Staatsquote in der Schweiz ist laut IWP deutlich grösser als gedacht

Haben sich die Schweizer schön gerechnet?

IWP = Institut für Schweizer Wirtschaftspolitik an der Universität Luzern

"Der Schweizer Staat dürfte in den nächsten Jahren grösser werden. Bundesrat und Parlament wollen für die Armee und die AHV mehr Geld ausgeben – und dafür die Mehrwertsteuer erhöhen. So wird wohl bald ein grösserer Teil dessen, was jährlich in der Schweiz erwirtschaftet wird, durch die Kassen des Bundes fliessen. Und dadurch wird auch die sogenannte Staatsquote zunehmen. Sie ist definiert als der Anteil der Staatsausgaben gemessen am Bruttoinlandprodukt (BIP)."

"Die Schweiz ist stolz auf ihren schlanken Staat. Das bekannteste Mass scheint ihr recht zu geben: 2023 entsprachen die Staatsausgaben 33,4 Prozent der Wirtschaftsleistung.

Nach Irland war das der zweittiefste Wert Europas. Auch über die Zeit blieb diese Staatsquote bemerkenswert stabil.

Ein neues Policy Paper ... zeigt, dass hinter der tiefen Staatsquote mehr staatliche Dynamik steckt, als sie vermuten lässt. ...

Das BIP umfasst allerdings auch Abschreibungen, also den Wertverlust von Maschinen, Gebäuden und Software. Dieser Teil der Wirtschaftsleistung wird benötigt, um den bestehenden Kapitalstock zu erhalten, und steht daher weder dem Staat noch Privaten für zusätzliche Ausgaben zur Verfügung. Zieht man die Abschreibungen vom BIP ab, erhält man das Nettoinlandsprodukt (NIP). Der deutsche Finanzwissenschafter Prof. Dr. Alfons Weichenrieder hat jüngst gezeigt, wie stark die Wahl zwischen BIP und NIP das Bild verändern kann  ...

Für die Schweiz macht dieser Wechsel des Massstabs einen besonders grossen Unterschied: Die Abschreibungen entsprechen hier 23,4 Prozent des BIP, dem zweithöchsten Wert im EU/EFTA-Vergleich. ...

Was hinter den ausgeglichenen [öffentlichen] Haushalten steckt  

Neben der tiefen Staatsquote gelten auch die seit der Jahrtausendwende meist ausgeglichenen öffentlichen Haushalte als Beleg für die Schweizer Ausgabendisziplin. Doch die Entwicklung von Ausgaben und Einnahmen zeigt, wie dieser Ausgleich zustande kam.

Die Ausgabenquote blieb zwischen 1995 und 2024 mit 33,4 beziehungsweise 33,6 Prozent nahezu unverändert.

Die Einnahmenquote stieg im selben Zeitraum hingegen von 31,5 auf 34,2 Prozent. Der Haushaltsausgleich kam damit vor allem über höhere Einnahmen zustande. ..."

Staatsquote in der Schweiz ist laut IWP grösser als gedacht (Abo erforderlich) "Die Schweiz hat im internationalen Vergleich eine niedrige Staatsquote – zumindest laut den offiziellen Zahlen. Eine Analyse des IWP Luzern relativiert dieses Bild."

Eine Frage des Massstabs: Wie gross der Schweizer Staat wirklich ist. 

IWP policy paper

Ranking the states most and least dependent on the federal government

Food for thought! The progressive erosion of federalism in the US by a bigger and bigger federal government! It has been debated for several decades!

Ranking the states most and least dependent on the federal government "In some states, federal funds make up a modest share of government revenue, while in others they represent 40% of state and local budgets."

Too little history! This chart should go back to at least 1960!

Federal aid as a share of total state revenue

Federal aid as per state capita

Houston Integrated School District (ISD) will pay teachers based on performance, not tenure beginning in 2026-27

This seems to be a common sense reform!

"Houston ISD will compensate its more than 10,000 teachers based on performance rather than tenure starting in the 2026-27 school year, an overhaul that could mean significantly more pay for the highest-performing teachers. ..."

HISD will pay teachers based on performance, not experience in 2026-27

The U.S. Postal Service’s $40 billion overhaul is off to a rough start

Do we still need a government run postal service in the 21st century? Totally antiquated!

Is this also the reason why our daily email update from the USPS called "Your Daily Digest" missed to inform us about at least two important letters over the past 10 days or so. We found these letters than in our mailbox. P.S. Thanks to this email we do not open our mailbox anymore on a daily basis. More like once a week unless we expect an important piece of mail.

"Signs of trouble appeared days after the opening of a new mail and package processing center near Atlanta. Packages piled up on conveyor belts that sent them toppling onto the floor. Trucks lined up for hours outside waiting for space at the loading docks. Georgia residents complained that their bills, checks and medication hadn’t been delivered for weeks. The facility is one of dozens of new regional centers designed to process higher volumes of mail and packages, part of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to modernize the network and reduce losses. The $40 billion plan includes outfitting sorting centers with new equipment, purchasing electric vehicles to replace aging trucks, and consolidating processes and facilities. The efforts haven’t gone smoothly."

The Wall Street Journal What's news

Highest Court Of Australia Handles Sex On Business Trip

Trigger

This blog post is on the lighter side of life! :-)

Yesterday (10/30/2013) I read following article (German language) in my home town newspaper. Here is an English language article about it. Here is the High Court of Australia rule.

It is about a case decided by the High Court of Australia in a matter of a female public servant suing her employer (i.e. a “human relations section of a commonwealth government agency”) for injuries suffered having sex on a business trip. After a dinner together, she invited an acquaintance to her hotel bedroom to have sex.

The Employer Had To Fight Very Hard

“The Administrative Appeals Tribunal found the injuries were unrelated to her employment but, on appeal, the Federal Court of Australia set aside the tribunal's decision.

This was upheld by the Full Court of the Federal Court, which found the woman's injuries occurred in an “interval or interlude” during an overall period of work and must be considered to fall within the normal course of her employment.

By special leave, Comcare [employer] appealed to the High Court, with the matter seen as an important test case.” (emphasis added)

Incredible, in this case the lowest court made obviously the right decision, but a higher court in two separate rulings defied common sense.  You wonder sometimes about judges.

The Hotel Room Door

Well, in their infinite wisdom the supreme judges of Australia declared that the liability of the employer ends at the hotel room door. Too bad for the plaintiff! An employer is not liable for the sex games of their employees. Common sense prevailed! What a surprise!

Ever Wondered Why Greece Is Bankrupt?

Trigger & Caveat

A recent article I read here (German language). Take this blog post with a grain of salt! ;-)

Oversized Public Sector Lives Like Greek Gods

In the above article you read among other things that public sector employees are entitled to a six day extra paid vacation if the employee happens to work at a computer. As a software developer that I am, I would not mind. J

This is just one of many existing or recently abolished perks.

President Obama And His Nutty Professor

The Private Sector Is Doing Fine, The Public Sector Is Suffering

Recently, President Obama embarrassed himself when he announced that the private sector was doing fine, but the public sector was suffering. How did he come up with this incredible statement?

They have said that the Obama Administration is unique in that there are barely any business people on board, but plenty of brainy so called intellectuals.

Meet One Of Obama’s Nutty Advisors

The Opinion page of the US Edition of the Wall Street Journal on 6/22/2012, published a third of a page article titled “Republicans Are Blocking Obama’s Jobs Plan”  written by Jeffrey Liebman, public policy professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. Professor Liebman is also “a senior economic policy advisor to the Obama campaign. From 2009 to 2010 he was executive associate director and Chief Economist and then acting deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.”. He has a PhD in economics from Harvard.

When it comes to economics, Professor Liebman has it completely backwards just like President Obama. He and the President are missing the point as if living in an ivory tower or in a bubble void of any understanding of basic economics.

Here are some selected quotes from Professor Liebman’s article (emphasis added):

·         “One of the largest drags on our economy has been the layoffs of public employment like teachers, firefighters and police officers”

·         “ … over the past 27 months, state and local government employment has fallen by 450,000 jobs …”

·         Professor Liebman summarizes a study by three economists as “that in a single year of teaching a great teacher raises the lifetime earnings of her students by $250,000 relative to an average teacher”

·         “There is a strong consensus about what the immediate challenges facing our economy are: first and foremost, a continued lack of demand …”

Obama Believes The Economy Depends On Teachers, Firefighters, And Police Offers

Until I read Professor Liebman’s opinion piece, I had no idea how essential unionized teachers in public schools, or firefighters, or police officers were for the well being of a free market economy. Of these three public sector professions listed only police officers are actually a genuine government function that also serves a free market economy. The other two, i.e. public schools and fire fighting, could easily be privatized and it would be cheaper to the public.

Is it not possible that this severe recession has finally opened our eyes as to how bloated the public sector was? Yes, I think so.

Would college tuitions be lower if professors like Mr. Liebman would be working in the private sector? Yes, I think so.

Thank you Wall Street Journal for exposing the peculiar thought processes of the inner circle of the Obama Administration. Thank you for not blocking access to the full article.