Swiss voters reject proposal to cap population at ten million

Post by brainwad » Mon, Jun 15, 2026, 4:59 AM UTC

true_religion wrote: post #140

vladms wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We really don't need to import any kind of engineers from outside I was involved in a startup in the Netherlands. We tried to recruit Dutch people, all wanted safe 9-5 jobs where they would know what they would do in 1-2 years. A startup can not guarantee that. We ended up with most engineers foreigners, many (but not all) that have studied there. So I would say that it is also risk and opportunity related. Someone…

I guess the question for society is: do we want businesses who cannot pay domestic workers a fair wage to exist in our country? Or do we want them to exist elsewhere and we import those products? To society a startup with a 99%% chance of failing to IPO is no different from a sweatshop which also wants skilled but cheap labor.

Post by brainwad » Mon, Jun 15, 2026, 5:08 AM UTC

greyhound wrote: post #103

viking123 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some countries print them out very liberally though. Sweden did not require financial self-sufficiency or language ability until like 2 weeks ago. I raised this point back in like 2015 and was promptly called a racist. So these have been handed to people who have nothing to do with the country. Few other countries have done this too but less so. Now all their children etc. will have unfettered access to Switzerland.…

Your comments do land on the xenophobic side though. E.g."Indians with German passports": You need to pass a naturalization and language tests before applying for citizenship. Until recently you couldn't even apply without living in the country for 6+ years - now reduced to 4+. So how do you or potential Swiss know they are Indians? The first thing that comes to mind is that you're assuming it by the way they look.

Post by brainwad » Mon, Jun 15, 2026, 5:13 AM UTC

FabCH wrote: post #94

Arodex wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can get housing, you have to trade money for time and commute with the (frequent and reliable) public transportation. Meanwhile the parlement and the anti+immigration far-right vote all the time to increase landlord rights and margins. Most of them are landlords, of course...

I mean, Kt. ZH also had the Wohnungsinitiative today, because not even Swiss people can find housing in ZH anymore. Let’s be realistic and admit that landlords already prioritize someone with history of renting in the country and it’s pretty fair to say that new immigrants will struggle to get housing. Even if you come on a FAANG salary, you will not be able to buy your way in that easily.

Post by brainwad » Mon, Jun 15, 2026, 5:17 AM UTC

huntoa wrote: post #244

Is it good to have an immigration policy roughly half the country detests? Who benefits from immigration the most? The capitalist gains cheap and weak labor, consumers to sell products and services to, and rent apartments to. It doesn't matter to him if the money comes from benefits. The negative effects are externalized to ordinary citizens. The capitalists own the media, which they use to shape public opinion on im…

Post by brainwad » Mon, Jun 15, 2026, 5:26 AM UTC

mrtksn wrote: post #250

brainwad wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an explicitly non-market-determined price.

It's actually market determined with extra steps as these rules are determined by the people who are the market. In Switzerland its actually significantly more direct than the rest of the world. Instead of supply/demand, capital availability and information disparity the price is determined by voting on it. A way to overcome the tragedy of the commons.