novelnext Chapter 106 Word Games
Chapter 106 Word Games
Chapter 106 Word Games
John Murphy did not stay long.
He boarded the first flight to Washington.
He still has a long way to go to win that senator's seat.
He needs to win over those demanding financiers in Washington and conduct dozens of speaking tours across the vast rural heartland of Pennsylvania.
But at the heart of all this is Pittsburgh.
So he left Pittsburgh to Leo.
Leo must complete the application for the Pittsburgh city bonds before he returns with good or bad news.
Pittsburgh City Hall, second basement level.
As the elevator doors opened, a dry, cool breeze rushed out.
This is the Office of Management and Budget.
Leo strode across the narrow corridor.
He was no stranger to this place.
Previously, Ethan Hawke practically wore out the doorstep of this floor trying to secure the budget for "Revival Project Phase II".
In the end, it took Leo himself three times to come down and slam his fist on the table before the budget was finally approved.
But today is different.
Leo glanced at the heavy document in his hand.
This $500 million Pittsburgh bond deal must go through an unavoidable legal process before it can be legally placed on Moretti's desk.
It requires the signature of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Without his signature, this draft budget is legally invalid and worthless.
At the far end of the office, a frosted glass door was tightly closed.
Leo pushed open the door and entered.
The room was filled with filing cabinets, like a maze. In the center of the maze sat a middle-aged man.
Blake Finch.
Director of the Pittsburgh Office of Management and Budget.
He was a typical technocrat, with thinning hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and always carrying an old-fashioned Casio calculator.
Leo walked up to Finch's desk, placed his hands on the table, and looked down at him.
"Blake, put those trivial matters aside for now."
Leo lowered his voice.
"I want to issue city bonds."
Finch's fingers, which were tapping on the calculator, froze for a moment.
He raised his head, looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to their conversation, and then slowly stood up.
"Mr. Mayor, I think we need to find another place to talk."
Finch pointed to the tightly closed frosted glass door in the corner, which was his office.
The two entered the office, and Finch locked the door behind him.
He turned around, crossed his arms, and looked directly at Leo.
"Alright, Mayor, how big of a game do you want to play?"
Leo slammed the thick stack of documents he had prepared onto Finch's desk with a thud.
"Five hundred million US dollars."
Finch pushed up his glasses and subconsciously reached for the document, but froze the moment he heard the number.
"How many?"
His voice trembled, and his pupils contracted instantly.
"Five hundred million dollars?"
"Mayor, do you seem to have some misunderstanding about the term 'five hundred million'? That's more than three times the city's total annual capital expenditure. What are you planning to do? Tear down City Hall and rebuild it?"
"Take a look at the proposal, Blake." Leo ignored Finch's shock and tapped the document cover with his finger. "Don't be so quick to say no."
Finch frowned and opened the thick document with some skepticism.
His eyes swept quickly across the charts and numbers, while his other hand instinctively reached for the calculator on the table.
"According to the Pennsylvania Local Government Unit Debt Act, also known as Section 53 of the Omnibus Code..."
Article 802 —
As Finch flipped through the pages, he muttered to himself almost nervously.
"The non-election-generated debt limit for local governments is 250% of the borrowing base."
His fingers danced rapidly across the calculator.
"Borrowing base — we need to calculate the total revenue of the past three full fiscal years."
"After deducting special appropriations and trust interest—the three-year average, which is the base amount of borrowing—is approximately $7 million."
"
"Da, da, da."
Finch pressed the multiplication sign heavily.
Multiply by 250%.
A number appeared on the screen: 17.5.
"The statutory debt ceiling is $17.5 billion," Finch said, looking up. "Pittsburgh's current outstanding debt is around $6 million. That means, theoretically, we have about $11 billion to $12 billion of borrowing space within the legally permissible framework."
Leo looked at Finch: "So, this bond offer is within the limit, five hundred million dollars, less than half of the remaining limit."
"Smack."
Finch slammed the file shut and threw it back to Leo.
"But that's still impossible."
The refusal was swift and decisive.
"Mr. Mayor, the law allows you to jump from a building, but that doesn't mean you should jump out of the window."
"The theoretical limit is 11 billion, but that doesn't mean the market will buy it."
Finch pulled a thick book, "Municipal Finance Law," from the bookshelf behind him, skillfully turned to a certain page, and pointed it out to Leo.
"Mr. Mayor, I think you need to brush up on your basic financial knowledge."
Finch held up one finger.
"The bonds proposed in the plan are general obligation bonds."
"It means that the city of Pittsburgh is borrowing money from investors using its entire credit and tax-collecting capacity as collateral. In other words, we're mortgaging decades of property tax, business tax, and even parking fine revenue."
"If we need to build roads or bridges, or fill a huge deficit, we usually do it this way. Because roads and bridges themselves don't make money; they have to be supported by all taxpayers."
Finch's voice rose a few decibels, carrying a warning tone.
"But you need to understand our current situation, how low Pittsburgh's credit rating is right now."
"Wall Street investors aren't philanthropists. What do they think when they see a city like Pittsburgh issuing such a large amount of general obligation bonds just to do charity?"
"What do you think?" Leo asked, tilting his head.
"They'll think we're committing suicide."
"They will demand an extremely high risk premium, and our interest costs will explode. At that point, we won't even be able to pay the police officers' salaries, let alone repair the community."
"Therefore, as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, my responsibility is to prevent this kind of fiscal suicide."
"Issuing such bonds is illegal, and I refuse."
"oh----"
Leo drew out the last syllable, his expression calm.
"Blake, all you've said is that general obligations bonds are no good."
Leo looked up and stared directly at Finch.
"But you're the expert. Tell me, in this vast financial market, besides general obligation bonds backed by taxes, isn't there any other way to play?"
"If this kind of bond won't work, we can just issue another kind."
Finch paused for a moment, then let out a sneer.
He sat back in his chair, picked up the draft, and casually flipped through a couple of pages.
"Of course. There's another type called income bonds."
"If the proposal you bring today is about building a ten-story multi-level parking garage in the city center, I will sign it without hesitation. Because parking fees generate a steady stream of cash flow."
"Investors are buying the future revenue from the parking lot, not the tax guarantee from the municipal government; this is called risk isolation."
"If you want to build a brand new sewage treatment plant, or a toll bridge, I can sign it too."
Because water and toll fees are hard currency, as long as people use water and cross the bridge, the debt can be repaid.
"These bonds do not require the use of the fiscal budget; as long as the project itself can make money, Wall Street will buy them."
""
Finch held the document up and shook it in the air, making a rustling sound.
"But, my esteemed mayor, please open your eyes and see what's written in this grand blueprint of yours!"
Finch turned the pages one by one, and with each page, his finger would poke heavily at the project names.
"The first item is the skills training center for unemployed workers."
Finch pointed to that line of text.
"What is this? Giving lessons to laid-off workers? Are you planning to charge tuition to these workers who can't even afford to eat?"
"This is a purely investment project. Money is spent, teachers are hired, equipment is bought, venue is rented, and then what? Where is the cash flow? Where is the return?"
"The second item is the free canteen for senior citizens in the community."
Finch's voice was full of absurdity.
"This isn't even a project, it's charity! Are you planning to pay Wall Street interest by selling soup to elderly people on welfare? It's a bottomless pit on the financial statements, pure debt."
"The third item is the expansion of public childcare centers."
"The fourth item is the unemployment supplement."
Finch threw the file back on the table and crossed his arms.
"Mayor, these projects have a common name: consumables. They are welfare, public services, and the responsibility of the government, but they are by no means commercial assets."
"They don't generate any direct cash flow; they don't make money; they just suck up public funds like vampires."
"Social welfare projects that cannot generate cash flow to cover principal and interest are strictly prohibited from issuing income bonds."
Finch rubbed the bridge of his nose, his tone becoming resolute.
"So, stop thinking about it. What you're holding is a list of charities, not a business plan."
"Unless you can turn these poor people into geese that lay golden eggs, I can't sign this."
Leo was well aware of the numerous problems associated with issuing bonds, and he even attempted to morally blackmail Finch.
"Finch, this is about saving lives!" Leo raised his voice, slamming his hands on the table. "That's the livelihood of thousands of families! You're talking to me about legal clauses?"
Finch remained unmoved.
Moral blackmail has no effect on an old accountant like him who has spent decades immersed in numbers and terms.
"I only talk about the articles, because the articles are my job." Finch said without looking up, continuing to press the calculator.
Leo clenched his fists, wanting to punch him a couple of times.
Finch is protected by law on the issue of signing off. Even if the mayor says it's against regulations, there's nothing the mayor can do about it.
This seems to be a dead end.
"Words are power, Leo."
Roosevelt's voice rang in my mind at just the right moment.
"Don't get angry at him."
"There is a strict discourse system within this administrative system."
"Discourse is not merely a tool for describing the world, but also a mechanism for exclusion and authorization."
This system defines what is legal and what is insane.
"When you talk about saving lives, making a living, and conscience here, to Finch, you're talking nonsense. Because these words don't belong to the legitimate dictionary of the fiscal budget, you automatically exclude yourself from this power system."
"You need to learn how to access this system."
Roosevelt's voice took Leo back to 1940.
"At the time, Nazi Germany was bombing London, and the British were on the verge of collapse. I wanted to help them and give them destroyers and planes. But the United States had the Neutrality Act, and isolationists in Congress were watching my every move."
"If I said we wanted to go to war," or "we wanted to send weapons," that would be illegal."
"So I changed my approach."
"I introduced the Lend-Lease Act. I told Congress and the American people that this was neither going to war nor giving a gift."
"It's like my neighbor's house is on fire, and I lend him my water hose to put it out. Once the fire is out, he'll return the hose to me."
"You see, the essence of the matter hasn't changed. The weapons were still sent out, and the Germans were still bombed."
"But by redefining this behavior, by changing the language used to describe it, I have turned something that was originally illegal into something legal."
"This is controlling reality by controlling discourse."
"Back to the present."
Roosevelt guided Leo's gaze to the rejected document.
"Finch objects because, within the existing fiscal discourse, you define these projects as consumption."
"Consumption means a decrease in assets, it means liabilities, it means a bottomless pit."
"In this system, consumption is sinful."
"But what if these aren't considered consumption?"
"What if these were investments?"
"What if these are high-quality assets that can generate future returns?"
Leo paused for a moment.
How does the cafeteria generate revenue? How does the free training generate revenue?
"That takes a bit of imagination, son," Roosevelt laughed. "You need to learn to speak with the tongue of Wall Street."
"Look at this glass of water. If you say it's for quenching the thirst of a thirsty person, then it's a waste, a financial burden."
"But if you say this is a consumable necessary for maintaining the normal functioning of a biological organism, ensuring its continued ability to generate labor value," then this glass of water becomes a maintenance cost, becoming part of the means of production.
"The same thing changes its nature when you change its name."
"Giving money to the unemployed is fostering laziness. But injecting liquidity into temporarily laid-off human capital to prevent skill devaluation and social fall, thus ensuring the stability of the future tax base," is risk hedging and fiscal management.
"Did you see that, Leo?"
"That's the power of language."
"Go, sit down. Use his language, delve into his logic, and then dismantle him from within."
Leo understood, and he took a deep breath.
He pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Finch.
He picked up the draft that Carvin had thrown back at him.
"You're right, Blake. If our company can provide welfare, then it's in accordance with fiscal discipline."
Li Wei turned to the first page of the draft and pointed to the first line.
"For example, this grave, where unemployed workers are given skills training and job opportunities."
Finch said curtly, "This is typical welfare spending. The city government pays teachers to teach laid-off workers how to use computers or repair pipes. That money is gone once it's spent, and the union doesn't receive any direct financial return. Your union can issue bonds for this."
"No, Blake. You're still looking at things from an accountant's perspective, while we should be looking at things from an investor's perspective."
Roosevelt's voice was giving real-time guidance in Liwei's mind. Liwei took a red pen from his desk and mercilessly crossed out the two words "welfare".
"We changed our name."
Li Wei wrote another line of words next to it.
"Call it the Regional Infrastructure Upgrade Project."
Finch paused, muttering the grave-like phrase to himself: "Swinging power—infrastructure?"
"Yes," Li Wei explained, "the factory workers are the backbone of this city, just like machines in a factory."
When machines age, we need to repair and upgrade them. When workers' skills become outdated, we train them to acquire new skills—that's upgrade maintenance.
Li Wei stared at Finch.
"A worker who acquires a new skill can find a higher-paying job. A higher salary means higher consumption, which means that he will pay more income tax and property tax to Pittsburgh over the next thirty years."
"Therefore, this is public expenditure, which is a bet on the future tax base."
Finch frowned and pressed a few buttons on the old calculator, seemingly calculating the discount rate of this logic.
After a few seconds, he stopped.
"————In macroeconomic theory, this makes sense." Finch admitted, "The debt can indeed be considered a future asset, as long as we use future tax revenue increments as a source of repayment, there is no legal loophole."
"very good."
Li turned to the second page.
"Next up, the community's free canteen for elderly people."
"This is absolutely charity," Finch said firmly. "Giving meal tickets to the poor doesn't create any value for them. You can't expect the poor to pay more taxes after receiving these meals, can you?"
"shallow."
Li Wei once again wielded the red pen and blacked out that line of text.
"Our company is building a canteen."
He wrote a very difficult phrase in the blank space.
"Food safety and community disaster resilience protection nodes."
Finch's mouth dropped open: "What?"
"We are building emergency infrastructure." The community is redefining the function of its canteen, explaining, "These facilities provide food to sustain the community's livelihood."
"But in times of war, or when faced with natural disasters such as floods or blizzards, they serve as shelters and distribution points for supplies scattered throughout the city."
"This is a public safety product, Blake. Just like fire hydrants, you can't say they're a waste of money just because they don't get water every day. This is for the resilience of the city."
Finch looked at the grave inscription.
toughness.
This is a very popular term in Washington and academia; as long as it's used, any grant application becomes much easier to pass.
"Okay—" Finch wiped the sweat from his brow. "If you insist on classifying it as a public safety facility, then it does meet the issuance standards for general obligation bonds."
"The third grave."
"A housing repair subsidy for impoverished households—that sounds like giving money directly to private households, right?"
"It's obvious," Finch said. "This is illegal; public funds should not be used to increase the value of private assets."
"Sir, we are not repairing a house."
"This is an energy efficiency and carbon emission optimization retrofit of existing properties."
Li Wei pointed to the line of text, his tone quite serious.
"We are responding to the federal government's call for green energy and carbon neutrality. We are replacing the insulation in these older homes and installing energy-efficient windows to reduce carbon emissions and improve the city's energy efficiency."
"This falls under the category of environmental infrastructure construction."
"Moreover, after the house is repaired, the property value will increase, and the property tax will also increase accordingly."
Three hours have passed.
Finch looked at the bond plan in front of him, which had been completely altered.
All the simple and straightforward words that were originally used—canteen, training, building repair—have disappeared.
What is on paper is the transformation of capital, resilience assessment, carbon emission optimization, and the closed loop of industrial value-added.
Finch thought it was absurd.
Essentially, this is still about giving money to poor people to eat, repair their houses, and find jobs.
However, he has to admit that, in terms of legal principles and accounting standards, this new draft is completely compliant.
"Mr. Mayor."
Finch rubbed his sore eyes.
"You're a born bureaucrat; you're better at playing word games than those who sit in offices in Washington."
"Thank you for the compliment, Blake."
Li closed the document, his face showing no trace of smugness.
He knew this was only the first step.
The redefinition was simply to give the money a legitimate status, allowing it to pass the review of legal counsel and the state development department.
But to actually get the money, he still needs to overcome the biggest obstacle: the grave.
City Council.
Moretti still holds the greatest power in the city council.
If the issue of this grave is resolved publicly, then no matter how well-written this document is, it will just be a pile of waste paper.
"Alright, Blake."
"Now that we have confirmed the legality of this $500 million bond and determined its project name."
"Hai is here. I need you to perform the final step."
Finch picked up his pen: "You said, which special fund should we include it in? A special basic project or an emergency development fund?"
"male."
Li shook his head.
He stood up, placed his hands on the table, and stared into Finch's eyes.
"I want you to include the estimated $500 million in proceeds from this bond issuance as projected revenue directly and in full in today's Pittsburgh Production Operations and Budget Draft."
"Smack."
Finch dropped the pen from his hand onto the table.
He suddenly stood up, his movement so forceful that it knocked over a chair.
"Mayor! Are you insane?"
"That's the operating budget! It's the money used to pay wages, utilities, and keep the government running!"
Finch looked somewhat flustered.
"Mayor, have you really considered the consequences of doing this? Once this draft is submitted, this bond will no longer be an independent financing project; it will become a pillar balancing the overall fiscal budget."
"What if the city council ultimately rejects the bond issuance, even if they just want to delay it?"
Finch suddenly looked up.
"If they dare to say anything about the bonds, it's tantamount to directly cutting off the bottom line of the production budget. The entire balance sheet will collapse instantly, creating a huge shortfall of $500 million."
"According to the municipal charter, the council absolutely cannot pass a balanced budget. Therefore, rejecting the bonds means rejecting the entire operating budget of the entire project! It means they have personally rejected the police's work..."
The cost of the fire truck's fuel, even the coffee in their own office!
"In that case, we'll face a complete shutdown! If the budget fails to pass, the city hall will even have to pay tomorrow's electricity bill!"
"You're gambling with the fate of the entire city! You've got a gun pointed at everyone's forehead!"
Leo remained unusually calm in the face of Finch's roar.
"That's the goal, Blake."
"I want you to tie this money together with the police's wages, civil servants' pensions, and citizens' life-saving funds."
"I want to turn this $500 million into the oxygen that this city breathes."
"9
Li walked up to Finch.
"Speaker Moretti enjoys playing the approval game. He thinks he can take his time to review and approve my projects, and drag them out until they die."
"Now, I'm giving him this opportunity."
"I want him to understand that when this budget is on his desk, he is faced with the choice between approving the bonds or rejecting them."
Li Wei's eyes revealed a ruthless glint.
"I'm only giving him one grave option."
"Either we pass this new budget that includes bonds, and everyone can eat meat together: his constituency will have roads repaired, my workers will have jobs, and the police will have jobs paid."
"Or, veto the budget."
"Then let the entire Pittsburgh government shut down tomorrow."
3
"Let the streets be piled with garbage, let the emergency calls go unanswered, let schools stop throwing garbage, and let hospitals close down."
"Since he likes to strangle people, then I'll make him strangle everyone in the city who's shouting."
"Let's all die together."
Finch looked at the young mayor of the graveyard before him and felt a chill run down his spine.
He has met many politicians in his life, some greedy, some foolish, and some arrogant.
But he had never seen a madman who would dare to take the entire city's citizens hostage and play such a "cowardly game" with the council.
This is a highly poisonous pill, enough to kill the entire city.
Rivi stuffed the poison pill into the budget and then held it to Moretti's lips.
"Mayor—" Finch's voice trembled slightly, "Are you sure you want to do this? This could ruin your political career. If the government really shuts down, the voters will kill you."
"The voters will kill me, but before they kill me, they will tear up that grave and refuse to sign."
Li straightened his collar.
"Moreover, I believe in Moretti."
"He's a cunning and shrewd man, a beneficiary of the system. What beneficiaries fear most isn't compromise, but mutual destruction."
"He dares to gamble."
Finch looked into Richie’s unwavering eyes.
He knew that he was advising the public to lightly discard the grave property.
Moreover, technically speaking, as long as the mayor confirms that this revenue is "highly likely to be real," including it in the projected revenue and disclosing it would violate accounting standards, although the risk is extremely high.
As a subordinate, since the mayor had given a firm order and the procedure was compliant, he had no choice but to comply.
"Yes, Mayor."
Finch took off his glasses, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.
"I will redo the draft budget overnight."
"Incorporate that five hundred million dollars."
After saying that, Finch closed his eyes.
"God bless Pittsburgh."
Li Wei gave a brief evaluation, then turned and walked towards the door.
"Thanks for your hard work, Blake."
Liwei's hand gripped the doorknob.
"You'll be amazed; this will be the most brilliant budget of your career."
Li walked out of the Management and Budget Office.
This time, he was confident of victory.