[Ibon]

My first wife was from Switzerland who I met when traveling through Europe in 1980. Long story short that relationship lasted 3 years but the relationship with Switzerland lasted until 1992, 12 years engagement as a resident of tis country allowed me to understand their system of direct democracy. Lately I have been thinking more and more how elements of their political system would be a possible model for the USA if we are not going to be able to hold the country together through this period of political polarization.

Briefly, Switzerland has 28 Kantons, like states in the USA except that each Kanton has more autonomy. The country is a federation of these 28 Kantons. A dramatic example of the independence of each Kanton, something many of you might be surprised to learn, is that it was as late as 1991 that the Kanton of Appenzell finally gave women the right to vote. I was living in the neighboring Kanton at the time and went to the town square during the momentous day that the men of Appenzell Ausserhoden met in the town square and raised their swords in majority agreement to give the women the right to vote. That was the last hold out Kanton for womens right to vote in Switzerland.

Switzerland is often referred to as a type of direct democracy because petitions generated by the general public on specific issues can be raised and then voted on as a Folk Referendum. While I was living in Switzerland one of the folk initiatives that the majority of Swiss citizens voted on and approved was raising the taxes by 30 cents per gallon on diesel and gasoline fuel in order to finance the expansion of the mass public transportation. This was approved by over 80% of swiss citizens.

Folks initiatives in Switzerland can be either at the federal level or at the level of the Kanton.

Just last week a Volksinitiative won approval by the majority of Swizz citizens in the Kanton of Geneva, here is the link:

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/03/worl ... index.html

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'V')oters in Geneva, Switzerland, have agreed to introduce a minimum wage in the canton that is the equivalent of $25 an hour -- believed to be the highest in the world.

According to government data, 58% of voters in the canton were in favor of the initiative set the minimum wage at 23 Swiss francs an hour, which was backed by a coalition of labor unions and aimed at "fighting poverty, favoring social integration, and contributing to the respect of human dignity."
While Switzerland has no national minimum wage law, Geneva is the fourth of 26 cantons to vote on the matter in recent years after Neuchâtel, Jura and Ticino.

[careinke]

Thanks for the thread. Both my kids Boarded at the Leysin American School for their high school years, so Switzerland holds a special place in my heart.

I like their form of democracy, and it seems to work even though each Kanton seems to have their own official language.

I wonder if Switzerland had a "Coherent National Policy" for Covid, or was it left up to the Kanton?

I'm actually a little surprised you would even recommend this system. It seems to align more closely with Republican rather than Democrat thinking. With Kanton/State rights more important (promoted by Republicans), than centralized control at the federal level (promoted by the Democrats).

No matter, I'd be all for it. Maybe we could also adopt their Neutrality stance, and quit needlessly killing our young men and women in stupid wars?

[careinke]

Oh, one more thing. We would need to keep our right to move out of a state for any reason (or no reason at all).

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')Allow citizens a greater voice in a form of direct democracy as we can see in Switzerland?

[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')Allow citizens a greater voice in a form of direct democracy as we can see in Switzerland?

[Ibon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '
')
Personally I like the initiative system, but it isn't perfect...... it can easily be manipulated by wealthy people or corporations who have certain agenda they want to push and the money to hire signature gatherers and then to pay for TV ads backing their position..

Cheers!

[Ibon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', '
')
I'm actually a little surprised you would even recommend this system. It seems to align more closely with Republican rather than Democrat thinking. With Kanton/State rights more important (promoted by Republicans), than centralized control at the federal level (promoted by the Democrats).

[careinke]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', '
')
I'm actually a little surprised you would even recommend this system. It seems to align more closely with Republican rather than Democrat thinking. With Kanton/State rights more important (promoted by Republicans), than centralized control at the federal level (promoted by the Democrats).

[Ibon]

I was re reading this thread and everyones comments and what struck me most was one of the comments I made that would have been a better title of this thread.



We have collectively gamed the system into the toilet.

[evilgenius]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '
')Allow citizens a greater voice in a form of direct democracy as we can see in Switzerland?

[theluckycountry]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('careinke', '
')I'm actually a little surprised you would even recommend this system. It seems to align more closely with Republican rather than Democrat thinking.