...demonstrating that a Golden Rule inspired business conduct leads to a superior judgment in finance and public policy ... ... "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you"... |
________________________________________________________________________________________
Don't forget, the Swiss business model is unique!
Dialogue with the Alter Ego on the Swiss vote to limit professional migration, drafted and published on Feb. 12,
2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question by Alter Ego of Noah denkt™ (AE):On February 9, an albeit small majority of Swiss voters terminated
the unlimited access that migrant workers and professionals from the European Union, in particular from
Germany, France and Italy, had enjoyed since 2007 to the Swiss labor market and imposed the introduction of
immigration quotas. The vote was largely seen as echoing far right anti-immigration and anti-free-market
sentiments elsewhere in Europe and beyond (such as those expressed by Geert de Wilders in the Netherlands,
Marine Le Pen in France, the UKIP party in Great Britain and Congressman Rohrabacher in the US, to name
just a few). European Union officials voiced their disbelief about the referendum result. They argued that the
introduction of quantitative limits to immigration would not only violate the principle of free movement of people
that had previously been held high by EU and Swiss governments but that it would also hinder the regional
prospects for growth and prosperity. How does Noah denkt™ react to the outcome of the Swiss immigration
referendum?
Answer by Noah denkt™ (Nd): We also have to admit that it has taken us quite a while to get our head around
this referendum result. After all, the Swiss vote is a slap in the face of all conventional economic wisdom which
has it that immigration is generally good for the prospects of the host economy. While generally supporting this
conventional economic wisdom, we have, nevertheless, come to the conclusion that the Swiss economy might
somehow get away with the new measure without hampering its growth prospects too much. After all, the Swiss
business model is much less based on the sheer entrepreneurial vigor of its proactive individuals as is the case
in the US, the Netherlands and elsewhere but rather on the forensic diligence of its reserved, but meticulous
business and social culture. In other words, it may well be true that most economies of lesser introspective
nature may need the raw and self-exploitive dedication of desperately hard working immigrants to succeed. But
some economies whose business model is based on supreme quality rather than on volume sales, hot air and
opportunistic fluff may actually need a more intrinsic sense of order and social cohesion to continue to develop
the fine-tuned, super products they have become so famous for.
AE: So you are saying that a more diverse, more aggressive, and more "in your face" culture doesn’t provide
for the tranquility and respectfulness that the development of legendary products such as Swiss watches
requires?
Nd: Correct. After all, you can’t be expected to work on many different issues at once and develop superior
quality at the same time.
AE: Granted. But why would the policy of an open-border labor market infringe on the orderliness and cohesion
in the local business culture? Is it not a given that all newcomers have to adjust to the place they come to? In
other words, don’t you have to integrate into the mindset of your host environment if you want to make it there?
Nd: Well, there is probably a "give and take" dynamic playing out there. After all, it is unreasonable to believe
that all integration of foreigners is just based on that foreigner’s ability to change. No, any inter-cultural
collaboration will only succeed if all parties concerned adapt their attitudes to each other.
AE: And this process of mutually adapting to each other isn’t going to make the Swiss products so much better
than they already are?
Nd: Well, if you spend more time on adapting to each other than on perfecting your product the collaboration
might not be all that fruitful. And that is apparently what a majority of Swiss voters seems to feel
AE: Economists, however, explain that Switzerland will have hard time to fill all the high-caliber vacancies with
local talent. How do you then improve your products if you do not have the amount of engineers and doctors to
do so?
Nd: Supposedly the quotas which Switzerland will introduce will take care of that.
AE: We shall see.
Nd: Yes, let’s wait and see what happens to the Swiss economy once the new measures have been put in place.
Dialogue with the Alter Ego on the Swiss vote to limit professional migration, drafted and published on Feb. 12,
2014
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question by Alter Ego of Noah denkt™ (AE):On February 9, an albeit small majority of Swiss voters terminated
the unlimited access that migrant workers and professionals from the European Union, in particular from
Germany, France and Italy, had enjoyed since 2007 to the Swiss labor market and imposed the introduction of
immigration quotas. The vote was largely seen as echoing far right anti-immigration and anti-free-market
sentiments elsewhere in Europe and beyond (such as those expressed by Geert de Wilders in the Netherlands,
Marine Le Pen in France, the UKIP party in Great Britain and Congressman Rohrabacher in the US, to name
just a few). European Union officials voiced their disbelief about the referendum result. They argued that the
introduction of quantitative limits to immigration would not only violate the principle of free movement of people
that had previously been held high by EU and Swiss governments but that it would also hinder the regional
prospects for growth and prosperity. How does Noah denkt™ react to the outcome of the Swiss immigration
referendum?
Answer by Noah denkt™ (Nd): We also have to admit that it has taken us quite a while to get our head around
this referendum result. After all, the Swiss vote is a slap in the face of all conventional economic wisdom which
has it that immigration is generally good for the prospects of the host economy. While generally supporting this
conventional economic wisdom, we have, nevertheless, come to the conclusion that the Swiss economy might
somehow get away with the new measure without hampering its growth prospects too much. After all, the Swiss
business model is much less based on the sheer entrepreneurial vigor of its proactive individuals as is the case
in the US, the Netherlands and elsewhere but rather on the forensic diligence of its reserved, but meticulous
business and social culture. In other words, it may well be true that most economies of lesser introspective
nature may need the raw and self-exploitive dedication of desperately hard working immigrants to succeed. But
some economies whose business model is based on supreme quality rather than on volume sales, hot air and
opportunistic fluff may actually need a more intrinsic sense of order and social cohesion to continue to develop
the fine-tuned, super products they have become so famous for.
AE: So you are saying that a more diverse, more aggressive, and more "in your face" culture doesn’t provide
for the tranquility and respectfulness that the development of legendary products such as Swiss watches
requires?
Nd: Correct. After all, you can’t be expected to work on many different issues at once and develop superior
quality at the same time.
AE: Granted. But why would the policy of an open-border labor market infringe on the orderliness and cohesion
in the local business culture? Is it not a given that all newcomers have to adjust to the place they come to? In
other words, don’t you have to integrate into the mindset of your host environment if you want to make it there?
Nd: Well, there is probably a "give and take" dynamic playing out there. After all, it is unreasonable to believe
that all integration of foreigners is just based on that foreigner’s ability to change. No, any inter-cultural
collaboration will only succeed if all parties concerned adapt their attitudes to each other.
AE: And this process of mutually adapting to each other isn’t going to make the Swiss products so much better
than they already are?
Nd: Well, if you spend more time on adapting to each other than on perfecting your product the collaboration
might not be all that fruitful. And that is apparently what a majority of Swiss voters seems to feel
AE: Economists, however, explain that Switzerland will have hard time to fill all the high-caliber vacancies with
local talent. How do you then improve your products if you do not have the amount of engineers and doctors to
do so?
Nd: Supposedly the quotas which Switzerland will introduce will take care of that.
AE: We shall see.
Nd: Yes, let’s wait and see what happens to the Swiss economy once the new measures have been put in place.
| © Landei Selbstverlag, owned by Wilhelm ("Wil") Leonards, Gerolstein, Germany. All rights reserved. Reminder: Noah denkt™ is a project of Wilhelm ("Wil") Leonards and his Landei Selbstverlag (WL & his LSV). Consequently, all rights to the texts that have been published under the Noah denkt™brand name are reserved by WL & his LSV. The commentary and the reasoning that was provided on this page is for informational and/or educational purposes only and it is not intended to provide tax, legal or investment advice. It should therefore not be construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any security or any issuer by WL & his LSV or its Noah denkt™ Project. In fact, WL & his LSV encourage the user to understand that he alone is responsible for determining whether any investment, security or strategy is appropriate or suitable for him. And to leave no doubt as to what this means we urge our user to also note our extended Legal Notice. |
__________________________________________________________________________________________
| Keywords: Swiss vote on immigration, Switzerland introduces quotas on immigration, Switzerland rejects the principle of free movement of workers, anti-immigration vote in Switzerland, Switzerland limits immigration of EU workers |
________________________________________________________________________________________