"I don't know. Up to us, I suppose."
"Yes. How about another drink? I'll make it. How much of that cola stuff
do you put in?"
Jim told him, and while the other was on his feet mixing the drinks,
said, "You figure on sticking to the same line this year?"
"Have to," Vovo said over his shoulder. "What's the alternative?"
"I don't know. We're building up to a whale of a depression as it is,
even with half the economy running full blast producing defense
materials."
Vovo chuckled, "Defense materials. I wonder if ever in the history of
the human race anyone ever admitted to producing _offense_ materials."
"Well, you call it the same thing. All your military equipment is for
defense. And, of course, according to your press, all ours is for
offense."
"Of course," Vovo said.
He brought the glasses back and handed one to the other. He slumped back
into his chair again, loosened two buttons of his trousers.
"Jim," Vovo said, "why don't you divert more of your economy to public
works, better roads, reforestation, dams--that sort of thing."
Jim said wearily, "You're a better economist than that. Didn't your boy
Marx, or was it Engels, write a small book on the subject? We're already
overproducing--turning out more products than we can sell."
"I wasn't talking about your government building new steel mills. But
dams, roads, that sort of thing. You could plow billions into such items
and get some real use out of them. We both know that our weapons will
never be used--they can't be."
Jim ticked them off on his fingers. "We already are producing more farm
products than we know what to do with; if we build more dams it'll open
up new farm lands and increase the glut. If we build more and better
roads, it will improve transportation, which will mean fewer men will be
able to move greater tonnage--and throw transportation employees into
the unemployed. If we go all out for reforestation, it will eventually
bring down the price of lumber and the lumber people are howling
already. No," he shook his head, "there's just one really foolproof way
of disposing of surpluses and using up labor power and that's war--hot
or cold."