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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
“We are here to discuss Pro Omnis Humanum. I think that all of you are aware that this administration is faced with much more than an economic problem. We have a state of affairs with complexities affecting the entire world.” President Arnold Thompson started this Cabinet meeting without a preamble. “We are at a place popularly called between a rock and a hard place. We talked Congressional leaders into giving Pro Omnis Humanum over a billion dollars in a secret grant for startup money. Only you folks and the leaders of the House and Senate know where that money came from, where it went or how the recipient is using all that money. When we managed to silence Congress on this matter, we bought a military weapon to guarantee our armed forces permanent tactical and real firepower superiority over any future enemy of the United States. But at what price, and was it a good bargain? Could or should we have stopped or taken over Pro Omnis Humanum when we had the opportunity?” President Thompson sat and waited for comments. “The media is mostly in agreement that Pro Omnis Humanum is the greatest scientific achievement in the history of the world.” The Secretary of the Interior commented. “However, every poll indicates that very large numbers of our citizens are frightened by what this will mean to the future of their jobs and their families.” Secretary of Labor, Gerald McDonald, raised his hand.
“Go ahead Jerry, although I know what you’re about to say.” President Thompson said.
“Mister President, the media and public will know the truth soon enough. Every automobile, truck, train or anything that uses an internal combustion engine in the United States will be powered by an electric motor within about twenty years. People will light and heat their homes and cook with almost free electricity. Industries that today spend millions of dollars a year to fossil fuel energy suppliers will pay twenty or thirty dollars a month for an unlimited amount of electricity. The down side is that ten or fifteen years from now hundreds of thousands of people who go to work every day to support their families will be out of work. The government will lose their tax dollars, and will be saddled with a welfare problem several times worse than our nation’s experience during the great depression. Congress will not be able to increase taxes and foot incredibly expensive Medicare and welfare costs when all those people are out of work.”
“Jerry, you repeated the same theme I listened to yesterday during my meeting with the AFL and CIO leaders. Other labor leaders have emailed, faxed and phoned the White House twenty-four hours a day because they know the jobs of thousands of union members will eventually disappear. However, most of them are intelligent men and women, and they realize it will be many years into the future before that happens. Yesterday they agreed with me that there will always be a need for petroleum products, and a labor force will always be needed to drill and pump and refine oil. Our chemistry industry relies on a reliable flow of petroleum. The needs of labor have to be considered, but I believe Pro Omnis Humanum is the future, and the future arrived in America and the world with Pro Omnis Humanum.” President Thompson had a tendency to sweat when nervous or under emotional pressure, and he stopped speaking to brush his hand across a wet brow. “We could have stopped Pro Omnis Humanum in their tracks, but somehow they anticipated everything the Government or the oil cartel could do, and they outsmarted all of us. We must start thinking ahead. We were forced to help them, but in all honesty, I think I would have done everything possible to see them move forward regardless of their tactics. I believe that in the long run, future generations will applaud our courage. What is the future for HUD, Eleanor?”
“President Thompson, I would like our Secretary of the Treasury to brief us about the effect of Pro Omnis Humanum’s activities on taxes, and its effect on our national treasury.”
President Thompson turned to Paul Fisher who sat two chairs to his right. “Secretary Fisher, has your staff completed their study on this subject?”
Paul Fisher, a retired successful investment banker, and at age seventy-five the oldest member of the President’s Cabinet, spoke while he kept his eyes fixed on papers spread in front of him. “When we agreed to let Pro Omnis Humanum go ahead and arranged to give them seed money, we also considered future tax rates. The total income Pro Omnis Humanum will generate in local, state and federal taxes is impossible to predict. However, every automobile, every household and business in the country will be served by Pro Omnis Humanum. Our staff has calculated a modest tax on just those items although there will be other P.O.H. applications that can be taxed in the future. Everyone at Treasury is convinced that HUD and every other government agency, including our armed forces, can be funded with greater amounts of money than in the past. A modest tax on automobiles, trucks, homes and businesses will generate twenty percent more revenue every year than the present graduated personal income tax rates. Our staff predicts that in the future, the Federal tax base will no longer be based on personal or corporate income; it will be based on Pro Omnis Humanum’s ability to provide unlimited amounts of energy at little cost. We also considered the improvement in our balance of payments, and when we came up with a zero figure for crude from overseas, we also came up with billions of dollars on the plus side for the United States. ”
“I read your White Paper, Paul.” President Thompson said. “However, do we want the United States to become a welfare state? Do we want to take away every incentive for people to work or for capital to create new jobs?”