The proposals for the Royal Academy of Sciences and the Royal Institute of Industry were swiftly approved by the Cabinet Meeting, and the Ministry of Finance also declared it would allocate 8 million Australian dollars to construct these two universities.
As the institutions would carry the royal prefix, Arthur also specifically announced he would attend the ground-breaking ceremonies and the opening ceremonies of the first academic year for these two universities.
This also made the Cabinet give greater importance to these two universities, and Kailo, the Minister of Education, even designated them as the most vital projects in university construction, supervising them personally.
Once education matters were temporarily resolved, the medical issues actually didn’t pose much of a problem.
Australasia currently has two medical universities and a medical college, and the number of medical students they train every year is still quite substantial.
It’s worth noting that Australasian universities place the utmost emphasis on practical ability, and medical colleges and medical universities are naturally no exception.
Although most of these medical students graduated not many years ago, they have already interned several times during their university studies, and are perfectly capable of assisting practicing doctors.
After a few years of experience accumulation and skill refinement, they would grow into qualified doctors in hospitals, and then be dispatched to other newly established hospitals.
Currently, the number of large hospitals in Australasia far exceeds the number of universities, with an average of more than five large hospitals in each state.
Among them, important urban cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Saint Arthur Castle have exaggerated numbers, with each having more than five large hospitals.
However, in regions like Java and Sumatra, where colonization has become localized, there are currently only 1-2 large hospitals.
The development plan of the medical sector is, firstly, to increase the number of existing large hospitals.
After all, only large hospitals possess more advanced medical standards, especially for highly demanding surgical operations.
Only with an increasing number of large hospitals can we ensure that more people receive treatment when needed.
Secondly, there is substantial support for the pharmaceutical industry.
Simply having a multitude of hospitals isn’t sufficient, the corresponding medical manufacturing industry must also be adequately developed.
The undisputed titan of the Australasian pharmaceutical industry is the Medical Group Headquarters founded by Arthur.
As a company highly valued by Arthur in the field of pharmaceuticals, the Medical Group’s medicines are bestsellers throughout Australasia, occupying over 75% of the Australasian pharmaceutical market.
Besides, the Medical Group also cooperates with many countries, with annual pure profits from medicine exports amounting to at least 25 million Australian dollars.
Although this seems like a lot, the profits from Penicillin medicine sales account for the majority, and it’s decreasing year by year.
This isn’t to say that the global demand for Penicillin is decreasing. In truth, with population growth and wars occurring around the world, the demand for Penicillin couldn’t possibly lessen; it can only increase every year.
Even for later generations, the annual sales figures for Penicillin medicines remain an enormous number, signifying a long-lasting market.
For this reason, various countries covet the Penicillin medicine from Australasia and have begun developing their Penicillin medicines quite early on.
The first reason is to break Australasia’s monopoly in the field of Penicillin medicine.
The global monopoly is a significant blow to other Powers and all countries, representing tremendous business opportunities once the monopoly is broken.
The second reason is to disrupt the Penicillin medicine market.
As Penicillin is an effective medicine for preventing wound infections, it’s guaranteed to not lack purchasers, also symbolizing the enormous profits from producing Penicillin medicine.
Since beginning sales of Penicillin in 1924, the production of Penicillin medicine has brought the Medical Group more than 20 million Australian dollars in revenue each year, even surpassing 35 million Australian dollars during peak periods.
Although due to the participation of other countries, revenues from Penicillin sales by the Medical Group have already dropped to around 20 million Australian dollars, and that’s after the devaluation of the currency.
But no one can deny the allure of a stable annual income of 20 million Australian dollars for any country or enterprise.
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Regardless of the success achieved by the Medical Group, it still cannot obscure the fact that the Australasian pharmaceutical industry lags behind that of other Powers.
Besides the Medical Group, there are virtually no other internationally known pharmaceutical enterprises, except for one pharmaceutical company that relocated to Australasia during the economic crisis.
Aside from constructing more large hospitals, the Ministry of Health’s tasks include encouraging the private-sector pharmaceutical field to cultivate more outstanding pharmaceutical enterprises.
Only with a large number of pharmaceutical enterprises participating in medicine research and development do we have the hope to see world-leading medicinal products like Penicillin emerge in Australasia.
And the funds needed for medicine research and development are immense, meaning that the support for these pharmaceutical enterprises must be significant, for this also pertains to the wellbeing of the Australasian people.
In regards to this, Arthur’s stance is that substantial support is possible, but the medicines developed by pharmaceutical enterprises must first be produced and sold in Australasia, and there must be a guarantee that the sold medicines are sufficiently effective.
Concerning pharmaceutical enterprises, Arthur is no stranger to the saying that a good medicine is not necessarily a good product.
While it’s understandable for enterprises to make money, if, under the premise of substantial government support, these pharmaceutical enterprises lack self-awareness, then Arthur would decisively abandon supporting them and leave them to their own fates.
After all, the royal Medical Group has already established the pinnacle of the pyramid for Australasia’s drug research and development, ensuring that the Australasian people can enjoy a world-advanced medicinal system.
Only by firmly grasping the construction of large hospitals and encouraging the production and research and development of the pharmaceutical industry can the medical sector of Australasia look forward to better development and catch up with the former United States.
Yes, although the America of the past no longer existed, Arthur still aimed for the pinnacle of America’s heyday.
In terms of industrial economy and population, if Australasia could reach the scale of the United States at that time, it would truly have the strength to covet the throne of the world’s hegemon.
But before that, the British would have to remain seated on the world hegemon’s throne, incidentally maintaining the stability of the global situation without giving rise to too many unforeseen events.
After concluding matters of education and medical care, this meeting also essentially drew to a close.
The preliminary resolution of issues in education and medical care was a cause for celebration, but it also meant that Australasia would have to pay tens of millions of Australian dollars in funds.
Though it might not appear to be a lot, the accumulation of these expenses imposed a significant financial burden on the government.
The value of the Australian Dollar had depreciated to about 42% of its value before devaluation.
In other words, previously, constructing one of the most advanced battleships cost about 4 million Australian dollars, but now the price for one had surged past 11 million Australian dollars.
The currency still maintained some value at present, but it certainly was not as valuable as it had been before.
This represented a massive change in the data. For many years, the per capita annual income of Australasians had remained around 60 Australian dollars.
However, with the significant devaluation of the currency, the per capita annual income had continuously risen, and it was now nearing 152 Australian dollars.
Actually, this is one of the reasons why European countries pursue currency devaluation. In any case, it appears that both the actual income of the people and the government’s financial revenues have increased.
Fortunately, the value of Australasia’s currency had been quite resilient before; although it had experienced a slum after depreciation, its value didn’t plummet from the skies and remained relatively stable.
Especially after strengthening ties with the Pound, the Pound-Australian Dollar system has become the most popular global currency, as well as the preferred choice in international trades apart from Gold and crucial supplies.
But how should I put it? This isn’t because the Pound-Australian Dollar system is particularly exceptional.
A closer look at the current great Powers clarifies that besides the Pound-Australian Dollar system, other systems like the Franc, Ruble, and US Dollar systems all have significant flaws; moreover, after the division of America, the international influence of the US dollar has almost hit zero.
How long the value of the US dollar can hold is uncertain, leading to its near worthlessness in major transactions—no one opts to accept large amounts of US dollars.
The American people are also trying their best to exchange their US dollars for commodities or other currencies, with the Pound and Australian Dollar remaining the most popular.
Besides the Pound and Australian Dollar, the devaluation of other currencies is uncontrollable. The current global monetary system is already very chaotic, with the Franc’s value potentially experiencing significant fluctuations within a few days.
Of course, the Frenchmen are certainly not the ones who have suffered the most.
The concept of currency devaluation has been proposed for many years now, and essentially all countries have also abandoned the gold standard.
Among all countries, it’s probably the Germans who have experienced the most severe currency devaluation. The outbreak of the economic crisis inflicted severe chaos upon the Germans and turned the Mark into worthless paper.
Yes, just worthless paper.
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Initially, the value of the Mark was stable. Although the devaluation of the Mark was significant, it wasn’t as exaggerated as one might imagine.
Arthur had assumed that Germany would not descend into the chaos depicted in history, but as it turned out, the chaos was merely delayed.
Starting from the second half of 1929, the German Mark underwent a bizarre period of devaluation.
How bizarre? It was a scale of devaluation that Arthur had never seen before, so extreme that it caught the attention of economists from various countries.
It was also from this point that the Mark gradually became something people could not accept—worthless paper.
Previously, the exchange rate of the Mark to the Pound was about 1355 to 1.
This exchange rate seems quite exaggerated but is considered relatively high at present.
According to the latest news from Germany, the value of one Imperial Mark has reached an all-time low.
There is no longer an exchange rate between the Pound and the Mark because nobody is willing to convert their Pounds into Marks.
A glance at the actual commodity prices in Germany makes clear that 500,000 Marks for a loaf of bread is not an exaggeration.
On the streets of Berlin, a pound of what looks to be very ordinary white bread is now selling for around 3500 Marks.
And a pound of black bread, which merely looking at makes one’s throat itch, is also selling for a staggering 1700 Marks.
These figures may not seem exaggerated. But it’s worth noting that the price of bread two years ago was only a fraction of what it is now.
And what is the average annual income for the German populace now?
Just counting the working Germans, their annual income barely reaches a hundred thousand Marks a year.
A hundred thousand Marks may seem like a high income, but if the vast majority of that income is spent on bread and other food, it’s just enough to keep oneself alive.
But apart from these working individuals, Germany still has a large unemployed population, also a crucial factor in the continuous devaluation of the Mark and the rising value of bread.