue of funds needed to purchase machinery and equipment. Wasn't it the wishful thinking that the government would provide funds to the enterprise? But the amount of this fund is too large. Although it is the beginning of the year, the government still has a lot of budget funds that have not been put into use. However, even with the current fiscal budget of the YH government, once such a huge sum of money is taken out, it will seriously affect other aspects.
Prime Minister An Xinjie certainly would not agree to the government funding the purchase of machinery and equipment for major enterprises. After all, those large and medium-sized enterprises are privately owned, not state and government industries. Each enterprise only pays the corresponding taxes to the government every year. Of course, these enterprises will also provide a lot of political donations to the political parties and politicians they support. However, Prime Minister An Xinjie is very clear that once he agrees that the government will provide the funds needed to purchase machinery and equipment for major enterprises, he will definitely be criticized by the opposition party, and may even lead to his resignation. Therefore, he said in a hoarse voice: "Mr. Sato, the funds currently held by the government are mostly special funds related to domestic infrastructure, mainly for the construction of railways and large power stations. Once these special funds are diverted for other purposes, have you ever thought about the serious consequences that will result?"
As the spokesperson for the major financial groups, Sato Shiichiro just wanted to reduce the losses of the major financial groups behind him as much as possible. After all, even if the government only bears part of the burden, it is also a pleasant surprise for the major companies. As for whether the Prime Minister will step down due to misappropriation of special funds, what does it have to do with him? Anyway, no matter who the successor is, he will generally still serve as the Minister of Finance. Even if he loses the position of Minister of Finance, it doesn't matter. The major financial groups will definitely arrange a good job for him with generous treatment, and once he helps the major financial groups obtain additional subsidies from the government, he will also get a considerable amount of cash rewards.
Therefore, when facing the questioning of Prime Minister Anhui Jie, Sato Shiichiro said seriously: "You all know that more than 200 large and medium-sized enterprises in the country have been looted. Some strong companies may still have the funds to repurchase machinery and raw materials, but it is undeniable that a considerable number of enterprises will be in trouble due to their inability to repurchase machinery and equipment, and will not be able to resume production quickly. These enterprises are not only facing the penalty for failure to perform the contract as scheduled, but I am afraid that even these enterprises are facing the risk of bankruptcy. Once these enterprises go bankrupt, not only will our government lose a large amount of tax revenue in the future, but also tens of millions of workers will lose their jobs, which is related to the lives of tens of millions of families. If such a bad situation occurs, I am afraid that these families and their relatives and friends will have great dissatisfaction with our government. If the opposition party seizes the opportunity at that time, the consequences will be disastrous."
After hearing what Sato Shiichiro said, all the cabinet members present couldn't help but secretly take a breath. Although everyone knew very well that Sato Shiichiro proposed that the government provide funds to help major companies purchase machinery and equipment in order to protect the interests of the major financial groups behind it, what he said was by no means alarmist. Those strong companies definitely have the funds to purchase machinery and equipment again, but a considerable number of companies will definitely face the risk of bankruptcy. Once these companies go bankrupt, the chain reaction brought about by a large number of unemployed workers will also most likely lead to a governance crisis for the current government.
Obviously, this was a naked conspiracy by Shiichiro Sato, which posed a dilemma to Prime Minister An Xinjie. Regardless of whether the government provided funds or not, the prospects for the Prime Minister were not optimistic.
As a staunch ally of Prime Minister An Xinjie, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Saburo Nakano would never watch the Prime Minister fall into trouble, so he coughed and slowly said, "Some of the companies that Mr. Sato mentioned just now are unable to afford the funds needed to repurchase machinery and equipment and are about to face the risk of bankruptcy. This is an indisputable fact. Whether it is to ensure our government's tax revenue in the future or to ensure the employment of tens of millions of workers, our current government cannot sit idly by."
After hearing what Saburo Nakano said, everyone, including Prime Minister Anxin Jie, stared closely at the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, who was over 60 years old. In particular, several cabinet members from the Anxin faction had their brows furrowed. They absolutely did not believe that the experienced Saburo Nakano would not be able to detect Sato Shiichiro's plan, but why did he say these words at this time?
Nakano Saburo ignored the different looks on everyone's faces and continued, "I think Mr. Sato's proposal that the government provide funds for companies to repurchase machinery and equipment is not well thought out."
Seeing that Sato Shiichiro was about to speak impatiently, Nakano Saburo gently waved his hand: "Sato-kun, please listen to me before you speak, okay?"
Although he was unwilling, Sato Shiichiro still closed his mouth silently, patiently wanting to listen to what the old man would say next.
Saburo Nakano took a sip of tea from his teacup before continuing, "Our government will never ignore the bankruptcy of a large number of companies, but we cannot use the state's funds to buy machinery and equipment for each company for free. If we do this, the consequences will be disastrous. Mr. Sato, have you ever thought about what other small and medium-sized companies would think if our government provided funds to the more than 200 companies that were looted? There is an old saying in China that it is not the lack of wealth that is worrying, but the imbalance of wealth. If we do that, we will definitely lose a large number of supporters. My suggestion is to encourage these unfortunate companies to repurchase machinery and equipment as soon as possible. Among them, those companies with financial difficulties can be helped by our government to provide low-interest loans. In addition, since the number of machinery and equipment to be purchased this time is large, I propose that our government organize various companies to make collective purchases."