"Yes, Leo."
"This is the ugliest side of financial capitalism."
"Industrial capitalists still need their workers alive because they need labor. But financial capitalists don't. All they need are assets."
"She's right. In the logic of power, dependency breeds loyalty."
"But I must remind you, that loyalty is to a creditor, not to a leader."
"If she succeeds in this, the person on the throne won't be you."
Leo looked at Evelyn.
"Those surrounding cities—Erie, Scranton, Johnston—they've been sending large quantities of raw materials and primary products to Pittsburgh. Now they're holding a ton of credit notes, which are considered wealth within the system."
"But what happens when they need US Dollars?"
"When the Erie city government needs to pay the interest on its US Dollar debt for the next quarter? When Scranton needs to procure external equipment that can't be paid for with these notes? When their fiscal deficits force them to liquidate these notes?"
"What will they do?"
