Townhall.com
Gil Gutknecht |Posted: Mar 11, 2018

I have long believed that success leaves clues. It makes sense to pay attention to those clues in order to duplicate that success.

When most of us think about Switzerland, we think of great cheese, fine chocolate, and excellent time pieces. They are also famous for their neutrality. Maybe we Americans should take a closer look. They do a number of things right and we might learn something from them.

Yes, they make excellent cheese, chocolate and watches. They produce some pretty good wine as well. But, did you know that they spend 30% less than we do on healthcare and they have a life expectancy about four years longer? Now, some of my Doctor friends don’t like it when I sight that life expectancy number. They say it has more to do with other societal and cultural factors. Maybe. But four years is not statistically insignificant. Curiously, the average stay in a hospital is two days longer and yet it costs less? Interesting, they don’t have what we would describe as socialized medicine. Everyone is required to buy health insurance from a long list of private companies and plans. Even though they are home to several large pharmaceutical companies including Roche and Novartis, they have a clever way of negotiating prices with the drug companies and they pay less than we do…for the same drugs. It is otherwise essentially a market based system.

Many of us confuse their famous neutrality for military weakness. Au contre! They believe in a strong national defense. The Swiss have mandatory military conscription for all young men and they are armed to the teeth. For their population, they have one of the largest standing armies in the world. Their reputation for loyalty and bravery are among the reasons that the Pope is still protected by the Swiss Guard to this day. After their time in the service, most Swiss take their semi-automatic weapons home with them. They keep them oiled and ready to defend their Alpine republic. By the way, the large number of guns in the hands of civilians has not driven the murder rate anywhere near that of say, Chicago. In fact the Swiss enjoy a pretty low crime rate.They keep an impressive arsenal of sophisticated military hardware hidden in mountain caves. These include modern jet fighters positioned along straight sections of highways that double as landing strips. Just because they stay out of other peoples’ foreign affairs, it doesn’t mean you can mess with the Swiss.

Their neutrality was not the only reason that Hitler never invaded Switzerland in his grand plan for a greater German empire. He and his generals understood that the price of a Swiss invasion would be very high. One of the holidays celebrated in Geneva is called the Escalade. They commemorate the defeat of a foreign power who cavalierly attempted a conquest. Back in 1602 the French Duke of Savoy launched an invasion of Geneva. Swiss housewives poured large pots of boiling soup over the city walls on the invaders. They were quickly driven back across the border. The Duke was never foolish enough to try that again.

The Escalade Holiday ends around the kitchen table. After supper the family discusses the blessings of liberty. The patriarch then announces loudly, “ La mort aux ennemis de la Republique!-Death to the enemies of the Republic!” He then smashes his fist down on a large milk chocolate pot (commemorating the soup pots) that is filled with marzipan candies. The whole family then enjoy the broken chocolate and the candies. It’s like Independence Day, Swiss style. Quite tasty too.

The Swiss are not totally immune to leftist thinking, but they largely ignore much of the nonsense advanced by their larger neighbors. When the European Union proposed a common currency, the Swiss politely said no thanks. The warnings that they would become economically isolated are echoed today by the anti-Brexit baboons. They stuck with the Swiss Franc and it remains the world’s gold standard. You may remember that when the Obama administration sent pallets of cash to the Iranian mullahs, the plane made a stop in Geneva. It wasn’t just to refuel. U.S. federal law prohibited wire transfers to the Iranian regime without approval from Congress, so it had to be cash. The Iranians didn’t want our dirty greenbacks, so we had to convert them into mostly Swiss Francs. We got our hostages back, they got their tribute in good-as-gold Swiss Francs.

The Swiss were not eager to take large numbers of refugees. They wound up accepting some who were on their way from Italy to Germany... and stayed. Muslims aren’t unwelcome in Switzerland. But in a national plebiscite a few years ago, voters rejected their ability to build minarets. The Swiss expect newcomers to assimilate or move on. Switzerland has four official languages, but one common culture. The Swiss take citizenship seriously. While they allow some immigration, it takes twelve years before an immigrant can even apply for citizenship and local citizens retain the right to vote up or down on final approval. They can turn you down for any reason including not being a hard worker. And they do. Amazingly, the Swiss have been able to milk all those cows, make mountains of chocolate and pick those grapes without a large influx of illegal labor.

The Swiss are multilingual. They have a strong work ethic. They enjoy a very high standard of living, a low crime rate and clean, neat cities. As mentioned, they have privatized, affordable health care for all. The Swiss have a small, efficient central government that balances its budget. They stay out of other peoples’ business and do a very good job of managing their own.

If indeed success leaves clues, we could learn a lot from this little landlocked nation. The Swiss have somehow figured out how to maintain their liberty, their culture and do so many things right. I doubt they would mind if we copied a few of their successes.

Link

One of my favorite places in the world.

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The Swiss expect newcomers to assimilate or move on.

Wow, what a novel idea! We should try that here sometime!

Too bad most of their neighbors didn't follow their lead...

Articles like this - while fun to read- always make me cringe as completely unrealistic.

We all know the concept of 'scale' in business... How do you take a wonderful intimate dining experience at a small 20 table restaurant and 'scale' it to 800 tables?? Very hard to do. If not impossible.

Switzerland has 8-9M people. Most white. We have counties / MSAs almost that populous.

We are the world leader 40x larger than them. They have the luxury of being completely self-absorbed.

It's just no comparison. Great for them but just not very instructive. Same thing when we get compared to Canada, Australia, etc.

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my Doctor friends don’t like it when I sight that life expectancy number

It's good to keep an eye on things like this.

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Originally posted by Sig209:
Articles like this - while fun to read- always make me cringe as completely unrealistic.

We all know the concept of 'scale' in business... How do you take a wonderful intimate dining experience at a small 20 table restaurant and 'scale' it to 800 tables?? Very hard to do. If not impossible.

Switzerland has 8-9M people. Most white. We have counties / MSAs almost that populous.

We are the world leader 40x larger than them. They have the luxury of being completely self-absorbed.

It's just no comparison. Great for them but just not very instructive. Same thing when we get compared to Canada, Australia, etc.

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These traits were developed over centuries, in part the results of geography, partly the outcome of the more or less constant armed conflict swirling around Europe as popes and princes struggled for supremacy, over all or their little piece of the pie, as well as the attitudes and strengths and weaknesses of the inhabitants from time to time.

The US could never, and would never try to emulate this, in whole anyway. Our similarities are different. But it might be instructive to consider the principles which are thought to be responsible for their admirable situation.

I enjoyed every minute I spent in Switzerland, and I was fortunate enough to spend a great many minutes there, in different parts of the country, in different seasons, from Geneva in a swanky hotel, to incomparable ski resorts, charming small inns, riding the trains which seem to go nearly everywhere, and on time(!), or driving on very well built roads through spectacular scenery. Clean, sparkling, relatively efficient, small but expensive, Switzerland is a civil engineering paradise, everything but flat ground, so charming it is hard to believe Walt Disney didn’t build it. Most inhabitants spoke some English and two of French, German or Italian. The bankers are strict, inflexible in their requirements, at least towards US persons, their way or the highway!

Trick question: who is the president of Switzerland?

Berset

I have enjoyed every trip to Switzerland I've made.

Want to visit France? Go to Switzerland. Want to visit Italy? Go to Switzerland. Want to visit Germany? Go to Switzerland. You'll see the real thing, not some modernized version of "diversity."

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Originally posted by Sig209:
Articles like this - while fun to read- always make me cringe as completely unrealistic.

No shit. The author seems to be ignorant of about any point he makes.

- Yes, the Swiss healthcare system requires mandatory enlistment in any of a number of insurances available in the respective canton (think state) for basic coverage, which can be expanded to cover additional medical treatment. Low-income earners get subsidized by their canton. Sounds familiar? It should, in the US they call it Obamacare.

- The SIG 550 service rifle is of course not semi-, but full-auto. I don't know whether the militiamen keep them oiled to defend the republic, but they better do it since they have to pass annual qualifications while not called up. Though the famous "ready ammunition" in a sealed box to take home along the rifle and be loaded for self-defense during mobilization has once again been withdrawn in 2007, as it was in 1899 and 1945.

- Switzerland couldn't introduce the Euro since it's not a EU member, though most businesses will accept it and from 2011 to 2015 the Swiss Central Bank set a minimum exchange rate of 1.20 Francs for the Euro, essentially tying both currencies together. This was an attempt to counter the rise of the Franc's value which has been hurting Swiss exports by making products more expensive on the world market - ironically as a result of what the author describes, that everybody is investing in Francs as a safe denomination.

- Yeah, the Swiss allow "some" immigration. In fact their population is 25 percent non-citizens, the highest share anywhere in Europe except the mini-states of Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. Counting Swiss citizens whose parents were born abroad, more than 37 percent of residents have an immigration background. For comparison purposes, in Germany (which ranks eighth in the EU regarding this, as the first major country behind Austria, Ireland and Belgium) it's about ten percent non-citizens, and 23 percent with at least one parent not born with German citizenship and/or in Germany.

But I didn't know about the local Escalade holiday in Geneva, so at least I learned that from the article. Even though I find the author got the French phrase said at the table wrong.

Awesome place.
Surpassed only by the Duchy of Grand Fenwick.

The Swiss also have the luxury of letting other countries--namely the United States--do the world's policing for them.

Seriously, comparing a mostly homogeneous country with a population of less than 9 million with that of a country with the size and diversity of the US is quite futile.

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Originally posted by V-Tail:

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my Doctor friends don’t like it when I sight that life expectancy number

It's good to keep an eye on things like this.

Not enough cite seers in journalism today...

"Pas d'argent, pas de Suisse." No silver, no Swiss. At least, as very competent mercenaries in the Middle Ages, you could count on the Swiss. They stayed bought, until the contract was finished. They might turn around and attack you after they fulfilled your contract, hired by someone else, but you could count on them to finish what you hired them for - almost unique among armies for hire in those days.

The defense of Switzerland is not hurt by the fact that there is almost no level ground in the country--its all mountains.

flashguy

Not a fan of the Swiss. They didn't exactly help us during WWII. In fact, one could make an argument that they screwed us over.

Switzerland stopped American and British aircraft from overflying Switzerland during World War II. This apparently cost some lives of the good guys.

There is evidence they were taking in money, gold, paintings and other items that were stolen by Nazis, which were deposited in Swiss banks by the Nazis.

just sayin'

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Originally posted by radioman:
Not a fan of the Swiss. They didn't exactly help us during WWII. In fact, one could make an argument that they screwed us over.

Switzerland stopped American and British aircraft from overflying Switzerland during World War II. This apparently cost some lives of the good guys.

There is evidence they were taking in money, gold, paintings and other items that were stolen by Nazis, which were deposited in Swiss banks by the Nazis.

just sayin'

Otoh, I’ve read quite a few accounts of fliers, prisoners, and others escaping, making it to Switzerland to be returned to England, usually, and safety.

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Originally posted by JALLEN:
I’ve read quite a few accounts of fliers, prisoners, and others escaping, making it to Switzerland to be returned to England, usually, and safety.

In actuality, those flyers had to be interned in Switzerland for the duration of the war, lest Switzerland might lose their neutral status.

In college, back in the 1970s, I had a girlfriend from Switzerland. She was multi-talented. She could bake really good bread, spin yarn, knit, sew, keep an immaculate house, had a degree in psychology from a Swiss university, and was additionally a blonde babe with an ample bustline. She said she had no interest in ever returning to her homeland, because she didn't want to have to perform government service (as I understood it) working with nuts for some period of years to pay the government back for her education. This seemed kind of underhanded, and made me suspicious of her motivation for being my girlfriend. I suspected that she wanted to get hitched so she could more easily become a US citizen. (I think in those golden days that method worked.)

After I dumped her she took up with a wormy looking guy who was a bartender at a crummy tavern and they got married pretty quickly and reproduced. Last I heard they were still together, so I don't know if she would have made a good wife for me or not. And I don't know if she ever went back to Switzerland.

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
Not a fan of the Swiss. They didn't exactly help us during WWII. In fact, one could make an argument that they screwed us over.

Switzerland stopped American and British aircraft from overflying Switzerland during World War II. This apparently cost some lives of the good guys.

just sayin'

Didn't stop your guys bombing the Swiss city of Schaffhausen on 1 April 1944. It changed the life of an entire region within a few minutes. Large parts of the city were destroyed by some 400 incendiary and demolition bombs. The station area was destroyed as well as many of the industrial buildings. Not only were 270 people injured and 40 killed, but hundreds of jobs were also destroyed.

just sayin'.

tac