HRS:
Good morning all,
I think there is a limit to how much can be said by any one person on any one subject without it getting a little boring and this is why I like these posters.
Of course we dont know how true they all are but it does make a point.
I voted to leave because I did not like the way we were being milked by a very large,and growing organisation and our independance slowly being eroded, right or wrong we shall all see.
However after listening to all the in/out talks the way we are being treated by the EU makes me realize I was right. Harvey
Shall we try to avoid any boredom by working out how valid/true that poster`s contents are?
“Not in the EU, still in Europe”. True. Can` argue with geography, can we?
“Free trade deals with…” Largely true. Largely because Switzerland is part of EFTA.
“Exports 5x more to the EU than UK”. What??
It exports 5 times more to the EU than it does to the UK? (A)
OR It exports 5 times more to the EU than the UK does? (B)
Not clear what it means is it?
If (A), since the EU is bigger than the UK its no surprise. Doesnt really mean much does it? They would export more to a larger market.
If (B), in 2016, CH exported 140Billion Eu to the EU. (Eurostat). The UK exported £241 Billion to the EU. (researchbriefings.parliament).
Can`t be that can it?
Unless of course the line is worded to “suggest” one thing, but means something altogether different?
“Adopts 0% of EU rules”.
It does obey EU rules in order to gain access to the EU market.
As a member of EFTA, similarly to Norway it has no input into EU rules. It can of course refuse to accept EU rules at any time, and consequently it could be refused access to EU markets.
It has been part of the EU free movement of labour zone for years, and is also part of the Schengen zone.
So, that statement is, IMHO, 100% bollix.
“Has the highest wages in Europe”.
If the worlds richest people choose to live in a "low" (personal income for high earners) tax country like CH the average wage will be inflated wont it? A lot of film stars, sport stars, etc being domiciled there will put the average up.
Minimum collective agreements show a minimum wage of 2,200 Fr.CH or about £1,600 per month.
Switzerland is 75% more expensive than the UK… maybe having higher wages doesn`t mean so much anyway…
minimum-wage.org/international/switzerland
numbeo.com/cost-of-living/c … witzerland
“2nd richest country…” What? Calculated how?
If we assume it is worked out on total income averaged over the whole population?? Then having loads of cash in its bank deposits wont mean much to the average working citizen will it? True or not doesn`t matter as it seems irrelevant to…everything.
“1st in world global innovation”. True.
In fact 50% of the countries in the top dozen are fully in the EU. And 75% are close trading partners with the EU.
So maybe the EU is good for innovation overall and the Swiss benefit from their their close relations with the EU?
Maybe being in the EU is totally irrelevant to placement on this GII table?
“Doing rather well”. Taking that at face value, Switzerland is probably doing well.
That doesnt necessarily mean all its citizens are doing well.
Some of it`s position is due to the close trading ties it has with the EU. Would close or looser ties make Switzerland “do better” or not? Who knows?