Do the Swiss have better social policies than the USA?

[Dale_M]

So, no they are not part of the EU, not part of NATO and are unlikely to join anytime in the near future.

Switzerland seems to have a bilateral relationship with the EU which works well for them.

The lukewarm attitude to the EU is based on a number of factors. The union is perceived as falling short in democratic institutions. Switzerland’s frequently used system of initiatives and referenda would need drastic reform and curtailment to comply with EU rules.

There is also a concern about the cost: Switzerland would be a net contributor to the EU coffers, and there are doubts about whether neutrality would be compatible with EU membership.

To ensure Switzerland does not suffer discrimination as a non-member, Swiss legislation in many fields, including trade, has been brought into line with that of the EU.

swissinfo.ch/eng/country_information/country_profile/Switzerland_and_the_EU.html?cid=5764106

 

[DENNYINMI]

Maybe, Maybe…the U.S should take a closer look at its’ Capitalistic system. Just saying!

 

[Mr_Kooper_513]

If my hypothesis has truth to it, what social policies and practices would be useful in order to assist the decendents of slaves in re-framing their mindset, healing the psychological wounds, and assisting in learning behaviors that are more adaptive and characteristic of a functioning adult?

White people not being so quick to minimize slavery and ongoing racism would be a great start! I’m serious, showing empathy and understanding people’s frustration and the difficulty of their situation rather than telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps could be very therapeutic.

The people who were enslaved were not the cause of the problem, it was those who enslaved and benefited from slavery. An even better question would include a focus on the people and institutions that caused the problem rather than those who were treated with injustice.

A concrete policy change would be a reform of the criminal justice system. I could say a lot on that, but my main point is that the current system makes young black men as the problem rather than the system itself being the problem. People are people and we are all sinful, so I am not acting as if everybody in prison is blameless. However, the current economic system gives the least opportunity to young black men and the current criminal justice system gives them the most punishment.

 

[Bill_7154]

White people not being so quick to minimize slavery and ongoing racism would be a great start! I’m serious, showing empathy and understanding people’s frustration and the difficulty of their situation rather than telling them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps could be very therapeutic.

The people who were enslaved were not the cause of the problem, it was those who enslaved and benefited from slavery. An even better question would include a focus on the people and institutions that caused the problem rather than those who were treated with injustice.

A concrete policy change would be a reform of the criminal justice system. I could say a lot on that, but my main point is that the current system makes young black men as the problem rather than the system itself being the problem. People are people and we are all sinful, so I am not acting as if everybody in prison is blameless. However, the current economic system gives the least opportunity to young black men and the current criminal justice system gives them the most punishment.

Jack Cole (former undercover narcotics officer for the state police for something like 25 years), now has a PhD in some sort of social policy type deal, the co-founder of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, www.leap.cc agrees with you fully with respect to the jails and prisons (and so called war on drugs) being a prime example of institutionalized racism. In their promotional video he reports “In South Africa in 1993 under Apartied they incarcerated 851 Black males per 100,000, In the USA in 2004 under Prohibition we incarcerated 4,919 Black males per 100,000. And I don’t know how anyone can look at that and not see institutionalized racism.”

I have corresponded with him via email in the past as I used to be a drug and alcohol counselor and believe that the work LEAP does is of great benefit to us as a society. He is not for drug use. Neither am I. We simply recongnize that the War on Drugs wastes like 75 Billion dollars every single year and drugs don’t lessen on the streets. Heck, they can’t even keep them out of prisons. And since criminals (who are in charge of distribution of drugs under prohibition) don’t discriminate based on age when hiring or selling, our children are at greater risk of harm under prohibition. It is factually easier for children to acquire illegal drugs than it is for them to acquire alcohol. I mention this stuff because I think the Swiss, handling the drug problem, as an actual drug problem, as a public health issue, have it over us on this matter re: humanely dealing with the people afflicted with addiction. They also have it over us financially as they don’t waste 75 Billion dollars per year on a drug war that can not be one, one that gets thousands murdered every year, and one that separates families via prisons for years. Treatment would be a better option, it would be cheaper, more effective than prisons, more humane, and not break up families, sometimes separating children from their parents for decades, and forever stigmatizing them as felons…good luck getting a job as a felon when a company runs a CORI check on you… so the innocents suffer more than they need to, for longer than they need to, which in turn reinforces cycles of neglect…

 

[Mr_Kooper_513]

Right on Bill 7154. That’s what I’m talking about.