Chapter 17 -  What You Need To Know About Real Estate & Terrorism Risk

Chapter 18 -  Solutions To New Regulatory Burdens and Risks
Case Study # 10 Inadequate Due Diligence
Case Study # 11  Be Careful When Banking Offshore
Case Study # 12  The Snitch Factor

Section Five - How To Build Safe Protected Wealth

Chapter 19 - New & Enhanced Post 9/11 Wealth Planning & Protection Techniques

Chapter 20 - How To Choose an Investment Or Wealth Planning Advisor 

Chapter 21 - The Swiss Inner Circle

Chapter 22 - Other Global Consultants, Publications & Organizations 

Section Six - You’ve Protected Your Wealth Now Restore Your Liberty 
 
Chapter 23 -  Back To The Articles: Restoring the Republic With the Swiss Confederation Institute     

Chapter 24 – FreedomFest: Where Free Minds Meet  

Chapter 25- Don't Delay: Start Today To Preserve Your Wealth & Liberty  

Chapter 26 - Are You Willing To Pay the High Price For Freedom?  

Case Studies  

Resource Guide  

About the Author  

 

Real Estate Presented By Ronald Holland A Broker/Realtor with Wolf's Crossing Realty. Your mountain home & lot expert for the Wolf Laurel, Preserve & Wolf Ridge Resort areas. Toll Free: (888) 541-1738 Office: (828) 689-5058 Fax: (828) 337-9571 Email Agent  Other Realtor.com Listings Visit Website

THE SWISS Preserve SOLUTION
Ron Holland's politically incorrect guide to defending your wealth & liberty
from internal and external threats in our new 21st Century world.    
 

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Chapter 10 - Switzerland: is Still #1 in Liberty, Direct Democracy & As a Financial Center  

Talking Points:  Politicians hate Switzerland because of their confederation type of limited government, which is still controlled by the people.  For this reason, and many others, investors love Switzerland.  Learn how their limited central government, financial confidentiality and non-aggressive foreign policy have made Switzerland the leading wealth preservation jurisdiction in the world.

"Switzerland has the respect of the world for its stability, safety, and peacefulness. How is it that this tiny country, measuring only 137 by 216 miles, with almost no natural resources, has the world's strongest currency? Has the second highest per capita income in the world and is the third largest financial center in the world, managing private assets of more than 2 trillion Swiss francs?"                     -- Swiss Money Secrets, The Oxford Club www.oxfordclub.com

Why Investors Love and Politicians Hate Switzerland

       Switzerland is the most hated nation on the face of the earth by politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers and tax authorities. How does the old saying go, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”?  Productive individuals around the world who prefer limited government and honor private property rights view Switzerland very favorably. The Swiss government is a shining example of how a decentralized confederation government, one that still respects individual and cantonal (states) rights, can create one of the highest standards of living in the world.

       The truth of the matter is that many investors prefer Switzerland and the Swiss franc, while most governments do not. Politicians and others out to plunder after the private wealth of productive citizens look at the time-honored Swiss traditions of independence, financial privacy, and limited government as obstacles in their path of looting and pillage. Lawyers, especially in the United States, hate Switzerland because of the asset protection features built into their insurance and annuity products through ironclad Swiss insurance regulations.

       This small country is loved by her patriotic citizens and by knowledgeable world investors that choose Switzerland and the Swiss franc, along with the Euro, as the currency of choice for their personal safe haven of wealth. Although the Swiss voters have ended the statutory gold backing of the Swiss franc, Switzerland has continued to maintain substantial gold reserves.  It is important to realize that their currency strengthens when the dollar weakens.

       Political dissidents and over-taxed citizens around the world also appreciate Swiss political neutrality and the importance of Swiss banking confidentiality. Wealthy citizens hounded by unscrupulous lawyers and corrupt legal systems that determine guilt by one’s ability to pay, appreciate Switzerland’s respect for private wealth and its honest legal system, which has little in common with the lawsuit mania driven U.S. court system.

       Other central governments and political establishments that over-tax and over-regulate their citizens despise Switzerland’s confederation form of limited government. The Swiss practice of armed neutrality is often an embarrassment to governments, such as Washington, that attempt to enforce foreign policy through armed intervention and invasion around the world. Legal predators and corrupt legal systems hate the rule of law in Switzerland that still protects wealth and assets from their attempts at plunder through vindictive lawsuits and unwarranted asset seizures.

       Although financial services and investment performance are generally comparable everywhere in today’s global investment world, Switzerland’s unique benefits of a relatively strong Swiss franc, a measure of asset protection from lawsuits, and a degree of financial confidentiality remain the envy of outside financial competitors and greedy revenue-starved governments around the world.  

The Benefits of a True Confederation Form of Government

       This alpine territory is quite small - comparable in size to the state of South Carolina - but it is home to over 7 million people, including some 1½ million foreign nationals residing or working there. Switzerland has four official languages that reflect neighboring cultures. Some two-thirds of the Swiss speak German dialects, while 19% speak French, 8% Italian and 1% Romanisch, a dialect similar to Latin. Roman Catholics account for 48% of the population and Protestants some 44%.

       These people, with such diverse backgrounds have learned to live together peacefully and without discord. They have built and maintained a country that emphasizes real freedom and prosperity through it’s unique form of government. Their confederation government structure is decentralized with most of the power residing at the canton (similar to our states) and local levels. An often-overlooked point in history is that the Swiss Confederation form of government strongly influenced America’s founding fathers and the structure of early American government. In fact, our first governing document, The Articles of Confederation, closely resembled the governmental design of the Swiss Helvetian Confederation.

       Switzerland has retained this decentralized form of limited government when most nations, including the U.S., have moved toward a strong federal system.  They have maintained  this model simply because the Swiss citizens would not allow this loss of political freedom from themselves or their local and cantonal governments. The Swiss political structure is specifically designed to prevent the development of an all-powerful federal government like has developed in the United States.

       Their governmental structure delicately balances the rights of the individual with the interests of the communes (villages), the city, the canton (state), and the federal government. Parliament is comprised of two chambers, with representatives from each of the 26 cantons representing a dozen different political parties.

A Limited Federal Government By the People and For the People

       Despite the diversity in languages and cultures, Switzerland remains a stable and unified society with the world’s oldest surviving democracy—besides the Tynwald Parliament in the Isle of Man. Through a direct participatory form of democratic government, ordinary Swiss citizens decide on important constitutional issues as well as local ordinances. Every Swiss citizen has a direct say on how the government is run by the ability to show his or her support (or non-support) for government actions. The Swiss have in practice, not just in theory, a government controlled ultimately by the people.

       To further protect the rights of the individual Swiss citizens three political safeguards are built into the system to assure that the people rule the government and not the other way around.

1.  A Weak Chief Executive - Can you name the President of Switzerland? Probably not. In fact, very few Swiss citizens would even be able to give the correct answer. In contrast to the United States, where our Chief Executive is constantly in the news, and usually for the wrong reasons, the Swiss do not make a profession or big deal out of politics.

       The President of Switzerland can often be found riding to work on the public streetcars in Berne, Switzerland’s capital. Their executive branch of government is a collegial system, which prevents the rise of a strong chief executive and it strives for political consensus rather than confrontation. The Swiss federal government is weak by design – and that’s just the way the Swiss want to keep it.

2.  The Right of Referendum - The Swiss people fortunately have the Right of Referendum that gives them an opportunity to oppose any law passed by Parliament or enacted by the government. If 50,000 voters, a little more than 1% of the electorate, sign a petition questioning a particular law passed by the government, the law must be submitted to a popular vote for final approval. The law is then rescinded if more than 50% of the voters oppose it. Any proposed change in the Swiss Constitution also requires a referendum.

       Harry Browne, a good friend of mine, is a financial writer and former resident of Switzerland.  He is also a two-time American Presidential Candidate of the Libertarian Party.  Browne noted that in Switzerland, referenda occur much more frequently than the two-year election cycle found in many states of the U.S. "Once a matter qualifies for a referendum, the vote will be taken soon afterward. So these votes are sprinkled throughout the year, and they happen not only at the federal level, but at the cantonal and city levels as well." This is in direct contrast to the U.S. where public pressure against legislation must be directed through elected representatives who are subject to massive pressure by special interest groups.

3. The Right of Initiative - Switzerland’s concept of the Right of Initiative is unique in the entire world today. It allows the Swiss citizens the opportunity to actually initiate legislation directly. When 100,000 signatures are obtained for a particular proposal, a national election is held to approve or reject the proposed law, assuming the proposed law meets certain legal standards.

Investor Benefits of Swiss Foreign Policy and World Famous Financial Center

"We will attack no one, participate in no war, will make no alliance, and will defend ourselves".   -- The Swiss Code of Neutrality as first drafted in 1515

       An important cornerstone in Swiss history involves national security. Switzerland places its safety and security above all other considerations. Although Switzerland has recently voted to join the United Nations, it is not a member of NATO, the European Union, and more importantly, is not directly influenced by the political decisions of these international bodies.  As a neutral country, Switzerland plays an important role in world politics as an unbiased peaceful site for diplomatic negotiations and as a base for international agencies such as the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization, located in Geneva.

Neutrality Combined With Military Strength

       The Swiss people have guarded their national independence through a strict policy of armed neutrality. This policy has produced the largest (mostly civilian) army in Western Europe when mobilized, and has saved Switzerland from destabilizing involvement in both major 20^th century world wars and numerous conflicts.

       The Swiss believe neutrality is best achieved by a strong nation rather than a weak one. Within 48 hours the country can mobilize an army of over 500,000 soldiers, 800 battle tanks, 300 jet fighters, plus missiles and artillery - all stored in hundreds of defense positions and underground fortresses. Switzerland has armed sentries at all border crossings and there are over 3,000 points of demolition on bridges and tunnels to destroy paths of invasion or other access. Most of this defense structure is invisible. Carefully camouflaged into mountainsides are arsenals, hospitals, airplane hangers, with their interstate highways are often designed to serve as emergency air runways.

       All able-bodied men between the ages of 20 and 50 serve in the army and are trained for specific jobs. In the event of war or other national emergency, the Swiss can also call upon 520,000 trained civil defense workers. They can provide protection to over 90% of the Swiss population in shelters that are designed to withstand nuclear, biological and chemical attack.  Even if Switzerland were a target for terrorist weapons of mass destruction, which it certainly is not, most of its citizens have access to protection - unlike in the United States.

 

 

Ron Fact, Book & Video Recommendations For This Page:
The nation of Switzerland is the only limited government, decentralized confederation on the planet. In Switzerland, due to their direct democracy political system, the citizens still control the government rather than the other way around as in the United States. America needs to return to a limited republic and confederation government as we had under the Articles of Confederation if we have any chance to return political power from the special interests back to the individual citizens. - Ron Holland

Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II by Stephen P. Halbrook. He vigorously and, inevitably, controversially argues a conservative defense agenda with his thesis that Switzerland's federal system, which lacks a central authority capable of surrendering the country, and its militia-based defense (shades of the Minutemen, the Second Amendment, and the NRA!) effectively enabled Swiss neutrality during World War II. He offers much evidence that the Swiss armed and equipped themselves at considerable cost to defend their independence, for which most of them were prepared to fight even against the might of the Wehrmacht.

La Place De LA Concorde Suisse by John McPhee. Anyone who has ever traveled in Switzerland cannot help but to have remarked upon the overwhelming tranquility of the country. But this tranquility is illusory. As John McPhee writes in La Place de la Concorde Suisse, a rich journalistic study of the Swiss Army's role in Swiss society, "there is scarcely a scene in Switzerland that is not ready to erupt in fire to repel an invasive war." With a population smaller than New Jersey's, Switzerland has a standing army of 650,000 ready to be mobilized in less than 48 hours. The Swiss Army, known in this country chiefly for its little red pocketknives, is so quietly efficient at the arts of war that the Israelis carefully patterned their own military on the Swiss model. You'll understand why after reading this outstanding book. The book is a little dated but if you want to understand the military defense of Switzerland, you should read this book.

The Swiss Confederation Institute News 
For daily updated news, editorials and reports relating to topics
covered in The Swiss Preserve Solution.

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