Isolate by L. E. Modesitt Jr

Author:L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

59

THE pleasure of the dinner at Estado Don Miguel was short-lived, because the next morning, the first day of Summerend, Dekkard began packing for Duadi’s departure. He’d largely finished when Ritten Obreduur enlisted his strong back to carry the heavier suitcases down to the side hall leading to the portico. Not long after he finished carting those, Obreduur asked him into the study, where he read the latest draft of Dekkard’s speech.

The councilor’s comments were direct. “Your introduction is adequate. Possibly better, depending on how you deliver it. You’ve provided a general reason for them to support you and the party, but you’ve given no specifics. No gut reasons they can latch on to.”

“Sir … I’m not the councilor. I hesitated to give specific legislation in your name.” Part of that was because Dekkard couldn’t recall a specific measure presented by Obreduur.

Obreduur smiled. “That doesn’t mean you can’t take a stand on a specific issue. If you’re going to speak for me, I’ll have to read what you’d say, of course. You haven’t heard me be too detailed. Detailed legislative measures presented to the public always get a councilor in trouble. You need to mention a specific point without technical details.”

“Like saying all large military procurements need to be made public?”

“That’s general enough, but most people don’t care about naval procurements.”

“That basic foods shouldn’t face high tariffs?”

Obreduur shook his head. “First, most people don’t understand tariffs. Second, if you lower tariffs on swampgrass rice, for example, some farmworkers will lose their jobs.”

“What about establishing a minimum wage for all full-time workers?”

“Then manufactories will just hire part-time workers.”

Dekkard began to wonder if Obreduur was toying with him, but he said, “What about saying near-starvation wages are unacceptable for the work that Guldoran workers provide?”

“That’s better. Especially since some textile manufactories still pay near-starvation wages.”

“What about requiring healthy workplaces?”

“That would work as well.”

“What if someone asks how exactly we’ll provide that?”

“Ask them, what is their biggest concern in where they work? If it’s a newsie, tell them that, beyond basic safety rules, standards have to be developed on an industry-by-industry basis by both guilds and manufactories, because the guilds know what’s safe and what’s not and the manufactories have to pay for the changes.”

“Being specific without being too detailed, then?” asked Dekkard dryly.

“There’s no point in being too detailed. The Council will change what anyone proposes to some extent. If I give any specific number, then I’ll be held to it, even when I can’t do anything about it. That’s true of any councilor, not just me.” He offered an amused smile. “Now … if you can get a guildmeister or a corporacion functionary to come up with a number, you can say that they recommended that number … and then we’re not tied to it. Or if it’s a bad number, you can say that it’s too high or too low, and that gives us room to maneuver.”

All that made sense to Dekkard. He just hadn’t thought of it in quite that way.

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