Europeans are getting poorer, Americans are getting richer: this is a warning for Switzerland: these Swiss lakes will amaze you with their color

Germany is now in recession. What sounds abstract is expressed very concretely in everyday life. Germans buy fewer organic products because they can no longer afford them. We have received similar messages from other European countries in recent weeks. The French eat less foie gras and the Spaniards cook less with olive oil. The reason is the same: purchasing power is decreasing.

The American newspaper ‘Wall Street Journal’ writes without malice, but with concern about the ‘impoverishment of Europe’. She cites statistics showing Europe’s gradual decline over the years. Fifteen years ago, consumer spending in the EU and the US each accounted for around 25 percent of global consumption. The EU now only has 18 percent, while the US has 28 percent. So the Americans can afford more, the Europeans less.

Contempt for the US – wrongly

Europe likes to look down on the US, where two octogenarians dominate politics. But under Biden, just as under Trump and before that under Obama, Americans became richer on average and the minimum wage rose. Taxes, payroll deductions, and the like make up only 27 percent of economic output in America. In Europe, however, this is now 40 to 45 percent. There is less left to live on.

When it comes to this percentage, Switzerland is between the EU and the US, but the trend is pointing in the wrong direction. Next year, VAT, electricity rates and health insurance premiums will increase, as will postal and SBB rates.

America is not a good role model in many ways, but when it comes to economic policy it is teaching Europe a lesson: before the cake is handed out, it must first be earned. If more is purchased from citizens and companies, they will bake less cake.

Incentives for efficiency

As old-fashioned as it sounds, hard work and hard work should pay off. Otherwise, entire economies will switch to part-time work, there will be less to distribute – and you will find yourself at a lower level of prosperity. In some European countries this decline is accepted with indifference. It is not too late for Switzerland to turn things around. (aargauerzeitung.ch)