Working as a police officer in Mexico-Chapter 1634 - 748: Some People Really Can Endure! (Part 3)
His eyes locked onto Chief of Staff Carl Rove, "Carl! Tell me, how exactly are the banks being communicated with over there?! Why is this still happening?! Didn't I order special deferments and care for all military families, especially those with frontline combatants, deceased, or missing members?! Do they think that my words as George W. Bush are bullshit?!"
A fleeting hint of embarrassment flashed on Rove's face, as he struggled to keep his voice steady: "George, we've done our best to coordinate. Some banks, particularly the larger ones with long-standing business relations with the Department of Defense, have agreed under pressure to suspend foreclosure proceedings for families of confirmed killed-in-action (KIA) soldiers and are willing to offer low-interest extensions. But..."
He paused, choosing his words carefully and with difficulty, "But many medium and small banks, especially institutions like First Federal Bank that concentrate their business in specific areas and have poor asset management themselves, have refused."
"Refused?!" Little Bush's voice suddenly rose, "What gives them the right to refuse?! The nation is at war!"
"Their reasoning is cash flow and survival pressure."
Rove braced himself to explain, "The large number of delinquent loans has already made their balance sheets look extremely bad. Many banks are already on the brink of being taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). If a comprehensive, mandatory deferment is enforced on military families, they claim it would lead to depositor runs and immediate liquidity crises, subsequently triggering a chain collapse of regional banking systems. They say they can't go bankrupt for the sake of political correctness, nor let all the depositors suffer."
"Political correctness?!"
"They call this political correctness? It's goddamn human lives! These are the families of our soldiers risking their lives on the front lines, while these vampires hide behind their vaults!"
He abruptly turned to the White House legal advisor, "Tell me! The Constitution! Or any federal law! Can we, right now, this instant, force these bastards to stop all this?! Is there any 'wartime emergency act' we can use to strangle them?!"
The legal advisor pushed up his glasses, his expression serious: "Mr. President, according to the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 and its subsequent amendments, during a declared war or national emergency, the President indeed possesses very broad economic powers, including the regulation or prohibition of any financial transactions involving national security. Theoretically, we can issue an executive order based on the current 'civil war status' and 'foreign invasion' emergency status, to forcibly freeze actions on specific groups, with a minimum deferment period stipulated, such as within 180 days after the war ends, and similarly, we can require bankers to do so."
Chief of Staff Rove couldn't help but interject, his tone worried: "George, doing this carries extreme legal risks and will almost certainly provoke a strong backlash and a wave of litigation across the banking industry. This would be seen as a brute governmental interference on private property rights and the sanctity of contracts. The financial markets might..."
"To hell with the financial markets!"
Little Bush rudely interrupted him, "Lives are at stake here, and you're worried about finances? Look outside! The market is already burning, is Detroit's flames more important, or Wall Street's numbers? Soldiers and their families are bleeding and crying for us! And those bankers, what are they doing? They're figuring out how to cut the last penny of interest from the fallen's compensation."
The long-silent Defense Minister Jonathan finally spoke, "Mr. President, Rove makes sense. Confronting the entire banking industry directly is too risky. Maybe we can try communication first? Gather the heads of major banking institutions for a meeting, lay out the pros and cons for them. Apply pressure, but give them an out as well, after all, a stable home front also benefits their long-term interests."
Little Bush was silent.
He knew Green and Rove's suggestion was a more "prudent" approach within the bureaucracy.
Negotiation, compromise, and interest trading.
That's how it's always been since ancient times.
But he couldn't back down any further!!!
All the hesitation and fatigue on his face were replaced with determination, his eyes flickering with a fierceness unfamiliar to Rove and Green.
"Communication? Give them an out?"
"Who the hell is giving me face?"
Little Bush's voice was quiet, "Jonathan, Carl, have you forgotten our current situation? We're at war! A war that decides the survival of the United States of America."
"When we're broke, we have to beg those foreign vultures like beggars, signing treaties like selling ourselves! Now we want to protect the families of soldiers dying for us, and we have to look at the faces of these leeches at home?!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"Maybe it's time to try a different approach, maybe we've been too civilized, civilized enough to make some people forget who holds the ultimate power."
"Do they think that hiding behind the glass towers of Manhattan, using contracts and legal clauses as shields, I can't touch them?"
"No money, then butcher the fattened ones, that's the ancient truth. Since they don't want to be dignified at the negotiation table, we'll help them be dignified."
He looked at Rove and Green.
"Arrange it, not as supplicants, but as the Commander-in-Chief of the United States military, 'invite' those main, most vocal bankers to Washington. I want to meet them personally."
He added, "Have the Department of Justice and the FBI prepare some materials. Preliminary investigations into whether certain banks have engaged in 'aiding the enemy,' 'disrupting financial order,' 'endangering national security,' or more directly, 'treason' during the war. Need to have some 'gifts' ready, right?"
The room fell into dead silence. Only Little Bush's calm yet murderous voice echoed.
"Just as well, taking advantage of Detroit's fire, it's about time to butcher a few of the fattest to scare the monkeys."
I, Little Bush, after all, am of noble birth!
Is it too much to ask you petty bankers for some money, damn it?
You refuse?
I like your stubbornness, but not your persistence.
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