Billions: THE HEARTLAND PLAY

[Conference room at Axe Capital. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the Manhattan skyline. Bobby Axelrod stands at the head of the table, jacket off, sleeves rolled up. Wendy Rhoades sits with perfect posture, observing. Taylor Mason studies data on their tablet. Wags lounges back, nursing a glass of something expensive.]

BOBBY: (intensity radiating) I'm not here to waste your fucking time with another tech unicorn or some bullshit crypto play. I'm talking about the most mispriced asset in America. The working class. The heartland. (gestures sharply) While everyone's chasing the same five stocks, there's a goddamn gold mine sitting in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania—places Wall Street wrote off as dinosaurs.

WENDY: (challenging) Those places are economic graveyards, Bobby. Population decline, addiction epidemics, infrastructure crumbling faster than a penny stock after an SEC investigation.

BOBBY: (with a predatory smile) Exactly. And what's the first rule of capital? Buy when there's blood in the streets. (paces) These towns aren't dead—they're undervalued. And we're going to be the ones who see the fucking inefficiency that everyone else missed.

WAGS: (sipping his drink) Christ, Bobby. We're vulture capitalists, not social workers. What's the angle?

BOBBY: (points at Wags) The angle is 80 million Americans with their backs against the wall, ready to work, ready to spend, ready to build—if someone gives them the tools. And that someone is us. (slams hand on table) We're not saving America out of the fucking goodness of our hearts. We're positioning ourselves at the ground floor of the greatest economic resurrection play of the century.

THE ECONOMIC PLAYS

BOBBY: (commanding the room) First—manufacturing. Not your daddy's rust belt shit. I'm talking next-gen: robotics, additive manufacturing, green tech. High-margin products built by high-skill workers who don't need to waste four years getting gender studies degrees.

TAYLOR: (coolly analytical) The numbers don't support domestic manufacturing. Labor costs are 320% higher than Vietnam, 210% higher than Mexico. Shareholder value demands we chase margin.

BOBBY: (stepping closer to Taylor) That equation is changing. We push for targeted tax incentives—30% breaks for companies that invest in dead zones. We hammer politicians for outsourcing penalties. (more intense) And you know what the pandemic proved? Just-in-time global supply chains are a fucking house of cards. (leans in) McKinsey says advanced manufacturing adds $530 billion to GDP by 2025. I say we grab a quarter of that.

TAYLOR: (nodding slightly) Reshoring does create multiple arbitrage opportunities if the incentive structure shifts.

BOBBY: (moving on) Infrastructure. Not just roads and bridges—though we'll take those contracts too. I'm talking digital backbone. High-speed broadband penetrating every forgotten corner of this country. Solar grids. Modernized water systems. (eyes gleaming) These aren't costs; they're investments with 10x returns.

WAGS: (skeptical) So we're betting on Congress to get its shit together? Those fuckers can't agree on what day it is.

BOBBY: (with a knowing smirk) We don't wait for Congress, Wags. We create the pressure that forces their hand. Public-private partnerships where we front the capital and they deliver the regulatory framework and tax advantages. (gesturing at the skyline) The Interstate Highway System generated a 600% return on investment. This is that—but with fiber optics and clean energy.

WENDY: (leaning forward) You're talking about changing the entire economic ecosystem. That's not a quarter-to-quarter play.

BOBBY: (nods) It's not. It's a fucking dynasty play. (paces again) Next—skills training. Not four-year degrees that leave kids drowning in debt with no job prospects. Real skills. Coding. Welding. Healthcare. Technical certifications that take months, not years, and lead directly to paychecks.

TAYLOR: (challenging) Demographics work against us. The median age in rural America is 43. Cognitive flexibility decreases approximately 2% per year after 35.

BOBBY: (dismissive wave) They don't need to become quantum physicists, Taylor. They need marketable skills. (forceful) Every dollar invested in vocational training returns $1.50 to GDP. We've got 10 million unfilled jobs in this country—half in skilled trades. We've got a talent gap; they've got untapped potential. We bridge that gap, we mint money.

WAGS: (perking up) I'm sensing a thesis forming here, Bobby.

BOBBY: (energized) You're goddamn right. Small business renaissance. Targeted loans and grants for startups in economically depressed areas. Low interest rates. Mentorship programs. Tech transfer from universities to Main Street. (passionate) And here's the kicker—we push for 'Buy American' requirements for all government contracts, with preference for businesses in these zones.

TAYLOR: (skeptical) You're assuming entrepreneurial potential exists in these regions. Data suggests otherwise.

BOBBY: (cutting) Data's backward-looking, Taylor. You of all people should know that. (leans on table) Israel built a tech hub in the middle of a fucking desert. We can build one in a cornfield. These people aren't looking for handouts—they're looking for a chance. We give it to them, they'll make us rich.

WENDY: (thoughtful) There's potential there, but what about the human capital? These communities have been in decline for decades.

BOBBY: (nodding) That's why we need the last piece—labor power. (takes a breath) Minimum wage to $15, indexed to inflation. Union rights for service and gig workers. Portable benefits packages that follow workers job to job.

WAGS: (choking on his drink) Jesus Christ, Bobby! When did you join the fucking DSA? The board will have an aneurysm.

BOBBY: (laughing) Calm down, Wags. This isn't charity—it's strategy. (intense) More money in workers' pockets means more consumer spending. Our retail plays skyrocket. Unions don't just benefit workers—they create stability, predictability. Germany has strong unions and dominates manufacturing. It's not politics; it's math.

THE SOCIAL PLAYS

BOBBY: (switching gears) Now, the long game. Economic wins evaporate without social stability. We need communities that function, not just markets that function.

TAYLOR: (raising an eyebrow) Axe Capital does social engineering now?

BOBBY: (sharp) Axe Capital does whatever makes money, Taylor. And dysfunctional communities are a drain on the bottom line. (focused) We push for grants for local projects—parks, libraries, community centers. National service program—young people rebuilding their own towns, learning skills, making connections.

WENDY: (intrigued) Creating social fabric where it's been torn apart.

BOBBY: (nodding) Exactly. Places with strong community cohesion see 2-3% higher GDP growth. It's not sentiment; it's dollars and cents.

WAGS: (sarcastically) So we're solving the opioid crisis too, I suppose?

BOBBY: (dead serious) You're goddamn right we are. (intense) Opioids are a $1.5 trillion drag on the economy by 2025. We flood affected areas with treatment centers, telehealth services, recovery-to-work programs. (pointing) Every person we pull out of addiction and put into the workforce is pure economic gain.

TAYLOR: (calculating) The multiplier effect would be substantial.

BOBBY: (building momentum) Housing—mixed-income, affordable, built for community. Healthcare—a public option that covers everyone but lets private insurance compete. Childcare subsidies and paid leave that enable full workforce participation.

WAGS: (laughing) Holy shit, Bobby. You sound like you're running for president.

BOBBY: (grinning) I'm not running for anything except the biggest fucking return on investment in our history. (animated) Look at the Nordic countries—high safety nets, high productivity. It's not socialism; it's capitalism with foresight.

WENDY: (impressed) You're painting a comprehensive vision here.

BOBBY: (nodding) Last piece—bridging the urban-rural divide. Universal broadband access. Moving federal agencies out of D.C. and into the heartland. Cultural exchange programs between cities and rural areas.

TAYLOR: (thoughtful) Broadband expansion alone would add $140 billion to the economy by 2025.

BOBBY: (with finality) This isn't about charity or politics. It's about seeing the play before anyone else does. (intense) The American working class, the American heartland—they're not charity cases. They're undervalued assets. We position ourselves now, we don't just make money—we reshape the fucking map.

[Room falls silent as Bobby's vision sinks in]

WENDY: (breaking the silence) You're seeing something the rest of the market isn't.

BOBBY: (with absolute confidence) Always do, Wendy. That's why we win. (decisive) First move—we secure land in strategic locations. Then we call in every favor in D.C. It's time to make America a good investment again.

WAGS: (raising his glass) To the heartland play. May it be as profitable as it is fucking patriotic.

TAYLOR: (closing their tablet) The asymmetric upside is compelling. I'll start running the models.

BOBBY: (with a predatory smile) While everyone else is chasing the same tech stocks, we're going to own the future. (looking around the table) Because that's what we do. We see value where others see nothing. And then we fucking take it.

[Bobby turns to look out at the skyline, the conquering gaze of a man who knows he's right]

FADE OUT