Chapter 275 GDP per Capita, Have You Heard of It? (Updated to Update 15)

Grete held the speech tightly and stood up slowly.

Bang bang, bang bang, my heart pounded in my chest, my breathing quickened, and my vest began to sweat. It felt like seeing the ambulance door open and the patient being rushed in on the flat car, or like working the second-line shift in the middle of the night, sleeping soundly, and the emergency phone bell rang by the bedside...

Grete 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.

Probably 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 the kids who are dying at 14, 15, 16 years old.

For little Jenny and her mother, poor people who draw water from polluted rivers and 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!

Gretel 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 city hall budget, I would like to ask a question:

A person, the most ordinary and low-level citizen of Nevis, how many gold coins is he worth? "

There was a sudden silence in the conference hall. Across the table, the spokesperson of the Budget Committee curled his lips slightly with disdain on his face. Two rows behind him, two small businessmen were whispering to each other: "What's the point in this?"

"That's it, 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..."

Gretel pretended not to hear. He looked to the left. On the rostrum, the high-ranking mages looked serious, with hints of displeasure. Looking to the right, Elder Wood frowned and said in a loud voice:

"The great God of Nature teaches us that everyone is equal before nature."

Oh well, the teachings of the God of Nature do. The servants of the God of Nature never regard themselves as nobler than the common 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 that "everyone is equal before God." Of course, some people are definitely more equal than others, but if several high-level clergymen speak one after another, then at least no one dares to shout in front of them: How much are those untouchables worth?

Gretel smiled slightly and bowed to them to express his gratitude. Then, he turned to the rostrum and said calmly:

"I checked the taxes in Nevis City. In the past ten years, the annual taxes in Nevis City have 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 approximately between 10 million and 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 his head and saw a man he didn't recognize standing in the fifth row opposite, which was the last row. He didn't wear a badge, couldn't feel the magic wave, and looked like he wasn't a knight or a warrior - maybe he was a businessman?

Gretel was still trying to figure out the identity of the other person. The man tugged hard on his waffle collar, his belly trembled, and he spoke eagerly:

"A water delivery worker can only earn 5 silver coins a month, a female 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!”

Gretel sighed. What the businessman rebutted 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 goods can’t grow long, so they can be loaded and unloaded by themselves.

It is human beings, and only human labor can create value. We add up the value of everything a city produces, including wheat, bread, cloth, glassware, etc., and call it the gross national product. The gross national product divided by the number of workers is the per capita output value.

The value a worker can create in a lifetime of labor is equal to his value to the city and the country. I think that, as rulers of the city, this is how the council should look at 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 from the time he has the ability to work, it is equivalent to creating 20 years of value. If he can continue to work for 30 years, it is equivalent to creating 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 podium. Holding the manuscript paper in one hand, he raised the other hand to the whiteboard. The mage's skills shined again and he drew a bar chart 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 sentences and making eye contact with everyone who looked at him. It wasn't until the silence in the conference hall was sufficiently suppressed that he took out a long breath and drew a shocking column on the whiteboard, only one third of the length of the leftmost column:

"--22 years old."

The entire conference hall shook violently. Then, a buzzing sound rolled up like a tidal wave, flooding every seat:

"What?!"

"So short?"

"Only 22 years old?"

"Even if you give birth to a child at 14 and die at 22, the child will only be 8 years old!"

"That doesn't mean letting the child die——"

"It's fake, right? 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..."

Grete lowered his eyebrows and stood quietly next to the whiteboard, listening to these messy 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 couldn't help but take a breath.

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...

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, a flash of magic light flashed, 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. The source of the original records and the calculation process were endorsed by Ta Ling, so they can withstand investigation. 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 generate 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 children from poor families die before the age of 6. This means that from the time a baby is conceived, to birth, to raising a baby until he is six years old, the social wealth during this period is wasted in vain and does not produce any value. If their conditions can be improved and more children can live to adulthood, this will be a huge asset to society!

Among other things, 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 be 15 years old, there are still 20 more gold coins! "

Gretel had been preparing this sentence for a long time. Businessmen, workshop owners, and minor nobles may look at the wages of individual workers, but the Magic Council, as the ruler, must be concerned about the gross national product, or the per capita gross national product. Even if they haven't formed a concrete concept yet, 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?

He stopped talking for the time being 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 discussed hurriedly for a while. The review member of the Protection Department flicked his fingers, and a grand 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 Gretel 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 under the age of 5. The average ages of death for workers, businessmen, and aristocrats in London 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...

Next chapter in five minutes!