After Mayor Finsk’s departure from public office, the city of New Heaven began its staggering upwards trajectory of steady economic growth. Despite the obvious parallel drawn between this upturn of the city’s economy and Finsk’s resigation, leading historians believe that this uptick is more connected to a large tax break bill pushed through by the city council that had been vetoed by Finsk days befre his departure. This tax break law, passed by the city council majority, allowed for a tax leniency for large corporate companies who moved their headquarters to the city. This law had been circling through the politicians of the city for most of Finsk’s term. He had been a stark proponent of this bill, stating that it would ruin the integrity of the city’s population and would lead to the destruction of the middle class, as well as deal a signifcant blow to the mom and pop stores that held up the city’s population.
Once the tax break was passed, several major companies relocated their main offices to the city, brining with them thousands of jobs in the burgeoning factories that these companies constructed. Dozens of factories were constructed in the Northern part of the city, effectively creating an industrial zone. With each factory that ran its course throughout the life of the coporation that owned it, two more would pop up in its place when the city’s inspectors shut it down. This trend of manufacturing plants and factories continued until their existence began to be called into question by the corporation shareholders. Many of the factories, being constructed on New Heaven soil, proved to be too cost-effective, even with the city’s tax breaks. In order to keep the profit expectations of the shareholders, the corporations took to overseas production options. While this act greatly increased their bottom line, the shift in workforce meant that thousands of factory workers faced a mass layoff throughout the city.
Protests, both violet and non-violent, took place at government buildings throughout New Heaven in order to bring back all of the factory jobs that had been lost seemingly overnight. The government responded with (now dscovered as false) promises of a return to New Heaven local manufactoring by order of the city. The factory workers, forced to turn to unemployment programs, low-skill jobs, and rising crime opportunities, began to look up to the corporations and their monolithic skyscrapers. White collar executive jobs became immensely competitive. The major colleges and trade schools filled with those who could afford to change their opportunity in order for them to catch one of these deity-like positions of power and wealth.
A large wage gap began in the waning years of the factory migration from these corporations, and it grew during the riots into one of the elite rich and those of the poverty-stricken, welfare supported lower class. Finsk’s prediction of the dissolution of the middle class came true. Countless loyal employees turn overwhelmingly to crime. Gang-related felonies exploded in the coming years. Large pockets of organized crime groups formed, causing neighborhoods to become caught in the crossfire of escalating territorial warfare. The police force were deemed only necessary to intervene when the interests of the elite super wealthy were at risk. Police officers, once called for an emergency, oftentimes would leave bodies behind moreso than criminals away in handcuffs. Government officials ignored the plights of the commonfolk, instead passing laws and giving substantial grants and bonds to the elite of the city.
While the capital of the city of New Heaven soared to new heights, a new problem emerged between the CEOs of the gargantuan Corporations; complete buyouts. Dr. Green of Green Pharmaceuticals bought and absorbed every scientific and technology based companies in the city, trapping them in the corporations bilions once the promise of luxurious tax breaks lured them to New Heaven. These buyouts created a handful of ultra-rich CEOs who, between the dozen of them, own the entirety of New Heaven. It was through this that the buyouts and corporate takeovers caught the attention of the mot powerful real esate tycoon in New Heaven, Brice Mclane. Instead of these powerful CEOs stabbing each other to take their immense empires, he proposed that they gather together under the umbrella of a weekly get together to work through the issues of their corporations and leanr how they can make their business more profitable for one another. This group adopted the moniker of the Corporate Collective. Brice Mclane, as his position of the land baron to which many of the other CEOs pay for the land they use to build upon, was unanimously elected as the leader of this group.
With the members of the Corporate Collective now cooperating instead of competing, the city of New Heaven flourished to unprecendented levels of profitable prosperity. Trllions of dollars flowed into the Corporations’ collective coffers. Harmony lasted for several decades, turning these CEOs into Captains of their industries. These profits continued until Brice Mclane suffered an unexpected upset from a newcomer to New Heaven who earned his billions on the back of old money.
Viktor Rotheram the Tenth.
