That article brushes over many things, like some of the big contributors to the economy being straight up amoral organisations that will do anything for money.
Nestlé, facing constant boycotts for things like the formula scandals, their damage to the rainforests, and so much more.
Big pharma running what you could call price rackets.
Banking sector which will happily take money from arms dealers and the like and turn a blind eye to that.
That all gets you a very profitable economy, sure, but not all is rosy.
Then you go to Geneva and somehow, despite all that sweet tax money, you still have buses from the 1980s and public buildings that haven’t seen a renovation in the last 60 years. The airport terminal is straight up run down if you compare it to European airports like Heathrow, Barajas, Schiphol…
Then people struggle with the cost of housing - median salary is around 6k CHF (monthly), with 2k of deductions that give you a 4k net. According to rentola.ch, the rental for a 1-bedroom flat in Geneva costs on average 3.2k CHF a month, meaning you need about 3x the median salary (!!) to be able to afford a 1-bedroom flat within the recommended 30% of your salary. Working hours are longer than the neighboring countries.
So yeah, they have a great economy because the numbers are skewed by many-million-francs salaries of the corporations in there. If you’re not in a C-suite or visiting as a Sheikh wanting to spend a few millions in Geneva, quality of life is absolutely nothing to write home about.
Yeah no, that’s not how information literacy works. An article on usnews.com proclaiming Switzerland as the best country in the world based on self-reporting is the opposite of objective. Making an international economics-based comparison takes more than a quick google search. And keep in mind some people actually live in unstable economies. So stop bashing your country for the sake of it.
Sincerely,
An EU citizen who has lived in Switzerland and visited the US on numerous occasions.
And the article didn’t even mention the why behind the political stability, low corruption and respectfulness; the half-direct democracy: though not without faults (too influencable through media upheavals), even the 7 presidents are “just doing a special job” and can take public transport.
Oh and 3 seconds on Google proves you wrong. Switzerland is the best and most stable economy and country in the world… again. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2023-09-06/steady-switzerland-is-once-again-the-worlds-best-country
That article brushes over many things, like some of the big contributors to the economy being straight up amoral organisations that will do anything for money.
Nestlé, facing constant boycotts for things like the formula scandals, their damage to the rainforests, and so much more.
Big pharma running what you could call price rackets.
Banking sector which will happily take money from arms dealers and the like and turn a blind eye to that.
That all gets you a very profitable economy, sure, but not all is rosy.
Then you go to Geneva and somehow, despite all that sweet tax money, you still have buses from the 1980s and public buildings that haven’t seen a renovation in the last 60 years. The airport terminal is straight up run down if you compare it to European airports like Heathrow, Barajas, Schiphol…
Then people struggle with the cost of housing - median salary is around 6k CHF (monthly), with 2k of deductions that give you a 4k net. According to rentola.ch, the rental for a 1-bedroom flat in Geneva costs on average 3.2k CHF a month, meaning you need about 3x the median salary (!!) to be able to afford a 1-bedroom flat within the recommended 30% of your salary. Working hours are longer than the neighboring countries.
So yeah, they have a great economy because the numbers are skewed by many-million-francs salaries of the corporations in there. If you’re not in a C-suite or visiting as a Sheikh wanting to spend a few millions in Geneva, quality of life is absolutely nothing to write home about.
Yeah no, that’s not how information literacy works. An article on usnews.com proclaiming Switzerland as the best country in the world based on self-reporting is the opposite of objective. Making an international economics-based comparison takes more than a quick google search. And keep in mind some people actually live in unstable economies. So stop bashing your country for the sake of it.
Sincerely, An EU citizen who has lived in Switzerland and visited the US on numerous occasions.
Wait what, Federer is still playing?
And the article didn’t even mention the why behind the political stability, low corruption and respectfulness; the half-direct democracy: though not without faults (too influencable through media upheavals), even the 7 presidents are “just doing a special job” and can take public transport.