The Bear and the Dragon - Tom Clancy [301]
"They're dense," Ryan observed.
"Well, they sure as hell don't know high finance. Even I know better than this."
"TRADER has to see this. Put him on the SORGE list," POTUS ordered.
"With your day-to-day approval only," the DDO hedged. "Maybe he has a need-to-know on economics, but nothing else, okay?"
"Okay, for now," Jack agreed. But George was coming along nicely on strategic matters, and might turn into a good policy adviser. He understood high-stress psychology better than most, and that was the name of the game. Jack broke the connection and had Ellen Sumter call the SecTreas over from across the street.
"So, what else do they worry about?" Chester asked.
"They're concerned that some of the workers and peasants are not as happy as they should be. You know about the riots they had in the coal region."
"Oh?"
"Yes, the miners rioted last year. The PLA went in to settle things down. Several hundred people were shot, and three thousand arrested." She shrugged while putting her bra back on. "There is unrest, but that is nothing especially new. The army keeps control of things in the outlying regions. That's why they spend so much money, to keep the army reliable. The generals run the PLA's economic empire—all the factories and things—and they're good at keeping a lid on things. The ordinary soldiers are just workers and peasants, but the officers are all party members, and they are reliable, or so the Politburo thinks. It's probably true," Ming concluded. She hadn't seen her minister worry all that much about it. Power in the People's Republic decidedly grew from the barrel of a gun, and the Politburo owned all the guns. That made things simple, didn't it?
For his part, Nomuri had just learned things he'd never thought about before. He might want to make his own report on this stuff. Ming probably knew a lot of things that didn't go out as SONGBIRD material, and he'd be remiss not to send that to Langley, too.
"It's like a five-year-old in a gun store," Secretary Winston observed. "These people have no business making economic decisions for a city government, much less a major country. I mean, hell, as stupid as the Japanese were a few years ago, at least they know to listen to the coaches."
"And?"
"And when they run into the brick wall, their eyes'll still be closed. That can smart some, Jack. They're going to get bit on the ass, and they don't see it coming." Winston could mix metaphors with the best of 'em, Ryan saw.
"When?" SWORDSMAN asked.
"Depends on how many companies do what Butterfly did. We'll know more in a few days. The fashion business will be the lead indicator, of all things."
"Really?"
"Surprised me, too, but this is the time for them to commit to the next season, and there's a ton of money in that business going on over there, man. Toss in all the toys for next Christmas. There's seventeen billion—plus just in that, Mark Gant tells me."
"Damn."
"Yeah, I didn't know Santa's reindeer had slanted eyes either, Jack. At least not to that extent."
"What about Taiwan?" Ryan wondered.
"You're not kidding. They're jumping into the growing gap with both feet. Figure they pick up a quarter, maybe a third, of what the PRC is going to lose. Singapore's going to be next. And the Thais. This little bump in the road will go a long way to restore the damage done to their economy a few years back. In fact, the PRC's troubles might rebuild the whole South Asian economy. It could be a swing of fifty billion dollars out of China, and it has to go somewhere. We're starting to take bids, Jack. It won't be a bad deal for our consumers, and I'll bet those countries learn from Beijing's example, and kick their doors open a notch or so. So, our workers will profit from it, too—somewhat, anyway."
"Downside?"
"Boeing's squealing some. They wanted that triple-seven order, but you wait an' see. Somebody's going to take up that