https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/02/opinion/sunday/switzerland-capitalism-wealth.html
QuoteThe Happy, Healthy Capitalists of Switzerland
Forget Scandinavia. Switzerland is richer and yet has a surprisingly equal wealth distribution.
Ruchir Sharma
By Ruchir Sharma
Mr. Sharma is an author, global investor and contributing opinion writer.
Nov. 2, 2019
Like many progressive intellectuals, Bernie Sanders traces his vision of economic paradise not to socialist dictatorships like Venezuela but to their distant cousins in Scandinavia, which are just as wealthy and democratic as the United States but have more equitable distributions of wealth, as well as affordable health care and free college for all.
There is, however, a country far richer and just as fair as any in the Scandinavian trio of Sweden, Denmark and Norway. But no one talks about it.
This $700 billion European economy is among the world's 20 largest, significantly bigger than any in Scandinavia. It delivers welfare benefits as comprehensive as Scandinavia's but with lighter taxes, smaller government, and a more open and stable economy. Steady growth recently made it the second richest nation in the world, after Luxembourg, with an average income of $84,000, or $20,000 more than the Scandinavian average. Money is not the final measure of success, but surveys also rank this nation as one of the world's 10 happiest.
This less socialist but more successful utopia is Switzerland.
While widening its income lead over Scandinavia in recent decades, Switzerland has been catching up on measures of equality. Wealth and income are distributed across the populace almost as equally as in Scandinavia, with the middle class holding about 70 percent of the nation's assets. The big difference: The typical Swiss family has a net worth around $540,000, twice its Scandinavian peer.
Switzerland did draw 15 minutes of media attention around 2010, when Obamacare was still new — but only for its health care system, which requires all residents to buy insurance from private providers and subsidizes those who can least afford it. Admirers said Swiss health care had something for everyone: universal coverage for liberals, private providers and consumer choice for conservatives.
But for the most part, intellectuals ignore Switzerland as a model, perhaps put off by its exaggerated reputation as a shady little tax haven, where Nazi gold and other illicit fortunes hide behind strict bank secrecy laws. In 2015, Switzerland agreed under pressure to share bank records with foreign tax authorities, but that has not slowed the economy at all. Switzerland always was more than secretive banks.
Capitalist to its core, Switzerland imposes lighter taxes on individuals, consumers and corporations than the Scandinavian countries do. In 2018 its top income tax rate was the lowest in Western Europe at 36 percent, well below the Scandinavian average of 52 percent. Government spending amounts to a third of gross domestic product, compared with half in Scandinavia. And Switzerland is more open to trade, with a share of global exports around double that of any Scandinavian economy.
Streamlined government and open borders have helped make this landlocked, mountainous country an unlikely incubator of globally competitive companies. To build wealth, a country needs to make rich things, and an M.I.T. ranking of nations by the complexity of the products they export places Switzerland second behind Japan, well ahead of the Scandinavian countries, whose average rank is 15.
The Swiss excel in just about every major industry other than oil, often by targeting specialized niches, such as biotech and engineering. The country is home to 13 of the top 100 European companies, more than twice as many as in the three Scandinavian nations combined. And most top Swiss firms dwarf Scandinavian peers. Nestlé, with a stock market value of $320 billion, is 15 times larger than its closest Scandinavian rival.
Though major multinationals are concentrated in big cities, the Swiss economy is as decentralized as its political system. Traveling southwest from Zurich to Geneva recently, I was struck by how many iconic Swiss exports also originate in its provinces — Swiss Army knives from Schwyz, watches from Bern, St. Bernard puppies from a mountain pass in Valais, cheese and chocolates from Fribourg. Small companies anchor the economy, accounting for two of every three jobs. Only one in seven Swiss work for the government, about half the Scandinavian average.
No other nation's currency has been rising faster against its trading partners, and normally a rising franc should erode Swiss exports by making them more expensive. Instead, while most rich countries (including Scandinavia's) saw their share of global exports fall over the past decade, Switzerland's continued to rise. Such is the reputation of its engineers and chocolatiers that customers readily pay more for Swiss goods.
The premium the world is willing to pay for Swiss goods and services helps deter capital flight and stabilize the economy. Switzerland has not been hit by a domestic financial crisis since the 1970s; the Scandinavian countries were wracked by crises in the 1990s and suffered sharper downturns than Switzerland did following the global crisis of 2008.
If there is any fault line, it is that in trying to slow the rise of the franc, Switzerland cut interest rates to record lows ahead of its European peers, triggering a lending boom that has driven private corporate and household debt up to 250 percent of G.D.P., a risky height. No paradise is perfect.
For all its local charms, Switzerland is worldly in the extreme. The Swiss are a polyglot mix of German, French and Italian speakers, many intimidatingly fluent in multiple languages. The foreign-born population has been increasing for more than a century and accounts for a quarter of the whole, 40 percent non-European Union.
True, the rise of anti-immigrant parties across Europe has an offshoot in Switzerland. The country has always been choosy, accepting new arrivals based on their professional résumé more than family ties or humanitarian need. But Australia and Canada also filter immigrants to fill jobs and are widely studied models of how rich economies can survive the aging of their domestic work forces.
Switzerland has been welcoming more immigrants than any Scandinavian country since the 1950s. It is on track to accept more than 250,000 immigrants between 2015 and 2020, expanding its population by 3 percent. That immigration rate is nearly double the Scandinavian average, and one of the highest among large, developed countries. Immigrants are also significantly more likely to hold jobs in Switzerland, in part because most are required to land one before they arrive.
The Swiss labor force gets an added boost from a meritocratic public school system that starts steering students as young as 12 toward their academic strengths. The world-class universities charge average annual tuition of only $1,000 and leave graduates thousands of dollars less in debt than many Scandinavian schools.
Die-hard admirers of Scandinavian socialism overlook the change of heart in countries such as Sweden, where heavy government spending led to the financial crises of the 1990s. Sweden responded by cutting the top income tax rate from nearly 90 percent to as low as 50 percent. Public spending fell from near 70 percent of G.D.P. to 50 percent. Growth revived, as the largest Scandinavian economy started to look more like Switzerland, streamlining government and leaving business more room to grow.
The real lesson of Swiss success is that the stark choice offered by many politicians — between private enterprise and social welfare — is a false one. A pragmatic country can have a business-friendly environment alongside social equality, if it gets the balance right. The Swiss have become the world's richest nation by getting it right, and their model is hiding in plain sight.
Doesn't Bernie (and people like him) go for the left wing vote?
Hami, how difficult is it for an English-only person to operate in Switzerland? How difficult is it to properly immigrate (not necessarily for citizenship)?
Asking for a friend.
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 11:26:33 AM
Hami, how difficult is it for an English-only person to operate in Switzerland? How difficult is it to properly immigrate (not necessarily for citizenship)?
Asking for a friend.
English only is possible in a major city (like Zurich). Immigration is super easy for EU citizens (just get a job), almost impossible for non-EU.
EU, fuck yeah!
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
Malta lets you get residence by buying property (less than €300k) but then I think you need about 6 years of residency to get EU citizenship.
Irish grandparent? Must be a fair few Americans qualify on that basis.
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 04, 2019, 12:27:06 PM
Irish grandparent? Must be a fair few Americans qualify on that basis.
Maybe if they are about 80 years old. The great wave of Irish migration was a while ago.
Marriage?
I really have to question Switzerland having a fair wealth distribution, especially considering the way the rich get to hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes there.
Switzerland seems a great place to be if you're rich but if you're poor its hell (or a libertarian paradice if you are so inclined).
You pay for everything. Sick? €200 to see a doctor. Wallet stolen? €20 to report it to the police. House on fire? Well there's a fire brigade but it's funded as an insurance (albeit one everyone must pay for) rather than out of conventional taxes.
I often observed how Switzerland is the anti Sweden. Where Sweden has large open spaces free from humans an hours walk out of a major city, Switzerland has houses everywhere, where Sweden has excellent gender equality, Switzerland just finally gave all women the vote in the 90s and discrimination is as standard.
Strange time to be writing this too. Things are not looking good in Switzerland. Large corporations are pulling out huge numbers of jobs due to costs, and the franc really is riding unnaturally super high.
Quote from: Richard Hakluyt on November 04, 2019, 12:27:06 PM
Irish grandparent? Must be a fair few Americans qualify on that basis.
Definitely not here. My documented Germans are too far back to count and my documented Italians are on the wrong side of the gender divide, from my recollection.
Quote from: garbon on November 04, 2019, 12:17:59 PM
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
Malta lets you get residence by buying property (less than €300k) but then I think you need about 6 years of residency to get EU citizenship.
:hmm: Iiiiinteresting.
No mention of cost of living.
Well, Switzerland's cost of living is amongst the world's highest, to be sure. If we take Purchasing Power Parity into account, they are marginally above the USA, per capita, but with much better equality.
They forgot the part where it's boring as fuck and it's full of calvinist prudes.
Went on a date with a Swiss girl once. She was boring as fuck.
I visited Switzerland and granted I am from Texas where we all pretend to like each other but I found the people very cold.
I mean compared to them the French were warm and fuzzy.
Psychopaths, every last one of them.
They make good watches though.
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
It depends on if you want citizenship or not, if you expect to ever learn the language, and if you want Schengen.
Greece is among the cheapest for residence. Moldova among the cheapest for citizenship. Spain is probably the sweet spot for citizenship plus language + Schengen, but you need to be all in on Spain.
Quote from: garbon on November 04, 2019, 12:17:59 PM
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
Malta lets you get residence by buying property (less than €300k) but then I think you need about 6 years of residency to get EU citizenship.
Spain is the same.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 04, 2019, 01:47:57 PM
No mention of cost of living.
Guys, Tyr has some recent real world experience of living and working there.
Quote from: Tyr on November 04, 2019, 12:36:24 PM
I really have to question Switzerland having a fair wealth distribution, especially considering the way the rich get to hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes there.
Switzerland seems a great place to be if you're rich but if you're poor its hell (or a libertarian paradice if you are so inclined).
You pay for everything. Sick? €200 to see a doctor. Wallet stolen? €20 to report it to the police. House on fire? Well there's a fire brigade but it's funded as an insurance (albeit one everyone must pay for) rather than out of conventional taxes.
I often observed how Switzerland is the anti Sweden. Where Sweden has large open spaces free from humans an hours walk out of a major city, Switzerland has houses everywhere, where Sweden has excellent gender equality, Switzerland just finally gave all women the vote in the 90s and discrimination is as standard.
Strange time to be writing this too. Things are not looking good in Switzerland. Large corporations are pulling out huge numbers of jobs due to costs, and the franc really is riding unnaturally super high.
Quote from: Valmy on November 04, 2019, 02:59:34 PM
I visited Switzerland and granted I am from Texas where we all pretend to like each other but I found the people very cold.
I mean compared to them the French were warm and fuzzy.
The French are warm and fuzzy
Quote from: mongers on November 04, 2019, 04:30:27 PM
Guys, Tyr has some recent real world experience of living and working there.
I meant that the article makes no mention of cost of living. Terribly sorry if my meaniing was not clear. :)
Quote from: mongers on November 04, 2019, 04:30:27 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 04, 2019, 01:47:57 PM
No mention of cost of living.
Guys, Tyr has some recent real world experience of living and working there.
Quote from: Tyr on November 04, 2019, 12:36:24 PM
I really have to question Switzerland having a fair wealth distribution, especially considering the way the rich get to hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes there.
Switzerland seems a great place to be if you're rich but if you're poor its hell (or a libertarian paradice if you are so inclined).
You pay for everything. Sick? €200 to see a doctor. Wallet stolen? €20 to report it to the police. House on fire? Well there's a fire brigade but it's funded as an insurance (albeit one everyone must pay for) rather than out of conventional taxes.
I often observed how Switzerland is the anti Sweden. Where Sweden has large open spaces free from humans an hours walk out of a major city, Switzerland has houses everywhere, where Sweden has excellent gender equality, Switzerland just finally gave all women the vote in the 90s and discrimination is as standard.
Strange time to be writing this too. Things are not looking good in Switzerland. Large corporations are pulling out huge numbers of jobs due to costs, and the franc really is riding unnaturally super high.
Tyr's anecdote of doubting Swiss equality is trumped by the data that shows that, well, it is.
Trumped?
What data?
As the data I've seen doesn't look quite so bad as it seems on the ground. But it's not great either.
(https://external-preview.redd.it/wJpkG1Q9D9sajvnN2gLZ9jAXaQGE3YxTcFhH07K5WSY.jpg?auto=webp&s=092e30852361a06676b5d777c36311306c309c8c)
This kind of thing is really warped with Switzerland as the cost of living is so messed up there.
Where food costs 4 times what you'd expect in other Western countries, stuff like electronics is usually slightly cheaper than the UK.
The big thing that really creates inequality in Switzerland is the health system which costs the same no matter your income. Excellent value if you're rich (and probably healthier to start with, it is thus cheaper again) but a major burden if you're not.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality
Quote from: merithyn on November 04, 2019, 04:23:05 PM
Quote from: garbon on November 04, 2019, 12:17:59 PM
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
Malta lets you get residence by buying property (less than €300k) but then I think you need about 6 years of residency to get EU citizenship.
Spain is the same.
We also give preferential treatment to certain groups like Latinamericans or Sephardic Jews.
Quote from: ulmont on November 04, 2019, 03:52:49 PM
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
It depends on if you want citizenship or not, if you expect to ever learn the language, and if you want Schengen.
Greece is among the cheapest for residence. Moldova among the cheapest for citizenship. Spain is probably the sweet spot for citizenship plus language + Schengen, but you need to be all in on Spain.
Moldova? That's not in the EU.
Greece is in Schengen.
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
Some of my colleagues are talking about Portugal. They say just buy a small flat and that's it.
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 11:26:33 AM
Hami, how difficult is it for an English-only person to operate in Switzerland? How difficult is it to properly immigrate (not necessarily for citizenship)?
Asking for a friend.
Geneva and Zurich are easy for English speaking people. And beside if you go to live to a small town, you should manage to get around just fine. Keep in mind we have an important foreign population.
About immigration, if you have a specific skill and a willing company to hire you, it is doable but an hassle if you aren't EU/EFTA nationals. Best bet is to get relocated by an international company that has a Swiss HQ or Regional HQ (many does). They used to have pretty niftly relocation package with paid rental and private school but those were targeted to people only relocating for couple of years.
About the Swiss, yes we are not particularly easy going people and we tend to stick to regulation to a anal retentive level. On the other hand, once you broke the ice and get accepted, you are truly accepted (bonus if you aren't German or French). Also we are not really Calvinist, only Geneva get this distinction and they are dying out :nelson:
Quote from: Monoriu on November 04, 2019, 07:58:50 PM
Quote from: Habbaku on November 04, 2019, 12:05:59 PM
So I need to research the easiest EU country to immigrate to... :hmm:
Some of my colleagues are talking about Portugal. They say just buy a small flat and that's it.
i.e Golden Visa, being very popular among the Chinese. :P
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal_Golden_Visa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal_Golden_Visa)
Brazilians get a special favoured status through the treaty of Porto Seguro. Portuguese citizenship for Sepharads with proven Portuguese links is possible as well.
Quote from: Tyr on November 04, 2019, 12:36:24 PM
I really have to question Switzerland having a fair wealth distribution, especially considering the way the rich get to hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes there.
Switzerland seems a great place to be if you're rich but if you're poor its hell (or a libertarian paradice if you are so inclined).
You pay for everything. Sick? €200 to see a doctor. Wallet stolen? €20 to report it to the police. House on fire? Well there's a fire brigade but it's funded as an insurance (albeit one everyone must pay for) rather than out of conventional taxes.
I often observed how Switzerland is the anti Sweden. Where Sweden has large open spaces free from humans an hours walk out of a major city, Switzerland has houses everywhere, where Sweden has excellent gender equality, Switzerland just finally gave all women the vote in the 90s and discrimination is as standard.
Strange time to be writing this too. Things are not looking good in Switzerland. Large corporations are pulling out huge numbers of jobs due to costs, and the franc really is riding unnaturally super high.
Switzerland has a very expensive health system sure but if you spend a certain amount during the year you get reimbursed by your insurance. So it is not the case you have to pay every single time just that you are supposed to cover the first 2000.- (can be less depending on your monthly premium). About the fire insurance, actually only the owner of the building (as we are mostly renting our accommodation...) has to get an insurance. Also the insurance (a cantonal institution) is also funding the fire brigade (which are mostly volunteer) and their training. Now about the fee for lost property, you may have to pay (depending of the police force) to get a copy of the complaint not to report itself. You may have to pay for the recovery (free if you have a train abonnement and you lost it in the train for instance).
Now we have a lot of inequity, but this is not Brazil level and we are certainly better off than our neighbors but Liechtenstein. The issue is that Switzerland has a social welfare system only since the end of WWII (State run pension since 1947) and it is used to be very prone to shaming people using the few benefits at their disposal. Swiss mindset never left the XIX Century to a certain extent, poor and rural as well as conservative. Our invalidity benefit used to be easier to get and over the last decade it is becoming more and more hard to get accepted. But even if you are getting rejected, you will still get some kind of benefit to cover the bare minimum (and your health insurance and cost may be covered as well).
About the woman voting rights, federally they got it in 1971, in some cantons before that... Only Appenzell Innerrhoden had to be forced to give it on Cantonal level in 1989. Till then you had to present your sword or your military bayonet to be accepted in the Landsgemeinde (Open assembly were people vote by raising their hand).
About the crowded impression, sure we were about 6.2 milions in 1970 and are 8.5 now. Also we are living mostly on 40% of our territory are the rest is basically mountainous.
I agree we are about to live some difficult years but our national debt is under control and if some international companies pull off, it should be a return to normality. We have been living unhealthy fat years...
Who the fuck are you?
You mean you don't all know each other?
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 11:28:19 AM
Who the fuck are you?
Please don't kill me over the internet, I have six kids to feed....
I am your friendly Swiss lurker, dull and mostly silent.
hi
Lurking is overrated. Infrequent drive-by posts with dry humor or sarcasm is where it's at.
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 12:50:34 PM
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 11:28:19 AM
Who the fuck are you?
Please don't kill me over the internet, I have six kids to feed....
I am your friendly Swiss lurker, dull and mostly silent.
16 posts in 10 years? What kind of psychopath are you?
Do Krautophone Swiss speak better English than Frogophone Swiss?
Thanks for your posts, Kaeso, whoever the fuck you are. :D
Hi! I am friendly. :)
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 02:39:43 PM
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 12:50:34 PM
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 11:28:19 AM
Who the fuck are you?
Please don't kill me over the internet, I have six kids to feed....
I am your friendly Swiss lurker, dull and mostly silent.
16 posts in 10 years? What kind of psychopath are you?
Shoot, a member who has left (CdM) still has the total post lead.
garbon is closing in though. :P
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 06, 2019, 03:01:10 PM
Do Krautophone Swiss speak better English than Frogophone Swiss?
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/ef-survey_switzerland-falls-in-global-english-skills-ranking/45348166 (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/ef-survey_switzerland-falls-in-global-english-skills-ranking/45348166)
QuoteSwitzerland remains in the group of countries with "high" English language skills, but EF observed a small decline across all Swiss language regions (German-, French-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking). International cities like Geneva and Zurich were no exceptions. Lausanne was the only place showing progress.
As I recruit cops for foreign assignment and English is prerequisite, I must say Swiss German colleagues tend to speak rather good English while the Welsch (non German speakers but mostly intended toward Romands) have more limited skills.
I am member since over 10 years (don't remember what did happen before 2009 but I posted even less before), I followed Viper and few other Frogphones from the Paradox forum. I don't post often because I am bad at dry humor and sarcasm, still I do appreciate the tone of the forum. I guess I am just an average civil servant who has plenty of time to kill between reports and budget proposals. Writing this make me realize I am not productive at all and thus being unswiss...
I mean happy to have you here Kaeso. :hug:
It just surprises me that someone would think we're interesting enough to follow our conversations, but then not want to be involved in them.
Quote from: Barrister on November 06, 2019, 03:42:40 PM
I mean happy to have you here Kaeso. :hug:
Thanks to all of you...
QuoteIt just surprises me that someone would think we're interesting enough to follow our conversations, but then not want to be involved in them.
Actually, due to occupational hazard, I don't answer when I am not directly addressed. Because you don't intervene when you are intercepting communications.
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 03:52:40 PM
Quote from: Barrister on November 06, 2019, 03:42:40 PM
I mean happy to have you here Kaeso. :hug:
Thanks to all of you...
QuoteIt just surprises me that someone would think we're interesting enough to follow our conversations, but then not want to be involved in them.
Actually, due to occupational hazard, I don't answer when I am not directly addressed. Because you don't intervene when you are intercepting communications.
:shifty:
Kaeso:
So what kind of work is it you do?
Quote from: Barrister on November 06, 2019, 03:54:12 PM
So what kind of work is it you do?
Now : Pen Pusher in a ministry.
Then : Criminal Intelligence Adviser, I had the responsibility the follow projects like the Crime Stoppers Hotline and the Interception of Communication (not operationally).
That was an attempt at humor. :blush:
I'm sure your next joke six months from now will be much funnier. :)
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 06, 2019, 04:06:11 PM
I'm sure your next joke six months from now will be much funnier. :)
That's awfully a short deadline for me to come up with something remotely funny. :cry: Swiss people are slow (ask the French).
Quote from: Tonitrus on November 06, 2019, 03:25:06 PM
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 02:39:43 PM
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 12:50:34 PM
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 11:28:19 AM
Who the fuck are you?
Please don't kill me over the internet, I have six kids to feed....
I am your friendly Swiss lurker, dull and mostly silent.
16 posts in 10 years? What kind of psychopath are you?
Shoot, a member who has left (CdM) still has the total post lead.
garbon is closing in though. :P
:goodboy:
Kaeso's laconic responses make me want to be Swiss even more. :hmm:
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 04:11:21 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 06, 2019, 04:06:11 PM
I'm sure your next joke six months from now will be much funnier. :)
That's awfully a short deadline for me to come up with something remotely funny. :cry: Swiss people are slow (ask the French).
:lol:
I interviewed a guy once who had been recruited to move to Switzerland from the US to do something in IT (forget what now) because at the time nobody in Switzerland could be found with that skill that wasn't already happily employed.
He loved it there and had hoped to stay permanently, but eventually the company found a Swiss national with that same skill and apparently was pressured to let him go, and then he was basically told to leave the country immediately. :huh:
Quote from: Tonitrus on November 06, 2019, 03:25:06 PM
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 02:39:43 PM
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 12:50:34 PM
Quote from: Hamilcar on November 06, 2019, 11:28:19 AM
Who the fuck are you?
Please don't kill me over the internet, I have six kids to feed....
I am your friendly Swiss lurker, dull and mostly silent.
16 posts in 10 years? What kind of psychopath are you?
Shoot, a member who has left (CdM) still has the total post lead.
garbon is closing in though. :P
CdM left? What finally made him snap?
Pdh and Meri had a bad year.
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 04:11:21 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 06, 2019, 04:06:11 PM
I'm sure your next joke six months from now will be much funnier. :)
That's awfully a short deadline for me to come up with something remotely funny. :cry: Swiss people are slow (ask the French).
Il n'y a pas le feu au lac, voyons ! :frog:
PS : re-bienvenue (chez les fous ?)
Quote from: Caliga on November 06, 2019, 10:48:13 PM
I interviewed a guy once who had been recruited to move to Switzerland from the US to do something in IT (forget what now) because at the time nobody in Switzerland could be found with that skill that wasn't already happily employed.
He loved it there and had hoped to stay permanently, but eventually the company found a Swiss national with that same skill and apparently was pressured to let him go, and then he was basically told to leave the country immediately. :huh:
My take on that, the company probably made him come on a tourist visa (potentially a short term work permit or L) and then try to get him a permanent work permit or B (akin to the Green Card). Once they filled up all the forms, the Cantonal administration said "no" due to the yearly quota of out of EU/AELE workers being already reached. It was a major complain from companies based in Geneva, Basel and Zurich as they had to rush at the start of the year to get their "exotic" workers a permit while plenty of smaller cantons had still not give any in July. Cantons still hold a lot of leeway when it comes to the application of the regulations.
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on November 07, 2019, 05:02:56 AM
Il n'y a pas le feu au lac, voyons !
:frog:
PS : re-bienvenue (chez les fous ?)
Merci, notre lenteur est proverbiale (bien que ce soit les Bernois qui ont cette distinction à l'interne) :swiss:
I am neither very prolific on the vdf board, proving my laconicism isn't reserved to languish. I just don't have much to say without putting my foot in my mouth. :shutup:
Quote from: Kaeso on November 06, 2019, 03:32:58 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on November 06, 2019, 03:01:10 PM
Do Krautophone Swiss speak better English than Frogophone Swiss?
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/ef-survey_switzerland-falls-in-global-english-skills-ranking/45348166 (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/ef-survey_switzerland-falls-in-global-english-skills-ranking/45348166)
QuoteSwitzerland remains in the group of countries with "high" English language skills, but EF observed a small decline across all Swiss language regions (German-, French-, Italian- and Romansh-speaking). International cities like Geneva and Zurich were no exceptions. Lausanne was the only place showing progress.
As I recruit cops for foreign assignment and English is prerequisite, I must say Swiss German colleagues tend to speak rather good English while the Welsch (non German speakers but mostly intended toward Romands) have more limited skills.
I am member since over 10 years (don't remember what did happen before 2009 but I posted even less before), I followed Viper and few other Frogphones from the Paradox forum. I don't post often because I am bad at dry humor and sarcasm, still I do appreciate the tone of the forum. I guess I am just an average civil servant who has plenty of time to kill between reports and budget proposals. Writing this make me realize I am not productive at all and thus being unswiss...
Welcome to the Languish regulars club! :D
German Swiss are definitely better at English than French Swiss. Italian Swiss seem best at languages overall though. Which is odd.
On fire insurance - maybe it was a Vaud thing. But I had to pay for mandatory fire insurance of my own. The money from which funded the fire brigade. Very odd.