Results 1 to 2 of 2

Thread: Decentralization: The Secret of Swiss Success

  1. #1
    Veteran Member The Lawspeaker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Last Online
    11-05-2023 @ 04:45 AM
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Celto-Germanic
    Ethnicity
    Dutch
    Ancestry
    Brabant, Holland, Guelders and some Hainaut.
    Country
    Netherlands
    Politics
    Norway Deal-NEXIT, Dutch Realm Atlanticist, Habsburg Legitimist
    Religion
    Sedevacantist
    Relationship Status
    Engaged
    Age
    36
    Gender
    Posts
    70,133
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 34,728
    Given: 61,129

    1 Not allowed!

    Default Decentralization: The Secret of Swiss Success

    Decentralization: The Secret of Swiss Success

    Will other nations take notice?


    Daniel J. Mitchell | July 13, 2016 | 9,409





    Programs about the improbable success of Chile and Estonia already have aired on nationwide TV, and those were joined last weekend by a show about the “sensible nation” of Switzerland.
    Here’s the 28-minute program.



    When I first watched the program, I was slightly irked that there was very little discussion of the role of fiscal policy and the importance of spending restraint and competitive tax rates.

    Moreover, there was no direct mention of Switzerland’s very successful spending cap, even though the “debt brake” has generated superb results.
    Indeed, Switzerland is the only nation from Europe or North America that gets high scores from Economic Freedom of the World for both fiscal policy and rule of law (a notable achievement since Wagner’s Law tells us that it is very difficult to stop government from expanding once the private sector generates a lot of wealth that can be redistributed).

    But I confess I’m biased about the importance of tax and spending issues.

    And as I thought about what I had seen, I realized that the program’s focus on federalism and decentralization made sense.
    Yes, Switzerland has a modest-sized government. And, yes, the debt brake has been a huge success. But those good outcomes are in part the result of a system where most government still takes place at the local (commune) or state (canton) level.

    In other words, Switzerland generally still has the type of system America’s Founding Fathers envisioned, with a small central government.
    I’ve already pointed out that the level of redistribution in Switzerland is relatively low because of its decentralized model.
    But there’s another feature of federalism that’s worth celebrating. As Nassim Nicholas Taleb (of “Black Swan” fame) has pointed out, decentralized systems are much more stable and successful since there’s far less risk of a mistaken policy being imposed on a one-size-fits-all basis.

    And countless scholars, including many Nobel Prize recipients, have explained that small, competing nations were a key reason why Europe became a rich continent in the first place.

    Sadly, most Europeans have forgotten this lesson and have created the EU superstate in Brussels (which helps to explain why I’m delighted that the United Kingdom voted to escape that sinking ship).

    So the moral of the story, from both the video about Switzerland and from all the other evidence in the world, is that federalism is good policy.
    Let’s close with an interesting example of Swiss federalism in action. The canton of Zug is known for being a low-tax haven in a country famous for having a reasonable tax regime. Well, the town of Zug is on the cutting edge of digital money.

    …the town council has hopes Zug’s trend as a financial tech hub continues — having embraced the new identity with this legislative move. …As the pilot program is first implemented it will initially allow payments up to 200 Francs, and possibly introducing the ability to pay larger amounts later in the future. …analysis will ultimately determine whether or not the town council will continue allowing Bitcoin payments for municipal services. …Bitcoiners will be taking notice of this small town, and it already has the added benefit of being located in Switzerland — which is known for its business friendly environment and relatively small regulatory burden. …In fact, Switzerland’s business environment and relatively free-market economy even helped to convince the Bitcoin wallet and exchange, Xapo, to relocate to Switzerland last year. …the town of Zug itself also provides its citizens with a relatively hands-off approach to the local economy. The Swiss town of Zug showcases one of the lowest tax rates in the world. This combination of a hands-off approach by the government and large tax benefits has made the small town into a successful economic hub where global trade flourishes.
    Wow, this says a lot about the quality of governance in Switzerland that a nation that doesn’t need Bitcoin (unlike, say, Greece or Argentina) nonetheless welcomes it as a competing currency.

    Yet another reason why Switzerland is one of the world’s best nations.
    P.S. Today’s column is about Switzerland, but I can’t resist pointing out that Hong Kong and Singapore both score highly for rule of law and small government. And Chile deserves honorable mention as well. For what it’s worth, the Princess of the Levant’s home country of Lebanon apparently has the world’s small fiscal burden, but the low score for rule of law suggests that the real story is that the government is simply too incompetent to collect and redistribute money.


    --
    Daniel J. Mitchell is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who specializes in fiscal policy, particularly tax reform, international tax competition, and the economic burden of government spending. He also serves on the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review.


    This article was originally published on FEE.org. Read the original article.
    [Image Credit: Pixabay]



    Wake up and smell the coffee.


  2. #2
    Banned
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Last Online
    01-19-2020 @ 11:30 AM
    Location
    Moscow/Sevastopol
    Meta-Ethnicity
    Junior sergeant
    Ethnicity
    Russian
    Ancestry
    Black Sea coast
    Country
    Russia
    Region
    Moscow
    Y-DNA
    R1a
    Politics
    The way home
    Religion
    Soviest'
    Relationship Status
    Married parent
    Gender
    Posts
    3,557
    Thumbs Up
    Received: 4,137
    Given: 5,254

    1 Not allowed!

    Default

    Switzerland is a reservation of the old pre-revolutionary world. I do not know how, but they were able to preserve local self-government and the free carrying of weapons, being in the heart of the new "bankers" civilization.
    Switzerland was specially preserved as a memorial for the rest of the white nations.
    All the ugly trends probably bypass Switzerland because I have never heard of problems in this country.
    Lucky people!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 33
    Last Post: 02-10-2013, 02:34 PM
  2. Strange & Secret Photographs from the Secret Museum
    By rashka in forum History & Ethnogenesis
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 12-26-2012, 03:37 AM
  3. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-24-2012, 11:20 AM
  4. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 08-02-2011, 04:53 PM
  5. What is the Secret of Jewish Success?
    By John in Denver in forum History & Ethnogenesis
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 05-10-2010, 06:43 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •