Tag Archives: Politics

Overview: The dollar is bid to start the new week. It has taken out last week's high against the Swiss franc, and the euro has been sold through last week's lows. The divided opposition allowed Ishiba to continue as Japan's prime minister, heading up a minority government. The German government collapsed last week. Chancellor Scholz wanted to hold off holding (and losing) a vote of confidence until January, setting the stage for elections, but it seems increasingly...

Switzerland’s pension system has three elements. The first is a state pension linked to the number of years worked. This is funded by a tax. The second is a salary based scheme funded by salary deductions, and the third is an optional element known as the third pillar. Contributions to all of these are tax deductible, providing an economic incentive to pay into them. This week, the Federal Council announced a change to third pillar contributions, reported SRF. © Gfadel | Dreamstime.comThe...

Share this article Part I of II There is no question that gold owners have been finally and spectacularly vindicated over the last months: the “barbarous relic”, the “worthless shiny rock”, as many have called the yellow metal, once again proved its value as a true safe haven. In the face of inflation, intense geopolitical turmoil and widespread uncertainty, investors fled to safety “en masse”, as they consistently, repeatedly and predictably have done for decades (if not centuries),...

A study published this week found that nearly 1 in 20 (4.8%) people under 18 in Switzerland received social welfare in 2022, reported RTS. Children made up 33% of the total population on welfare. The report called for more money to ensure this group is sufficiently supported. Photo by SRIPADA STUDIOS on Pexels.comThe 76,000 children in Switzerland receiving social assistance often live restricted lives. There is a need for action regarding the level and design of social assistance...

Share this article Over the last years, we have encountered an abundance of alarmist and hysterical “warnings” and admonitions, foretelling the impending doom of the world as we know it. Market corrections have served as an excuse for scaremongers to cultivate panic over a total systemic collapse. Surprising political shifts, like unexpected electoral results, have been coopted to support extreme scenarios, predicting the fall of the current world order. Especially in turbulent times like...

Share this article Over the last years, we have encountered an abundance of alarmist and hysterical “warnings” and admonitions, foretelling the impending doom of the world as we know it. Market corrections have served as an excuse for scaremongers to cultivate panic over a total systemic collapse. Surprising political shifts, like unexpected electoral results, have been coopted to support extreme scenarios, predicting the fall of the current world order. Especially...

On Wednesday, farmers came together in Bern to protest against planned cuts to subsidies, reported RTS. Photo by Sergio Zhukov on Pexels.comBecause of the way farming is structured in Switzerland, farmers are heavily reliant on the support of tax payers to make ends meet. The federal government, which is running and projecting fiscal deficits, has come up with ways to cut spending. According to the government, the cuts are spread across the board, which includes savings on the amounts...

This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of spending an extra CHF 4 billion on the nation’s military, bringing annual military expenditure to 1% of GDP earlier than planned, reported RTS. The extra CHF 4 billion will bring the total budget to CHF 30 million spread across the period from 2025 to 2028. Photo by Mickäel O’Neill on Pexels.comThe Federal Council, Switzerland’s seven member cabinet, had wanted to cap military spending for the period at CHF 26 billion. However,...

Share this article As individual citizens, as voters and taxpayers we have been so deeply, so consistently, so relentlessly indoctrinated, so blindly radicalized, and so thoroughly and easily subjugated and ideologically manipulated that, by now, it has become terribly challenging for any of us to even entertain any viewpoint or any opinion that is opposed to our own.  It is next to impossible for a single individual to find the strength of character or the moral fortitude to raise doubts,...

Switzerland’s federal government is spending more money than it collects in taxes. This week, a federal commission set out options for spending cuts, reported SRF. The problem is than some of them would involve less federal money going to cantonal governments. Bern © Victor Torres | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter hopes to break the deadlock around balancing the federal budget. To do so, she has called on a group of experts for advice. This week, a...