Darkstone Code
Chapter 268 - 0266 Masks and Escapism

Chapter 268: 0266 Masks and Escapism

As the music in the hall began to lower, people forming circles around the room stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the core of the crowd.

Some people resting in the VIP room also changed into clothes suitable for the upcoming cocktail party, reappearing in front of everyone, including naturally, Mr. and Mrs. Wardrick.

Mr. Wardrick kindly smiled at Lynch and waved, showing not a trace of arrogance, a very approachable person.

But if one really believes this is the truth, then the truth will surely be shocking.

Today’s celebration, rather than celebrating the President’s successful rise to the Federation’s highest stage of power, might as well be called a potential... trade fair?

The attendees are all supporters of the President, and for their support over the years, and if the President wants these people to continue supporting him in the upcoming election, he must clearly inform these supporters what they can gain from the President for their past support in various ways.

In simpler terms, it’s about what kind of return these people will receive for their financial and physical support, and for continuing to provide such support in the future.

This is the characteristic of the Bail Federal, everything is openly priced, and every matter involving an investment demands a return!

The public never believed this to be true, but this is the reality.

At this moment Lynch noticed that some people had not appeared before, but now they have, including the executive director of the Federation’s largest medical group.

Since the dental-related medical group advocated for separating dental insurance from social insurance, claiming it to be a responsible stance for the people, larger medical groups are also following suit.

They even formed a massive specialized public relations team to persuade people across various fields to believe their nonsense — paying more expensive health insurance to enjoy more comprehensive medical services and protection!

And the purpose of doing this is to rid themselves of government oversight, as a portion of medical payments is funded by the Federation Government, which, to ensure every penny paid to medical groups is worthwhile and appropriate, would scrutinize every medical project.

They would also specify usage standards for some medicines. The most common example, such as the moderate issue of influenza, the government would tell the public that medicines costing nineteen cents, thirty-nine cents, and nine dollars and ninety-nine cents essentially have no difference, while only the nineteen cents medicine is included in the social security program.

If a doctor prescribes medication at any other price, it will be entirely at the citizen’s own expense.

This forces many citizens, or rather the vast majority, to use government-specified medicines if they want the federal government to undertake part of their medical costs.

This situation is extremely counterproductive to the interests of the medical groups, as while the ingredient difference between medicines costing nineteen cents, thirty-nine cents, and nine dollars and ninety-nine cents is indeed not much, the profit margin is dozens to hundreds of times different.

They prefer people to use the nine dollar and ninety-nine cents medicine, instead of the nineteen cents one, and certainly would not want the government to constantly monitor them.

The simplest solution is to detach medical insurance from social insurance, like what dentists have done, and as long as the government is not required to pay for the people’s medical expenses, there is no reason for the government to continue supervising every medical service and order, it would become the insurance company’s matter.

This also means that some people would need to pay hundreds to thousands of times extra for ailments originally curable by cheap drugs.

Even if the medical insurance group were to bear even 50% of the costs, their profit would still be over a hundredfold!

To this end, these medical groups also touted the drawbacks of "cheap healthcare" on television and in newspapers, using well-known public figures as examples to tell people what kind of treatment services the wealthy receive compared to them.

They also speak of things like the equality of life, making people feel they too should enjoy better, more complete, and more reliable treatment services rather than "cheap healthcare."

On the other hand, increasingly greedy medical groups are no longer satisfied with earning from just one side, they have formed companies specializing in medical insurance, intending to also capture the insurance premiums.

Everyone knows that health insurance cannot be unpaid, as nobody knows when they might encounter some trouble, but not everyone falls ill every year, meaning there are at least billions in insurance premiums collected each year.

If that money could go into their pockets...

Seeing these people, Lynch suddenly felt that compared to them, he was still too kind, and quite soft-hearted!

These people are literally cannibalistic, and high society understands this, yet no one speaks of it, not even the Federation Government itself.

Because they know very well that if people are willing to pay for their own health insurance, for medical groups to bear this part of the expenditure, it would undoubtedly save the Federation Government a large sum of money.

As for whether those people paying the higher cost and undergoing costlier treatment achieve satisfactory results, that’s another matter entirely.

Everyone remains silent, before great benefits, everyone is almost the same, including our so-called "honest President," he is no exception!

Apart from the people from the medical groups, some representatives of renowned chemical companies also appeared to the side.

The chemical industry is also a heavily affected area, fraught with numerous troubles and legal disputes, leading them to seek resolutions from the top down.

To achieve this, the best method is to find a politician to support in the election and then help them attain the presidency, by then, they will naturally provide ample favorable conditions for the chemical group.

The music in the hall finally stopped, the President stood at the center of the crowd, needing to say something tonight at the cocktail party to express the attitude he should convey.

He looked around, paused for a moment, and then, somewhat solemnly, uttered a single word, "Thank you!"

"I thank you all for coming here; I also appreciate the support you have given me over the past years!" His voice began to rise, with his voice being the only thing heard in the quiet hall.

"Even though we lost the election in the last campaign, but..." he showed a faint smile, "our luck turned out to be good!"

People gave out kind laughter at his self-deprecation, as in interpersonal relationships, being good at self-deprecation and possessing humor significantly aids interactions between people.

The laughter subsided after a while, and the President continued, "During this time, I’ve been contemplating, now that I’m President, people won’t have to think about how to give me some dignity before addressing me..."

Once again, kind laughter emanated from the crowd, the atmosphere on site was great, seemingly every big shot was adept at mood modulation.

"Now that I’m President, I must do things only a President can do."

"We all know the current situation of the Federation is not optimistic, and we should put away blind optimism to face some issues."

"If you’ve noticed previous speeches of mine, you’ll find there’s a distinct viewpoint that we should undertake more international responsibilities, and this statement came from a young person’s mouth."

"Honestly, I never imagined such an idea would originate from such a young mind, yet it also warns us that in reality, we’ve long noticed the issue but have been choosing to pretend we didn’t see it!"

"Mr. Lynch!" The President scanned the room, his gaze finally settling on Lynch, as the crowd parted, leaving Lynch exposed to everyone’s eyes.

Even Mr. Wardrick looked at Lynch in surprise, finding it hard to understand why such an inconspicuous little figure would be singled out by the President at such an important occasion.

"Mr. Lynch was the first to propose this view, making me understand that isolation does not mean giving up all rights and obligations, nor does it mean giving up all responsibilities."

"That’s not the correct way to write isolation; rather, it’s a form of shirking responsibility and escapism."

"I will make the Federation more involved in international affairs, and this time we will no longer play the ’deserter,’ with our past mistakes serving as wisdom to warn us and guide us on the right path."

"For the Federation, for the people, Long Live the Free Federation!"

The President raised his glass, with others following suit, chanting the same words, shouting Long Live the Free Federation, as the atmosphere heated up instantaneously!

What followed was deeper, singular interactions, where each person could chat with the President about their concerns and interests, which is, of course, the core content of this celebration event.

They would propose some of their ideas and demands, and if the President found them appropriate, he might give them a certain degree of acknowledgment, but it would never be a promise.

Aside from this, it was also a highly prestigious social occasion, gathering top capitalists, top politicians, and all kinds of faintly visible brokers!

Some people began searching for someone to talk to, but many more continued to surround the President.

After dismissing a couple of guys who approached him for a chat but without substantial content, Lynch moved closer to the vicinity of the President, as they were already discussing some matters.

"I recently just spoke with... the President over the phone, who highly praised our reintegration into the international community and agreed, based on the current situation, to promote bilateral trade in a limited manner..."

"In the forthcoming period, we will arrange for some individuals to visit foreign countries, to assess the investment environment, market economy, and seek business opportunities..."