"David Weber - Honor 01 - On Baslisk Station" - читать интересную книгу автора (Weber David)

memo chips and made himself meet the president's eyes. "The last three
quarters all confirm the projection, Sid." He glowered sideways at his
military colleague. "It's the naval budget. We can't keep adding ships this
way without-"
"If we don't keep adding them," Elaine Dumarest broke in sharply, "the wheels
come off. We're riding a neotiger, Mr. President. At least a third of the
occupied planets still have crackpot 'liberation' groups, and even if they
didn't, everyone on our borders is arming to the teeth. It's only a matter of
time until one of them jumps us."
 2

"I think you're overreacting, Elaine," Ronald Bergren put in. The Secretary
for Foreign Affairs rubbed his pencil-thin mustache and frowned at her.
"Certainly they're arming-I would be, too, in their place-but none of them are
strong enough to take us on."
"Perhaps not just now," Admiral Parnell said bleakly, "but if we get tied down
elsewhere or any large-scale revolt breaks out, some of them are going to be
tempted into trying a smash and grab. That's why we need more ships. And, with
all due respect to Mr. Frankel," the CNO added, not sounding particularly
respectful, "it isn't the Fleet budget that's breaking the bank. It's the
increases in the Basic Living Stipend. We've got to tell the Dolists that any
trough has a bottom and get them to stop swilling long enough to get our feet
back under us. If we could just get those useless drones off our backs, even
for a few years-"
"Oh, that's a wonderful idea!" Frankel snarled. "Those BLS increases are all
that's keeping the mob in check! They supported the wars to support their
standard of living, and if we don't-"
"That's enough!" President Harris slammed his hand down on the table and
glared at them all in the shocked silence. He let the stillness linger a
moment, then leaned back and sighed. "We're not going to achieve anything by
calling names and pointing fingers," he said more mildly. "Let's face it-the
DuQuesene Plan hasn't proved the answer we thought it would."
"I have to disagree, Mr. President," Dumarest said. "The basic plan remains
sound, and it's not as if we have any other choice now. We simply failed to
make sufficient allowance for the expenses involved."
"And for the revenues it would generate," Frankel added in a gloomy tone.
"There's a limit to how hard we can squeeze the planetary economies, but
without more income, we can't maintain our BLS expenditures and produce a
military powerful enough to hold what we've got."
"How much time do we have?" Harris asked.
"I can't say for certain. I can paper over the cracks for a while, maybe even
maintain a facade of affluence, by robbing Peter to pay Paul. But unless the
spending curves change radically or we secure a major new source of revenue,
we're living on borrowed time, and it's only going to get worse." He smiled
without humor. "It's a pity most of the systems we've acquired weren't in much
better economic shape than we were."
"And you're certain we can't reduce Fleet expenditures, Elaine?"
"Not without running very grave risks, Mr. President. Admiral Parnell is
perfectly correct about how our neighbors will react if we waver." It was her
turn to smile grimly. "I suppose we've taught them too well."