"Interests, in the final analysis, are all conflicts of interest. How can those high-ranking bankers, industrial and commercial giants, and aristocratic rentiers dig into their pockets to feed the people at the bottom?"
"Compulsory education is a bottomless pit with no end. Once it is fixed in a legal form, the annual financial allocation will only increase but not decrease..."
"Who is willing to bear this burden? Haha, in fact, you can figure it out if you think about it with your heel. The Navy's allocation for additional three warships, if it is ten million pounds, will not be much different, although there will be violent conflicts behind the scenes. Conflict, but for this kind of investment, the business community can still recognize it by pinching their noses!"
"Only this kind of long-term and permanent investment is completely unbearable for businessmen. Isn't this a permanent tax increase? Moreover, the beneficiaries are the children of thieves and beggars who live in rags and filthy slums. This is even more It makes those who are superior feel unwilling..."
"Don't be angry, please let me continue. Although my words are harsh, you should understand that they are all true!"
Xiao Letian said sadly, "Conflicts between classes are difficult to reconcile, because human nature is selfish. Who among all businessmen is willing to pay taxes? In the end, if there is no legal sanction, they will never pay an extra penny. If you can evade taxes, you can evade them. If you can, you can evade taxes. Don’t you think so?"
"But Britain is a country with rules. No one is above the law, so they still have to pay taxes even if they are unwilling!"
"The governments of all countries in the world cannot create wealth themselves. In fact, the annual fiscal revenue comes entirely from national taxes. Since these taxes come from the private sector...or from the industrial and commercial circles, then when the government spends this money, it must Constrained by the business community..."
"Because no one wants the taxes they pay to be used in the wrong place, let alone raising taxes!"
"Okay, now the question arises, where are the elites of these empires willing to spend their tax money? Of course it is in places that are beneficial to them. For example, the navy and army will increase military spending. This is to maintain colonies and sea routes. This money should be spent on safety!”
"If the natives in the colonies and the bandits on the sea are not suppressed by the army, won't the goods on their merchant ships be robbed? It is related to their own interests. Of course they will support these financial allocations!"
"The expansion of railways, roads, waterways, and docks is easy to pass through Congress because these are the lifeblood of commercial trade, and businessmen can indirectly profit from the construction of these projects..."
"There is also investment in municipal projects, such as sewer expansion, adding gas lights to roads, adding sculptures, expanding hospitals, etc. These investments can directly improve people's lives, and there will not be much obstruction from Congress..."
"Don't forget, most of these members of Congress are top-level people, and their influence is very great. This kind of municipal construction funding must first be used in wealthy areas, right?"
Xiao Letian smiled sinisterly at Gladstone. These harsh words made the political veteran blush a little. "That's enough. How could it be as unbearable as you said..."
"Okay! There are no outsiders here, so it doesn't matter if you tell the truth. Behind politics is always a game of financial interests. You and I both understand this well, don't we?"
Xiao Letian poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip. "Profits, interests! Human beings are like this. The money spent must create some overt and covert benefits for oneself, otherwise no one will be a fool and spend it in vain. Money! And in the eyes of these people, the compulsory education you have been advocating is probably just money spent by a fool!"
"Aristocrats and capitalists have never worried about education. They have countless resources to provide future generations with the best education, thereby ensuring that the family has an intellectual advantage for generations to come..."
"The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets has developed to this day, and it also has a huge middle class. These people still live a very prosperous life, and their children can also go to school and receive education. Only the people at the bottom are the most miserable. These civilians and poor people with extremely low incomes, The income is only enough for their basic necessities, food, housing and transportation, and being able to feed their children is already pretty good!”
"I have held soup kitchen activities in many slums in London. I have witnessed firsthand the hardship of the people at the bottom. Many children start working as newsboys, boot polishers, child laborers at the age of six or seven... and even become thieves!"
"They are the ones who need compulsory education the most. In the final analysis, the compulsory education bill you are promoting is to use the money of the rich to fill the holes of the poor at the bottom. I want to ask who among the rich above are willing?"
"All the resistance comes from this! I know it, and you know it too!"
The harsh words tore apart the little secrets that everyone in the British political arena knew well. The representatives of the industrial, commercial and financial industries among the eavesdroppers all blushed and had thick necks, and their eyes were filled with angry flames.
If Crown Prince Edward hadn't been here to intimidate them, these people would have made a scene on the spot, with a Chinese pointing their noses and mocking them, and even exposing their dark little thoughts. This is really a shame!
Gladstone was speechless. He took a sip of wine and sighed, "Since you have made it so clear, what else can I say? It may not be a good thing for you to see the problem so thoroughly! What I mean is The resistance you encounter is so great that you can’t imagine it!”
Xiao Letian nodded, "Yes, the core of the problem is here. Everyone knows that compulsory education is beneficial to a country and a nation, but because the time period for such input and output is too long, Moreover, it is difficult for investment to be returned to oneself, so it is understandable that there are objections due to selfish interests!”
"Just imagine, if the UK implements comprehensive compulsory education from now on, when will we see some effects? My most optimistic analysis will take twenty years. Six years of compulsory education cannot create scientists. After that Those children will need at least ten more years of in-depth study before they can touch the jewel in the crown of science!”
"But! What will happen in twenty years? Every year, generations of children enter the school, which will naturally provide a continuous supply of basic talents who can receive higher education. By then, the UK will have an inexhaustible supply of talents. Talent!”
"But it is precisely because of this that those in the upper echelons are even more worried, because a large number of poor children have changed their destiny through education, which also changes the class of their families!"
"How can these new elites not compete with these established talents? Especially the middle class will be directly affected!"
"Haha, there are only so many social resources, and there are so few good positions. If the children of the poor rush to snatch one away, one will be missing. To use an old Chinese saying, this is called a carrot and a pit. A good pit is hard to find!"
