The Iron Eagle - The History of the Cold War
- Thread starter Kaiser of Brazil
- Start date
Oh this is actually a few years before the Ural War, but it is already stated that whoever the president is, he is going to support Russia decisively.
I think with China and Europe being closed and the warming of relations with Brazil we will see more exports and investment in Latin America and the Developing World. The Populists could also start to court the Hispanic and immigrant communities as a counterweight to the Southern Democrats.
I forgot to add that with the decline of alcohol and the access to Sugar from Latin America that various soft drinks and sodas will be doing a brisk business. Also, will the Federal and State governments apply 'sin taxes' on alcohol, cigarettes and other items to fund healthcare?
Taxes on large fortunes and corporations did help Long to fund his programs, but making new taxes is not a bright idea during election season. Sure, if he survives you can expect to use the increased religious rhetoric to levy such types of taxes.
Long dying or permanently incapacitated would be better for American democracy in the long run, so my bet is that he will survive and make a decent recovery, but even more unhinged and paranoid than before. While the office of American presidency limits the damage any potential tyrant could do, damage will be done.
A good question for now is who would even take Long's place in the campaign (and likely Presidency) if the Kingfish dies.
I'm betting that the "Shark of the Kingish party" LBJ could fill in Long's shoes, though only partly given how big those shoes are.
One could argue that LBJ works better in the Senate where the party needs the most help to pass laws. The unholy mix of Huey Long's scheming and LBJ's intimidation is what made the Populists able to do so much with a minority.
Good to see that the US economy is still growing. But you said in one of the previous chapters that the german economy is starting to struggle due to the massive spending the Wehrmacht gets and Speer has plans to solve these issues? By the time of the Ural War have there been any major changes to the german economy?
Again, infighting in the Reich stood in the way. There is a general awareness that the upwards trend in the economy has a limit, especially since the Linz Pakt is practically a closed environment except for the illegal Black Market schemes that individual groups and leaders of the Reich engage with. The militarization and expansionism of the Reich, as well as the diplomatic isolation with Latin America following the strike against the Catholic Church. There is some expectation that the conquest of the Ural frontier and it's enormous mineral resources can buy some time for the necessary reforms, but exactly which path they would go is something that constantly causes clashes between Speer and Wegener.
how is the german population going i am guessing that there was a boom after the war , but has the goverment been promoting higher bithrates ? they must increase the glorious master race after all .
The Germans had decreasing birthrates before the First World War, Hitler had attempted several measures to increase them in the 30s but those did not do as much as needed. In the Post-War, things went... a little more radical. In order to settle the increasingly "empty" eastern lands, there were several criteria for colonists to meet, including large families. There was also a boost in the Lebensborn program between 1943 and 1951 under Himmler, untermenschen with sufficient Aryan-looking traits were selected from camps to be a part of it. There were at least 3 million births (although they were hardly consensual as the alternative to join these programs was staying in a concentration camp) during that time.
There is also the impact of what an entire generation of propaganda did to the Reich's youth. You can expect growing birthrates, especially from Germans settled on the East. Of course, on the other hand, there are many sterilization programs on Slavs and those considered untermenschen.
And you can always call the Dutch, Belgians, Swiss, Danes etc as Germans with different dialects to change the results of the Census.
Ok , so bigger german population but smaller population overall .
That is usually the consequence of engaging in Industrial genocide.
So far there is no Vietnam, although the Korean War will be a close analogue. You can expect newer generations, who grew up with the tales of Operation Sunset and the Pacific War, to be pushing less for the US to go anti-war in the way it did with Vietnam. Not only are they facing two ideological enemies at once, one of them is an expansionist, totalitarian genocidal state that was far more hostile than Khruschev or Brezhnev's USSR. There wouldn't be protests against a war facing Nazism or Chinese Maoism, but the Americans also see War less like as an adventure and more like a duty. After seeing the levels of horror and fanaticism that Japan unleashed across Asia, the tales of the brutality of the Stalinists in Russia and of course the stories about Festung Europa, War is seen more as a duty. There is less naivety in general.
As for how Counterculture would be like internally, that depends a lot if Long lives or dies now.
Better question is what do you want to see? The President lives or the President dies?