Chapter 271 GDP per capita, have you heard of it? (Updated update 1/5)
Grete held the speech tightly and stood up slowly.
Bang bang, bang bang, my heart was pounding in my chest, my breathing was quickening, and my vest began to sweat faintly. It felt like seeing the ambulance door open and the patient lying on the flat car being rushed in, or like working the second line shift in the middle of the night, sleeping.
De Zhengxiang, the emergency phone rang by the bedside...
Gretel didn't need to feel his own pulse to know that his heartbeat at this time must have reached over 120 beats/min.
Oh, tachycardia.
I guess it's sinus.
There is no way to challenge opponents in areas where others are good at, it is so uncertain.
...But, you still have to go.
For those kids who died at 14, 15, 16 years old.
For little Jenny and her mother, poor people who draw water from polluted rivers will die of illness at some point.
For those workers at the bottom whose average life expectancy is appalling.
health matters;
Our lives depend on each other!
Grete stood up straight, turned around, and saluted. Then, he took a deep breath and asked a question he had been preparing for a long time:
"Your Excellency the Archmage, distinguished healers, ladies and gentlemen. Before discussing the budget of the city hall, I would like to ask a question:
A person, the most ordinary and lowest-level citizen of Nevis, how many gold coins is he worth?"
There was a sudden silence in the conference hall. Across the discussion table, the spokesperson of the Budget Committee curled his lips slightly with contempt on his face. Two small businessmen in the two rows behind him whispered to each other: "What's the point?"
"That is, how much are those untouchables worth?"
"One or two silver coins at most?"
"Not necessarily. If you are killed on the street, you still have to pay a few gold coins..."
Grete pretended not to hear. He looked to the left. On the rostrum, the high-ranking mages looked serious and seemed unhappy. Looking to the right, Elder Wood frowned and said in a loud voice:
"The great God of Nature teaches us that everyone is equal in front of nature."
Oh, well, the teachings of the God of Nature are indeed like this. The worshipers of the God of Nature never regard themselves as more noble than ordinary people. Grete's eyes moved slightly and looked next to Elder Wood...
"Under the radiance of the God of War, every warrior is a brother."
The archbishop followed the interface. After a pause, the high-level healer from the Temple of the Spring Goddess spoke reluctantly:
"The goddess cares for everyone with kindness."
Well, at least the clergy of the church still say "everyone is equal before God". Of course, some people are definitely more equal than others, but several high-ranking clergy spoke one after another, then,
At least no one dares to shout in person: How much are those untouchables worth?
Gretel smiled slightly, bowed to them, and expressed his gratitude. Then, he turned to the rostrum and spoke calmly:
"I checked the taxation of Nevis City. In the past ten years, the annual taxation of Nevis City has fluctuated between 1 million and 1.1 million gold coins. Considering that the prevailing tax rate is about one-tenth, that is to say,
The value created by the residents of Nevis City every year is about 10 million to 11 million, with an average of 20 to 22 gold coins per person.
Considering that a quarter of the residents are boys and girls under the age of seven and have no ability to work, and about one-tenth are exempted from labor because of their titles and official titles, the value created by each worker every year is 30
to 34 gold coins.”
"You're wrong!"
A shout came from across the table.
Grete turned around and saw a man he didn't recognize standing in the fifth row opposite, the last row. He was not wearing a badge, could not feel the magic fluctuations, and judging from his figure, he shouldn't be a knight or a warrior - he was probably a man.
merchant?
Gretel was still trying to figure out the identity of the other party. The man tugged on the waffle collar hard, his belly trembled, and he spoke eagerly:
"A water delivery worker can only earn 5 silver coins a month, a laundry worker can only earn 3 and a half silver coins a month, and a small worker in a workshop, who can take care of food and housing, can only earn 3 silver coins a month. You said they earn 30 silver coins a month."
To 34 gold coins, this is simply not right!”
Grete sighed. What the businessman retorted was exactly what he wanted to point out next:
"We all know that without farmers' fields, it is impossible to grow crops; without workers' workshops, it is impossible to produce woolen fabrics, leather and swords; without fishermen, the fish in the sea will not reach the dining table; even without dock workers,
, the cargo can’t grow long, so it can be loaded and unloaded by oneself.
It is human beings, and only human labor can create value. We add up the value of all the wheat, bread, woolen fabrics, glassware, etc. produced by a city every year and call it the gross national product. And the national product
The total value divided by the number of workers is the per capita output value.
The value that a laborer can create in his lifetime of labor is equal to his value to the city and the country. I think that as the ruler of the city, this is the way the parliament should treat the people."
"That makes sense." On the rostrum, a great magician with dark circles under his eyes, who looked half asleep, nodded gently. Gretel was slightly encouraged and continued:
"If a worker can work for 20 years since he has the ability to work, he will have created 20 years of value. If he can continue to work for 30 years, he will have created 30 years of value. - But let us take a look.
Look, these poorest and lowest-level citizens, how many years can they work?"
Gretel quickly walked out of his seat and stood in front of the whiteboard next to the rostrum. He held the manuscript paper in one hand and raised the other hand to the whiteboard. The mage's skills shined again and he drew a histogram on the whiteboard:
"According to the death data of the past 20 years, the average life expectancy of the nobles, rich, and magicians in the Garden District is 59 years old.
Those with middle and high incomes are mainly low-level mages, scholars, and businessmen, with an average life expectancy of 42 years.
Low- and middle-income groups, mainly small traders, craftsmen, low-level clerks, shop assistants, etc., have an average life expectancy of 33 years.
As for low-income groups, that is, farmers, water delivery workers, laundry workers, dock workers, unskilled workshop workers, etc., their average life span is - "
Gretel took a deep breath. He looked around, deliberately lengthening the pause between two sentences, and looking at everyone who looked at him. It wasn't until the silence in the conference hall accumulated enough to suppress him that he spit out the long words.
Qi, draw a shocking column on the whiteboard, only one-third of the length of the leftmost one:
"--22 years old."
The entire conference hall shook violently. Then, a buzzing sound rolled up like a tide, drowning every seat:
"What?!"
"So short?"
"Only 22 years old?"
"Even if you give birth to a child at the age of 14 and die at the age of 22, the child will only be 8 years old!"
"That doesn't mean letting the child die——"
"Is it fake? How could it be so bad..."
"That's right, there are quite a few craftsmen in my shop who are forty or fifty years old..."
Gretel lowered his eyebrows and stood quietly next to the whiteboard, listening to these chaotic discussions. When he first entered the death register, he was worried about the lives of those fourteen, fifteen, seventeen or eighteen years old who died tragically early.
.However, when the statistics were completed and the calculated data was obtained, he still couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.
The situation was worse than he expected.
Much worse.
22 years old. The average age of death is only 22 years old. You know, even in old China, before liberation, in such a miserable world, the average life span of the people reached 35 years old...
What is 22 years old?
It's hell!
He waited quietly for a moment, raised the manuscript paper in his hand, and showed the audience the secret mark on the paper. The great magician of the conjuration system raised his hand, and a ray of magic light flashed through, and the mark of the Thunder Tower rose again, shining in the air.
Immediately, a louder sound burst out, which lasted for a long time before dissipating.
Gretel raised his head and waited. These data were not made up by him, and the original records were sourced. The calculation process was endorsed by Talling and could withstand inspection. He waited for the surroundings to gradually quiet down, took a step forward, and made a sincere speech to the rostrum:
"The average age of death is 22 years old. In other words, the time during which a worker can produce maximum value is only 8 years. The 8 years from 15 to 22 years old.
Even if they can live for one more year, this means that the time for him to create wealth has been extended from 8 years to 9 years. The wealth of the entire society can be expected to increase by one-eighth.
Not to mention, more than half of the children from poor families die before the age of 6. This means that the social wealth during this period from the conception of the baby to the birth and raising until the age of six is wasted in vain.
Produce any value. If their conditions can be improved and more children can live to adulthood, this will be a huge asset to society!
Apart from anything else, the city of Nevis is still recruiting people to work in the New World. The advance payment for each worker is between 20 and 25 gold coins - even if one more person lives to 15 years old, there will be 20 more people.
Gold coins!”
Gretel has been preparing this sentence for a long time. Businessmen, workshop owners, and small nobles may look at the wages of individual workers, but the Magic Council, as the ruler, is definitely concerned about the gross national product, or the per capita gross national product. Even if
They haven't formed a concrete concept yet, so it's easy to explain it to them.
To convince the people in power in this city, you only need to ask one question: If 1 gold coin is invested in each person, it can produce 30 gold coins of social wealth. Is it cost-effective?
Having said this, he temporarily stopped talking and waited quietly. Opposite the discussion table, in the auditorium, officials, nobles, and businessmen were frothing at the mouth, making gestures, and talking non-stop. On the rostrum, several great magicians were discussing hurriedly.
After a while, the review committee member of the Protection Department flicked his fingers, and a loud bell rang immediately in the conference hall.
The hall quickly became quiet. The white-robed mage turned to Gretel with a serious expression and a solemn tone:
"Mage Gret Nordmark, you have made a good point. However, if you want to persuade the Parliament to increase investment, you need to explain one more point:
How much help will increasing this investment have on the lives and health of citizens?"
****
In 1842, half of the children of British workers died before the age of 5. The average ages of death for London workers, businessmen, and aristocrats were 22, 33, and 44 years old respectively.
To be honest, I was shocked when I found this data... I knew it was miserable, but I didn't know it was so miserable...