Switzerland:
Safe and Serene
By Joseph Perkins

Two differences between the Swiss and us make them happy with their government and safe in their homes.
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BERNE, Switzerland—It boasts a smaller land area than West Virginia. It has fewer people living within its borders than North Carolina.

Yet there are important lessons the United States—200 times larger, 40 times more populous — can learn from this nation of bankers, watchmakers and chocolatiers.

The first lesson begins with a visit to the Swiss capital. One learns that Switzerland is a "federalist" nation, one of 23 in the world and the second oldest after the United States.

But there is a major difference between the Swiss and American political systems, which explains why the Swiss people are happier with their government on all levels than the American people.

In the United States, governmental power devolves from the top down, with the federal government dominant and the states in a subordinate position. In Switzerland, it is just the opposite. Most of the governmental power resides with the nation's 23 "cantons," which operate almost like independent nation states.

Switzerland's parliament, modeled after the U.S. Congress, handles foreign affairs, national security and monetary policy (which are obviously best handled by a common central government rather than 23 separate governments).

However, on most other government matters, the central government defers to the cantons. It is precisely the kind of federalist system that America's Founding Fathers envisioned. And it is because governmental power flows from the bottom up in Switzerland that it is a far more direct participatory democracy than the United States. Indeed, while the Swiss federal parliament passes laws, the people — not the politicians — have the ultimate say.

Switzerland has an initiative process that enables citizens to get a law on the books when Parliament fails to act. But the Swiss democracy goes even further. It also gives its citizens the right to veto each and every law passed by their parliament if 50,000 citizens request a referendum within 100 days of a law's passage.

Just imagine if federal law in the United States could either be enacted or vetoed by the American voting public. Congress would be far more responsive to the sentiments of the people. As it is now, the people can only express their approval or disapproval of overall (rather than specific) congressional action or inaction when an election comes around.... It is a good thing for Americans to leave home from time to time to see how other peoples live. We often gain insights about our own country.
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Joseph Perkins is a columnist for The San Diego Union Tribune. Column reprinted and distributed for educational purposes.

From the web site of Initiative for Texas, Austin, TX 78741, (512) 447-2086, email: mikeford@quik.com

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