"Take these vouchers, use them to buy cement from Scranton, to purchase logistics services from Pittsburgh, to upgrade your production lines."

"Every time this capital circulates once within our internal network, the value it creates will double."

"As long as these vouchers are in circulation, the factories won’t shut down, the trucks won’t stop running, and the workers will get paid."

"This is far more valuable than giving you a lump sum of cash that you’ll spend in one go."

The conference room fell utterly silent.

These old dogs, who had spent half their lives navigating local politics, were all stunned.

They stared at the endlessly looping diagram on the screen, a storm raging in their hearts.

’This isn’t some settlement system.’

’This is a state within a state.’

Leo Wallace was trying to bypass the Federation, bypass the State Government’s financial oversight, and establish an independent economic kingdom in western Pennsylvania.

"This... this is insane."

Ron Smith muttered to himself.

"Leo, do you have any idea what you’re doing? You’re challenging Harrisburg’s bottom line."

"The people at the state party headquarters are already keeping a close eye on me. If I tell them I didn’t bring back cash, but instead got a pile of vouchers that can only be used in this circle, and that I have to use these vouchers to hire your engineering teams..."

Smith shook his head, his face a mask of fear.

"They’ll say I’m promoting separatism. They’ll say I’ve become your vassal. Senator Warren will come to Erie and tear me to shreds personally."

Joe Byers flinched. "He’s right, Leo. The risk is too great. We just want to sell some cement, not get swept up in a political firestorm like this."

Leo looked at them.

He saw fear, but he also saw greed.

’Mr. President,’ Leo said in his mind, ’they don’t dare.’

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in his head.

"Of course they don’t dare. They’re used to being slaves, used to watching their masters’ expressions."

"But, Leo."

"You’ve dangled a big enough carrot in front of them. Now you have to give them a bulletproof vest."

Leo straightened up, a smile spreading across his face.

"I know what you’re afraid of."

"You’re afraid of a purge from the party. You’re afraid of Harrisburg cutting off your funding."

"But, gentlemen, I urge you to think for a moment."

"If you take cash back now, pay off your old debts, then what? Next year, if the economy continues its downturn, if the State Government cuts its budget, what will you do?"

"You’ll still be at a dead end."

"But," Leo said, pointing to the screen, "if we get this system up and running..."

"If Erie’s docks are repaired, and more ships come to port, your tax revenue will increase."

"If Scranton’s schools are renovated, and the citizens are satisfied."

"At that point, would the Republican Party’s state committee dare to touch you, Ron?"

Leo stared into Ron Smith’s eyes.

"When you’re standing on those brand-new docks, pointing at the busy cranes, telling your voters, ’Look, this is the change I’ve brought you.’"

"Would Warren dare to criticize you?"

"In the Rust Belt, whoever brings jobs is God."

"Political parties? That’s just a game rich people play after they’ve had their fill."

Leo continued to raise the stakes.

"Moreover, you don’t need to worry about being accused of aiding the enemy."

"I will wrap this system in a cloak of legality."

Leo paused, his eyes radiating a convincing certainty.

"I’ve already spoken with Senator Sanders on the phone. He will push for a Federal bill in Washington for a ’Cross-Regional Economic Cooperation Pilot Program,’ and our alliance will be the first testing ground for this bill."

"We will officially register with the U.S. Department of Commerce under the banner of a Federal Economic Recovery Demonstration Zone."

Leo saw Smith’s expression soften slightly and continued to press his advantage.

"And then there’s Murphy. He’s the official Democratic Party candidate for Senator, and he will make ’Establishing an Internal Economic Cycle for the Rust Belt’ the core of his campaign platform."

"This means the entire Democratic Party’s propaganda machine will be endorsing us. We’ll be pioneers, forging a path for Pennsylvania’s revival."

"If Harrisburg dares to meddle, if Warren dares to sabotage this..."

Leo let out a cold laugh.

"Then they’ll be obstructing a Federal pilot program, sabotaging cross-regional economic cooperation, and alienating themselves from the people of Pennsylvania."

"When that time comes, you won’t have to worry about how to explain yourselves to your party headquarters, because you’ll automatically be on the moral high ground."

"You’ll be able to say you’re doing this for the livelihoods of your city’s workers, for the economic future of the entire state, and even in response to the Federation’s call, setting aside partisan differences for this cross-party cooperation."

Leo spread his hands, looking at the group of still-hesitant mayors before him.

"I don’t care about my reputation, and I don’t care if only the Democratic Party benefits. All I care about is whether we can get this machine running, and whether we can all make money together."

Ron Smith was stunned.

The carrot Leo had dangled was not only huge, it also seemed incredibly safe.

It had the Federation’s endorsement and a halo of morality. He had even figured out the rhetoric for them to deflect any political responsibility.

"So, what will it be?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Leo looked at their greedy yet hesitant faces.

"Will you take a one-time lump sum of cash that you’ll quickly burn through, and go back to living the hard life?"

"Or will you take this ticket to the future, and together with Pittsburgh, carve out a path to survival in this rotten world?"