Chapter 1496: The Pay Raise Program

The United States is about to enter a strictly self-serving presidency, just after Rockefeller put the rest of the time through, Carter’s time will come. To congratulate Carter official letter, Alan Wilson let a person after some modification, in the field of human rights ink quite a lot, it can not be helped, Carter likes to hear this.

And unlike the U.S. presidential slogans, Carter to a certain extent is really doing so, if not for Carter’s last year did not succeed in reelection, then, by reasonable inference, the whole will be the unlucky man, may be Carter down, fortunately the whole will be small or insisted on Reagan came to power, or else it would have long been bye-bye.

South Korea’s political ecology is very interesting, can be summarized in a kind of so-called because I’m anti-a certain big country so I can be pro-a certain big country to summarize, the left-wing political parties in power, but do not dare to be too detached from the United States. Although anti-Americanism is often on the forefront, there is not much practical action.

The right-wing parties’ pro-American slogans are loud and clear, but their actual actions are what they should be doing.

This is very much like the Labor Party and the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. When the Conservative Party was in power, as soon as they saw the Labor Party government talking to the Soviet Union, they doubted the loyalty of the Labor Party to the United Kingdom.

If the Conservative Party had signed any agreement with the Soviet Union when it was in power, it would have been justified in stating that it had acted in the national interest, and the label of being pro-Soviet could not be put on the Conservative Party.

On the other hand, is it okay for the Labor Party to question the Conservative Party for being too pro-American? At least not in the context of the Cold War, the USSR was an enemy in the relative sense, and the relative sense was entirely due to the fact that the USSR was too strong.

An enemy in the relative sense is also an enemy, and a relative ally is also an ally. Labor’s accusations would only work if the USSR was significantly stronger than the US.

Complimenting Carter personally helps build intimacy, and since Carter, after all, is not yet in power, complimenting leadership is not a compliment for the time being, and Foreign Office permanent undersecretary Wicker is not without misgivings, “Isn’t it too much to concentrate on Mr. Carter personally.”

“Yes, just send it to Washington. Mr. Carter is an honorable man.” Alan Wilson nodded, “I believe that under Mr. Carter’s leadership, the piece of American leadership in defending world peace will grow significantly. It is easy for the two countries to cooperate on some things.”

Carter is supposed to be one of those presidents who have not started a war, and small-scale military operations should not be counted, or else the Tehran hostage situation would be forgotten. Only King Know It All can be compared to that after a few decades.

Wick left, but didn’t realize what the Supreme Authority was talking about when he said it was easy to cooperate, and that Alan Wilson was actually referring to the ownership of the Falkland Islands. President Carter guarantees human rights and opposes dictatorships, but doesn’t he oppose colonialism?

President Carter could have had four years to convince Argentina that the British Empire would collapse without a fight under the watchful eye of the United States, if only Argentina had the courage to march forward with its chest puffed out.

Taking advantage of America’s only exemplary president might raise a twinge of shame in Allen Wilson’s heart; he wouldn’t do it if he had the choice, but it would be a shame if he didn’t.

President Carter is the one who didn’t start the war, to make that bottom line clear, and even if it were done that way, the US wouldn’t threaten force against the UK, and the UK would just have to renege and wait for Carter’s term to end. That doesn’t create much risk, and as for the next step? Make a judgment call depending on the situation.

It’s impossible for a president to completely fail to make decisions that are good for the country, even if it’s Carter who is being used as a counter-example by American hardliners decades later. It was Carter who was the first US president to recognize the sole legitimate government of a major country.

Carter certainly had his own merits. Of course, Reagan came to power and then passed and Fraudulent Island Relations Act, which amounted to screwing over a certain major country, and screwing over is screwing over, who gives the US the power to act from a position of strength.

At the time of Carter’s swearing in, the Callaghan administration was gaming Whitehall on the matter of pay raises, which was the previous plan for pay increases over the next three years, and it was time to implement it again.

The TUC had once again accepted the second phase of the planned plan to limit pay rises to £2.50 to £4 a week in 1976, and after prolonged negotiations the TUC had agreed to progressively increase pay rises on the standard of the second phase of the limit, with an undertaking not to reintroduce a pay deal under the existing policy, and an undertaking on the part of the government that it would not intervene in the union’s labor negotiations.

Callaghan, for his part, hopes that the TUC will support a voluntary personal income tax scheme introduced after the current government came to power, which stipulates that labor pay increases cannot be higher than a cap set by the government. With this plan, Labor hopes to get unions and labor to exercise restraint on pay increases and ride out the storm with the government, thereby suppressing inflation by means of limiting the rate of pay increases.

“Secretary General, isn’t that great?” Callaghan spoke calmly, “I don’t understand why Whitehall is skeptical about this.”

“Prime Minister, there are two main reasons for the misgivings, the first is the insatiable greed of the unions, who have repeatedly asked for pay rises. Even a pay rise has to be moderate, I don’t want Britain to end up in a race between pay and inflation, that’s the first point.”

Alan Wilson spoke with the same sincerity, “If workers get a pay rise, then shouldn’t the civil service community also get a pay rise? Wouldn’t it be if only the workers were given raises and the civil servants had empty pockets? As for the situation once there is a race between pay raises and inflation, many military programs speak of being greatly compromised because of this situation.”

“To ensure the standard of living of the workers, don’t you realize, as Cabinet Secretary in Whitehall, how powerful the Soviet Union is right now?” Callaghan frowned, hoping that Alan Wilson knew the seriousness.

“I know, tanks counted in the tens of thousands, nuclear submarines counted in the hundreds. Doesn’t that make it all the more clear that the advancement of military programs is far more important than anything else? Honorable Prime Minister, Britain may have to think about industrial upgrading, the value created by coal workers and steel workers is not enough to cope with rising wages.”

Alan Wilson took Germany as an example, “Federal Germany is already phasing out its coal industry, even if it’s just a move, Bonn is kind of making a move, while our government has made no move whatsoever and continues to keep jobs that are not in the least bit lucrative for the sake of workers who are no more capable than coal workers in other countries.”

The Cabinet Secretary, who is exhausting himself for the future of the country, is blocking the trade unions from making peace with the Labor Party from a military and industrial point of view, but of course these are not the main reasons.

The main reason is that civil servants also need a pay rise, and if necessary to take MPs in the House of Commons with them, and if civil servants can’t get a pay rise, then neither can workers.

At the critical moment, Alan Wilson had to defend the collective interest, otherwise who else would listen to him, the Secretary General of the Cabinet, in the future?

What about the 50 million British citizens who need to be managed, who is going to serve them? Who is going to serve them, the Prime Minister or the Secretary General of the Cabinet? It’s still the civil servants, big and small, who will only work if they are fed.

He, the Cabinet Secretary, is nothing if he is not supported by these civil servants all over the country.

Immediately after Alan Wilson left the Prime Minister’s place, he met with Frank, the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, to ask about Denis Healey, the post-Callaghan Chancellor of the Exchequer and former Defense Secretary.

“The minister is adjusting to the new world.” Frank said with a fox-like smile, “When he was in the Ministry of Defense, Makins said that the minister was trying to save as much as he could. Now that he’s the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he should understand what it’s like to spend money like water.”

“Has the pay raise plan been formulated yet.” Allen Wilson reached out directly, and did not forget to instruct, “the fool’s version.”

“How can I give you something I can’t even read myself.” Frank smiled to himself, “But is it really okay to bundle it with worker raises? In principle this should be handled by us.”

“Callaghan wouldn’t dare turn down a pay rise from the unions, that’s Labor’s main supporter.” Alan Wilson looked at the pay rise plan and said, “It’s a rare opportunity, and it’s one of a kind.”

“That would be fine, I’m mainly afraid that the politicians will come after us on the grounds of incompetence, this could be a precursor to that.” Frank let go of the worry in his mind, then glanced at Alan Wilson, “Once that happens, Alan, you know this, it will shake up your position as well.”

“The comparison of industrial general-purpose high-paying jobs is clearly inappropriate.” Allen Wilson shook his head as he looked at the Treasury Department’s pay raise plan, “Especially comparing the union’s request for a pay raise, if the two pay raises came together, our request would seem very excessive. This approach is not appropriate.”

“So what do you think we should do?” Frank also felt that it seemed to be a bit inappropriate, but without addressing it with the union side of the request, the resistance would become greater if he pushed for it himself.

“Compare it with the union’s demands, and use that as a basis to add specific requirements.” Alan Wilson said as he thought, “Most of the civil servants across the country also have pay raises that are in line with the workers’ demands. As for us? Since the people concerned all work in London, let’s start by raising the London Allowance, which is an expense. It doesn’t count towards a pay rise, and then a special allowance for degrees could be introduced, to be given to people with first and second class A degrees for recruiting new people.”

“There are no second class A’s in Oxford.” Frank asked looking at Alan Wilson, Whitehall’s Oxford graduation ratio, knowing what he knew.

“Oxford’s second class is at least considered second class A.” Alan Wilson held his forehead and calculated, “Double the outstanding performance award, colleagues in Whitehall have it. Count the deduction for inflation.”

“Indeed.” Frank’s mind was clearly working out one item at a time as well, “So the MP’s responsibility is?”

“It’s a pay rise with Whitehall.” Alan Wilson put down his pen, “If it’s too obvious, suggest an increase in fuel and medical allowances, MPs work their asses off for the country, and if they have to make ends meet with travel and physical and mental health? It’s hard to justify.”