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147 pages

English

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By 2013, the American economy is sliding under the rising tide of over spending and increasing indebtedness. Five years following the 2008 bursting of the great consumer bubble, the country is dangerously over-leverage and under-employed. Unable to balance spending with earned income, the United States is becoming aware of the what the true costs associated with the off-shoring of so many of its higher paying manufacturing jobs, might have been. Concluding the restoration of the economy is dependent on re-establishment of the relative competitiveness of manufacturing in America, Sentinels designate that restoration of manufacturing employment has to become the critical test by which historical and proposed programs are evaluated. Understanding the relative costs of production are determine by the total of seven separate categories of expenses, of which direct labor costs only represents one segment, the Sentinels set about to determine what needs to be changed. Well entrenched programs favoring foreign oil production, domestic power generation, the American labor movement, inadequate job training, corporate taxation, and increasing costs associated with growing regulations, need to be questioned. The Sentinels' "Employ America" requires them to divide the challenges into separate segments, with each one assume responsibility for its successful resolution. The story told through the evolving lives of the principal players on both sides of the ensuing conflict, unfolds over four continents. Follow the events in the lives of the next generation, as they pursue their objectives. Romance, disappointment, peril, trust, betrayal, hidden, prospects for success are never very far away.

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Thriller

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Publié par	DSI Publications
Date de parution	15 juin 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781936909537
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0450€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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ALSO FROM GORDON ZUCKERMAN
Fortunes of War Crude Deception

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Published by Live Oak Book Company Austin, TX www.liveoakbookcompany.com
Copyright ©2013 Gordon Zuckerman
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the copyright holder.
For ordering information or special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Live Oak Book Company at PO Box 91869, Austin, TX, 78709, 512.891.6100.
Design and composition by Greenleaf Book Group LLC Cover design by Greenleaf Book Group LLC
Cataloging-in-Publication data (Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)
Zuckerman, Gordon.
The Sentinels. A matter of importance : a novel / Gordon Zuckerman. -- 1st ed.
p. ; cm. -- (The Sentinels ; [bk. 3])
Issued also as an ebook.
ISBN: 978-1-936909-52-0 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-1-936909-60-5 (hardcover)
1. Industrialists--United States--Fiction. 2. Conspiracy--Fiction. 3. United States--Economic conditions--21st century. I. Title. II. Title: Matter of importance PS3626.U266 S46 2012 813/ .6 2012937504
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
12 13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
Contents
Author’s Note
List of Characters
Prologue
Chapter 1: Trouble
Chapter 2: Charley Hutson
Chapter 3: U.S. Motors
Chapter 4: Meet Jeff Mohr
Chapter 5: Meet Casey Jones
Chapter 6: Matters of Importance
Chapter 7: Should we Become Involved?
Chapter 8: Affordable Clean Energy
Chapter 9: Organizing the Money
Chapter 10: A Difficult Dilemma
Chapter 11: Casey Jones is Calling
Chapter 12: J.W. Porter
Chapter 13: Creating New Labor Policy
Chapter 14: Meet Mr. Green
Chapter 15: Jeff’s Tour
Chapter 16: My New Best Friend
Chapter 17: Having a Good Day
Chapter 18: Headed Home
Chapter 19: Target Andi
Chapter 20: Taking Charge
Chapter 21: Larry Wilshire
Chapter 22: Alternative Collateral
Chapter 23: Meeting in Mumbai
Chapter 24: Organized Labor
Chapter 25: Attack in Mumbai
Chapter 26: The Cocktail Napkin Game
Chapter 27: Learning to Communicate
Chapter 28: Ivan and Madam Chang
Chapter 29: Life Above Ground
Chapter 30: Someone Finally Understands
Chapter 31: Back-Channel Communications
Chapter 32: The Sunbelt Tour
Chapter 33: The Chinese Dilemma
Chapter 34: A Mexican Vacation
Chapter 35: Unfinished Business
Chapter 36: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
Chapter 37: Fishing at Lake Hidalgo
Chapter 38: Green Cement
Chapter 39: A Time for Reflection
Chapter 40: Tea in China
Chapter 41: The Strength of Numbers
Chapter 42: No, i Don’t Think So
Chapter 43: Gentlemen, We Need to Reach an Understanding
Chapter 44: It’s Time to Take our Bill to the Floor
Chapter 45: A different Kind of Trouble
Chapter 46: Bold Moves
Chapter 47: Product Branding
Chapter 48: A More Formidable Competitor
Chapter 49: Helix Motors
Chapter 50: New York Rules
Chapter 51: Pending Launch
Chapter 52: Difficult Decisions
Chapter 53: Organized Chaos
Chapter 54: Stella’s Place
Chapter 55: The Pendulum Swings in Both Directions
Chapter 56: A California Tsunami
Chapter 57: Rio de Janeiro
Acknowledgments
Appendix
Questions and Topicsfor Discussion
About the Author
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In chapter 6 , Dr. Robin Cook’s character presents a slideshow that is a synopsis of “Employ American: A Matter of Importance,” a winning economic doctoral thesis. The student authors of this fictional thesis divided the fifty-year postwar economic history from 1960 to 2010 into four separate phases: Age of Economic Equilibrium, Age of Consumer Products, Age of Real Estate, and The Bubble Bursts. These four phases are detailed for the reader in a chart located in the Appendix.
L IST OF C HARACTERS
Mr. Aakil Chandakar —Owner Of Chandakar, Inc., in mumbai; a longtime friend and business partner to Jeff Mohr.
Madam Cecelia Chang Stone —Called Madam Chang; last living member of the original Six Sentinels; Chairman Emeritus of the Institute; Chairman of the Sentinel Trust; widow of Mike Stone; mother of Dr. Robin Cook and Ivan Stone.
Ivan Chang Stone —A member of the Sentinel Institute board of directors; son of Madam Chang; brother to Dr. Robin Cook.
Dr. Robin Chang Cook —Cochair, Sentinel Institute board of directors; Dean of the Sentinel Institute’s International Economic Department; daughter of Madam Chang; sister of Ivan Stone; widow.
Terrance “Terry” Flynn —Director of the San Francisco branch of the FBI.
Charley Hutson —A member of the Sentinel Institute board of directors; served in the Persian Gulf with Jeff Mohr; works for U.S. Motors; boyfriend to Andi Taylor.
Jeff Mohr —A member of the Sentinel Institute board of directors; owner of Mohr Electronics; served in the Persian Gulf with Charley Hutson; husband to Meg.
Meg Mohr —Jeff’s wife.
J.W. Porter —Chairman of the board of U.S. Motors; Charley Hutson’s boss.
Claudia Demaureux Roth —A member of the Sentinel Institute board of directors; senior investment analyst at Lazarus & Co.
Mr. Tambour —A former Indian ambassador to China and the United States.
Dr. Andi Taylor —A practicing behavioral psychologist; Charley’s girlfriend.
General Benjamin “Ben” T. Wells —A member of the Sentinel Institute board of directors; retired U.S. Army, three-star general; former student of Madam Chang; early graduate of the Sentinel Institute.
Larry Wilshire —A former military colleague to Charley Hutson and Jeff Mohr; an independent security contractor.
Nate White —A former FBI agent; founder and COO of White Security. Sam “Mr. Sam” Walcott —Senior Director of the Sentinel Institute board of directors; U.S. Congressman, ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Cheng Yee —Owner of Yee, Inc., in China; friend and trusted business colleague to Jeff Mohr.
P ROLOGUE
Monterey, California
June 11, 2010
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are locked in a new kind of war, a war of multinational corporate and sovereign nation manufacturing competition. If the United States is to survive economically, the global competitiveness of the American goods producer needs to be restored.”
With these opening statements, retired three-star general Benjamin T. Wells began his commencement address to the Sentinel Institute’s graduating doctoral studies class.

Just moments before, Madam Cecelia Chang Stone, the last living member of the original Six Sentinels and one of the founders of the Institute, had introduced the honored speaker.
The diminutive, gray-haired ninety-seven-year-old matriarch of the Sentinel Trust stood at the podium, sporting her wellknown mischievous grin, with her posture perfectly erect and her emerald green eyes flashing with life.
“Ladies and gentlemen, as it has been my privilege to do for the last thirty-eight years, I have the honor of introducing this year’s commencement speaker. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to my former student—Benjamin T. Wells—a good friend, and an early graduate of the Sentinel Institute. This early pioneer of surgical aerial warfare is widely recognized for his ability to successfully adapt modern weapon technology to battleground tactical warfare. Over the years, his specially trained units have operated at the president’s will all around our troubled world. Following Ben’s retirement from the army after thirty years of service, he has spent the last year visiting his former officers, who in civilian life have scattered to the four corners of the world. As he traveled, people frequently asked, ‘While we were busy protecting American interests abroad, how good a job have we been doing in taking care of business at home?’
“I invited Ben to address you today and share a few of his personal observations. Benjamin, if you please.”

Having paused to let his opening remarks sink in, the general continued his speech.
“Frustrated by what I was learning, I decided to call Madam Chang, whose opinion I respect and trust. She instantly grasped the source of my concern and suggested I read this year’s winning doctoral thesis, ‘Employ American: A Matter of Importance.’
“Well, Madam Chang, I’ve read this thesis,” said General Ben as he turned and smiled at his mentor. “What I can’t understand is how five admittedly brilliant doctoral candidates were able to identify the source of our economic problems and devise such an exciting solution. What have the rest of us been doing?
“How, in an economy operating in a world experiencing a global industrial revolution, in an environment of accelerated wartime federal spending, can it be that one out of every five members of our civilian workforce is either out of work or can’t find suitable part-time employment, and one out of every seven U.S. citizens is receiving food stamps?
“I’ve always believed we live in a world known for its ability to discover new technologies, develop new consumer products, mobilize its vast financial markets, and create billions of dollars of new consumption demand. Why, in an economy that suffers from so much underemployment and a shrinking tax base, have we failed to discover an alternative solution to prevent the outsourcing of manufacturing employment to lower-cost foreign labor markets?
“How proud can we be when our returning veterans and our college graduates must compete with more than 25 million other Americans to find suitable employment?
“Have we ever stopped to calculate what the real cost of the lost manufacturing employment really is?
“Now that we have learned we can no longer rely on the expansion of consumer debt to finance the growth of discreti