Simon arrived in Washington at 2 PM, and the reception at the White House was grand. The Clintons, Vice President Gore, newly appointed Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, and newly appointed Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, all key figures in Washington, were present.
Bob Dole, who Simon remembered as Clinton's opponent in the 1996 U.S. presidential election, was a seasoned Republican politician, now 71 years old. Ever since Clinton took office, Dole had been laying the groundwork for his presidential campaign, even going so far as to betray Clinton. He had promised to reach a compromise on a major issue but reneged at the last minute, effectively killing the healthcare reform bill that the Clintons had been pushing hard for. The failure of the healthcare reform was a significant factor in the Democrats' disastrous performance in the recent midterm elections. The Clintons had heavily promoted the healthcare reform as a key campaign promise, but its failure backfired, resulting in a severe negative impact.
Of course, the reasons for the Democrats' loss in the midterm elections go beyond this. It would take a thick book to explain it all. Bob Dole, however, was the type of politician Simon liked—an archetypal neoconservative who advocated for tax cuts and deregulation of corporate giants. He was also shrewd and self-serving, making him someone who could be influenced.
On the other hand, the new Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, had a more combative personality. This 51-year-old veteran Republican had been in Congress since the 1970s and had a history of stirring up partisan disputes. Over the past two years, he had almost single-handedly thwarted Clinton's efforts to fulfill his campaign promises through relentless obstruction.
After brief pleasantries, the group did not proceed to the famous Oval Office but instead moved to a more ordinary meeting room in the West Wing of the White House. After the waiters discreetly served coffee and snacks, only Simon and the five Washington power brokers remained.
To Simon's surprise, Hillary was the first to speak. "Simon, before you arrived, we were discussing the upcoming outsourcing platform by Igreat. Newt here refuses to believe that this platform could create millions of job opportunities annually. I've looked at the information on the website, and I'm also unclear. Could you explain it to us?"
Holding his coffee casually, Simon glanced at the four men. Clinton's expression remained neutral, Gore appeared indifferent, Bob Dole smiled slightly, and only Newt Gingrich frowned at being singled out.
Hillary's assertiveness was well-known. The failed healthcare reform bill had largely been drafted by her team, leading to frequent accusations of undue influence from the First Lady. According to Simon's information, the failure of the healthcare bill had also significantly strained the Clintons' marriage. Now, it was clear that the four Washington bigwigs were not pleased with Hillary's involvement in this discussion. Despite this, the First Lady ignored their discomfort, initiated the conversation, and subtly set a trap for Newt Gingrich.
Indeed, she was formidable.
Simon took a sip of his coffee and smiled honestly. "The description is somewhat misleading. Creating millions of jobs is impossible. The outsourcing platform provides mostly short-term, part-time work that can often be completed in an hour or two. With that in mind, achieving millions of job opportunities annually is more than feasible."
Hillary, ignoring the men around her, pressed further. "In terms of standard work hours, could this create 1 million full-time jobs?"
Simon shook his head. "No, Hillary. Igreat's outsourcing platform is essentially a part-time platform designed to address the shortage of human resources in Silicon Valley and to outsource relatively low-end jobs to save costs. It's more suitable for students who need to earn some living expenses or housewives who want to make extra money in their spare time. If someone wants to make a living from this platform, that's possible, but it would require a certain level of professional skills."
Simon wasn't like these Washington power brokers who constantly needed to focus on domestic employment issues, and he certainly wouldn't exaggerate in front of them. Creating a million jobs is no easy feat. Even at its peak, Walmart had only about 2 million employees worldwide.
However, while it couldn't provide 1 million jobs, in the coming years, the Igreat outsourcing platform could easily see its registered members surpass the million mark. As Simon and Hillary had mentioned, these would still be part-time jobs. Even with a million registered members, having 10% active users daily would already equate to a substantial 100,000 jobs.
Noticing Hillary's apparent disappointment, Newt Gingrich suddenly spoke, his tone sharp. "It seems this is just a gimmick."
Simon's smile didn't falter as he shrugged lightly. "If that's how you see it, Newt, then perhaps it is."
Sensing Newt Gingrich's pointed remarks, Bob Dole stepped in to smooth things over. "Simon, I still don't fully understand this… outsourcing platform. But if it means anyone in the country can find work through it, that's certainly a good thing. Could you elaborate?"
Simon thought for a moment and then said, "You know Amazon, right, Bob?"
Bob Dole nodded.
"Amazon is currently expanding its product categories beyond books, videotapes, and movie merchandise to include clothing, cosmetics, and other items. All these products need dedicated introduction pages. Current technology can't automatically generate millions of product catalogs, so they need to be manually filled out. Additionally, there are tasks like image classification, web tagging, and so on—basic outsourcing tasks that anyone with a computer and an understanding of English can take on."
After Simon finished, Bob Dole smiled. "That sounds great. It certainly seems suitable for everyone."
Vice President Al Gore asked, "Simon, what's the estimated hourly wage?"
Simon turned to Gore and replied, "It depends on the operator's proficiency and the level of the outsourcing task. The basic tasks I mentioned, such as filling out forms, tagging, or classifying, won't pay much. If a part-timer is willing to learn some programming skills, their earnings could be considerably better than working as a waiter."
Simon didn't give an exact figure, but the group could guess that the average hourly wage wouldn't meet the federal minimum wage.
Finally, Bill Clinton, who had been silent, spoke up. "Simon, I imagine many of these outsourcing jobs will be taken by overseas workers, won't they?"
Simon hadn't expected the President to hit the nail on the head.
The Igreat team had evaluated this in advance. The most basic outsourcing tasks would pay about $1 to $3 per hour, which would be meager for American workers. However, for workers in less developed regions, the exchange rate could make this wage equivalent to a decent income, possibly even higher than a regular salary in some cases, such as in China. If someone in China could access the internet and register as a member of the Igreat outsourcing platform, even at the lowest rate of $1 per hour, working 10 hours a day could translate to what many people in China make in ten days or half a month.
In fact, most of the tasks on the Igreat outsourcing platform were primarily aimed at part-timers in less developed regions overseas. However, this aspect would not be featured in any official statements. Simon wasn't as forthcoming on this issue as he had been earlier. He replied, "There will certainly be some, given the global nature of the internet. But due to language barriers and payment issues, the platform mainly targets part-timers within the United States."
Everyone in the room was smart enough to see through Simon's incomplete answer, but no one pressed the issue.
After a brief pause, none of the other five in the room were in a hurry to change the subject. Having the opportunity to speak more with this young man who had created a series of business miracles could only be beneficial.
Al Gore soon continued, "Simon, many people believe that investment in the new technology sector has overheated. What's your take on this?"
Simon replied, "Overheating is inevitable, just like when the federal government built the nationwide interstate highway system. There were critics who said it was an overinvestment at the time, but it turned out that the extensive highway network was a major factor in the rapid growth of the U.S. economy after the war."
The nationwide interstate highway project launched in the 1950s was proposed by Al Gore's father, the senior Gore, and the Gore family had built a strong political foundation from that plan.
Hearing Simon subtly compliment his father's achievements, Al Gore couldn't help but smile, gaining a bit more favor for the young man.
However, Hillary didn't let Simon sidestep the issue. "Simon, do you think there's a serious bubble in the new technology market now?"
The Information Superhighway project was another key achievement promoted by the White House team after taking office. Since Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940s, no Democratic president had been able to secure re-election in the last half-century. This fact had cast a shadow over the White House since Clinton first took office.
Having lost the midterm elections, Clinton's chances of re-election had significantly decreased. If the tech industry bubble didn't last until the next election, it could be a fatal blow for the Clintons.
Simon really didn't want to discuss this issue. Faced with a group of old foxes, he didn't want to come across as too prescient. Moreover, due to his own influence, the new tech industry had already changed beyond recognition. It was an entirely new era, and Simon could no longer predict the future with certainty.
Taking all factors into account, the current development of the U.S. tech industry was roughly equivalent to what it had been in
1997. In other words, it was three years ahead of schedule. However, due to the sustained large-scale promotion by the Westeros system over the past few years, the number of personal computer and internet users in the U.S. was significantly higher than it had been in 1997. The development of software and hardware technologies, however, was slightly behind due to the time constraints.
Most importantly, the Nasdaq index had soared from about 300 points in 1990 to over 1,700 recently, which was also around the level it had been in 1997. Based on these factors, the tech wave could continue for another three years.
Barring any unexpected events, the 1996 election would coincide with the peak of the internet bubble, and Clinton could easily secure re-election on the back of this momentum.
However, nothing is absolute. There are many factors that could influence the development of an industry.
Looking at Bob Dole and Newt Gingrich, who were both paying close attention, Simon knew they would want the tech bubble to burst sooner. Such an outcome would greatly benefit Dole's chances of winning the presidency. As for the severe impact this might have on the U.S. economy, a standard, qualified politician likely wouldn't be too concerned.
Given this, it's hard to say whether the Republicans might try to undermine the situation by using policy measures to burst the bubble early.
After a moment of consideration, Simon finally spoke under the watchful eyes of the others. "There is definitely a bubble, as there always is with emerging industries, and it will inevitably burst at some point in the future. However, unlike past cyclical downturns in the U.S. economy, the bursting of the tech bubble will only lead to a brief correction. After the excess is squeezed out, the industry will continue to grow rapidly because the transition from the electrical age to the information age is an inevitable trend."
In truth, the group of experienced individuals in the room understood much of what Simon was saying. But no one would dismiss the judgment of the young man before them.
Simon didn't provide a specific timeline, which didn't surprise Clinton and the others. Economic cycles are notoriously difficult to predict accurately, which is why every economic turning point sees many speculators lose everything by betting on the wrong outcome.
After Simon finished speaking, the Clintons exchanged a glance. Their feelings were mixed. The couple realized that the timing of the tech bubble's burst would depend not only on the industry itself but also on the White House's actions over the next two years and even on the political maneuverings at the highest levels in Washington.
At this point, Newt Gingrich posed another question. "Simon, how can you be sure that the transition from the electrical age to the information age is inevitable?"
Simon looked at the Republican leader, his face displaying an innocuous smile. "Because the core industries of the information age are already in place—personal computers, broadband networks, online websites, mobile communications, and so on. These are already trillion-dollar industries and will only continue to grow. This is the economic foundation of a new era. When these developments spread and begin to change people's lives in every way, humanity will have entered a new era, don't you think?"
Newt Gingrich had initially been questioning the extent of the tech industry's bubble. If it were all just a bubble, there would be no future, and the information superhighway plan promoted by Clinton since taking office would become a joke. Now, after a moment of thought, Gingrich realized that Westeros was not bluffing.
To support the foundation of a new era, there must be a series of sufficiently large-scale emerging industries, just like the electricity and oil industries and the automotive, steel, and chemical sectors that emerged in the late 19th century. Not to mention anything else, just the three giants under the Westeros system—Cisco, AOL, and Igreat—had already formed a massive emerging industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
From this perspective, the arrival of the information age was undeniable.
Sitting on the other side, Al Gore had apparently also thought along the same lines as Gingrich and took the opportunity to raise a somewhat sensitive issue. "Simon, don't you think that the Westeros system's control over so many core industries of the information age is already hindering the development of the U.S. tech industry? After all, competition is necessary for progress and to further stimulate the rapid growth of the industry."
Al Gore was clearly referring to the ongoing antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice against the three giants—Cisco, AOL, and Igreat. This was a subtle hint for Simon to consider making some concessions.
Before coming to Washington, Simon had heard that the White House was using the tech industry as a pretext, so he knew this meeting would inevitably involve the antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice.
This time, Simon didn't hesitate. He shook his head decisively, looking at the other people in the room as he spoke. "With the formation of international organizations like the WTO, the EU, and NAFTA, globalization is an inevitable trend. I'm sure everyone here agrees with that, right?"
The five people around him, unsure why Simon had suddenly brought up globalization, nodded slightly, waiting for him to continue.
Simon went on. "Unlike physical industries that can easily be separated by geography, the internet will be a global network. Therefore, any tech company will have the opportunity to expand globally through this network. Take Igreat, for example. We have already expanded our portal site business to several countries outside the U.S., including Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan. However, because these countries have been slower to develop their tech industries, our overseas business is also limited and hasn't yet established a decisive advantage. In the future, we will need to continue deepening our presence in these overseas markets to truly establish a foothold. To achieve this, our tech companies must be as strong as our nation itself."
By this point, the five people in the room understood where Simon was headed. However, Simon didn't stop there. "All of you are in a position to influence the future of the country, so I won't mince words. In the core industries of the electrical age, the U.S. has already fallen behind countries like Japan and Germany. We also don't have the abundant oil reserves of the Middle East. These realities are irreversible. Now, as we enter a new era, if the U.S. wants to maintain its strength in this new age, we must abandon the old, strict antitrust policies that once limited the growth of large companies. We need super-sized tech companies to conquer the world. Only when our companies are strong enough—so strong that even the full might of our foreign competitors can't catch up—will the U.S. be able to fully seize global dominance in the tech industry and continue to lead in the new era. On the other hand, if you continue to insist on dismantling the tech giants that have already established a huge advantage, the result may be similar to our failures in the automotive and semiconductor industries, where we were overtaken by other countries."
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