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How do you make your voice heard on financial matters?

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Bruno is SWI swissinfo.ch’s global democracy correspondent as well as being a long-term foreign correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Company, based in Sweden. He is also the Director of International Relations at the Swiss Democracy Foundation, Co-president of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy and Co-initiator of the International League of Democracy Cities.

Involving the people directly in decisions on public funding is increasingly shaping politics around the world.

From university-run initiatives in Rosario in Argentina, to Porto Alegre in Brazil, to citizens-initiated referendums Aarau in Switzerland – there are many different approaches to participatory budgeting. In some countries, such as Germany or Italy, financial decisions are beyond the reach of citizens.

How do you make your voice heard on financial matters? What are the benefits and disadvantages of advisory participatory budgeting and binding financial referendums?

From the article How participatory budgeting gives citizens a say in financial matters

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ion delsol
ion delsol

Dear Bruno Kaufmann,
Reporting on social policies may be very noble and rewarding. However, Information ought to be pure information, without propagating personal opinions.
You write: "public protests against the totalitarian regime of President Xi Jinping ", as you know, "totalitarian" decisions were made by many Western countries, to stop similar protests against COVID19 measures.
Would you describe the leaders of France and Canada as "totalitarian"?

All governments rule with a certain degree of authority, and it is debatable how much authority a government should impose on its citizens, but is it right for us to label some specific countries as "authoritarian"?
You report: "...In other authoritarian states, too, especially in Iran, but also in Turkey or Hungary,..."

Finally, You write, "Only in Russia, where the Putin regime has been waging a brutal war..." Do you really believe that it is only Russia doing a brutal war all by itself, but the $100 billion of NATO's weapons are not doing any brutal war?

Merry Christmas to you, and hope for more impartial reporting next year.
 C.U. in Mexico.
ion 

Turquoise-Zervreilasee
Turquoise-Zervreilasee
The following contribution has been automatically translated from AR.

I think it is necessary for this democratic practice to be widely adopted in all countries of the world, and I hope it will find its way to my homeland, Iraq,
Here in Iraq, where billions of dollars are openly looted and stolen due to lack of transparency and due to widespread financial and administrative corruption, it would be useful for the Iraqi people to participate in approving public budgets.

انا أرى انه من الضروري ان تُعتمد هذه الممارسة الديمقراطية بشكل واسع في كل بلدان العالم، واتمنى أن تجد طريقها الى موطني العراق،
هنا في العراق حيث يتم نهب وسرقة المليارات من الدولارات بشكل علني بسبب عدم وجود الشفافية ونتيجة لانتشار الفساد المالي والاداري، سيكون من المفيد مشاركة الشعب العراقي بشان إقرار الموازنات العامة.

daicla
daicla
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

Democracy is participation. Informed and informed participation is the foundation on which democracy, the real kind, not facade democracy, rests.

La Democrazia è partecipazione. Partecipazione informata e consapevole è il fondamento sui cui si regge la democrazia, quella vera, non di facciata.

Balcania
Balcania
The following contribution has been automatically translated from ES.

It must be fundamentally taken into account that the money managed by the people who eventually occupy the government belongs to the State and is mostly collected by taxes or by the administration of public resources, that is to say, in short, they are resources contributed and/or of all the inhabitants of the Nation who trust those who lead the economic destinies of their country, for their administration in search of a common goal that can be summarized in the general welfare (which concept is very broad). Therefore, I consider it absolutely reasonable that those who elected people and delegated a certain power of administration of their own resources and taxes can participate in the decisions on the administered resources and that the consultations on the destination of those resources are binding for the rulers.

Hay que tener fundamentalmente en cuenta, que el dinero que manejan las personas que eventualmente ocupan el gobierno, es del Estado y mayoritariamente, se recauda por impuestos o por administración de recursos públicos, o sea en definitiva, son recursos aportados y/o de todos los habitantes de la Nación quienes confían, en quienes conducen los destinos económicos de su país, para su administración en busca de un fin común que se puede resumir en el bienestar general (cuyo concepto es muy amplio). Por lo tanto considero absolutamente razonable que quienes eligieron personas y delegaron un determinado poder de administración de sus propios recursos e impuestos puedan participar en las decisiones sobre los recursos administrados y que las consultas sobre el destino de esos recursos sean vinculantes para los gobernantes.

Angelo Iovine
Angelo Iovine
The following contribution has been automatically translated from IT.

It is very important the participation of the local Population , at the level of economic investment in the regions , in all its different social spheres . Education , social assistance for diseases and internment in Hospitals , retirement and many other reasons , should normally be discussed for afterwards to be approved by a council that would report directly to the Governor of the Region .

É molto importante la partecipazione della Popolazione locale , a livello di investimento economico nelle regioni , in tutti i suoi differenti ambiti sociali . L' educazione , l' assistenza sociale per le malattie e l' internamento negli Ospedali , il pensionamento e tanti altri motivi , dovrebbero essere normalmente discussi per dopo essere approvati da un consiglio che si riportasse direttamente al governatore della Regione.

Nair
Nair
The following contribution has been automatically translated from ES.

Yes I am and it is very useful to increase the participation of the neighbors. We have taken the experience of Porto Alegre since 1995 in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, and then others have been carried out throughout the country. It is a pity that there is not more information. We have a lot of bibliography and we are still practicing it. It is worth to continue in it deepening the study in its pros and cons. Now as a Uruguayan-Swiss citizen I understand that we should inform ourselves more and exchange. I have just discovered this group. Greetings from Nueva Helvecia-Colonia Suiza in the Department of Colonia in the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

Si lo estoy y es muy útil para aumentar la participación de las y los vecinos. Hemos tomado la experiencia de Porto Alegre desde 1995 en Montevideo la capital de Uruguay y luego se han realizado en este tiempo otras en todo el país. Es una pena que no haya más información. Tenemos mucha bibliografía y en la actualidad la seguimos practicando. Vale la pena continuar en ella profundizando el estudio en sus pro y contras. Ahora como ciudadana uruguayo-suiza entiendo que nos debemos de informar más e intercambiar. Recién he descubierto este grupo. Saludos desde Nueva Helvecia-Colonia Suiza en el Departamento de Colonia en la República Oriental del Uruguay

Anonymous
Anonymous

We have people's representation in the form of Nationalrat and Kantonsrat. If we do not trust them with these financial decisions, and insist on voting on every project which exceeds a certain financial threshold, then we will have major gridlock in our running of the country.

If there is a major spend (like the infamous Fighter Jets purchase), we already have the Referendum mechanism to deal with dissent. What else do you want? An app to press "approve" for any Kantonal or Gemeinde spend? Come on.

Anonymous
Anonymous
@Anonymous

In short "yes"
or at least some more information about where money is going/being spent.

It is 2022... the Swiss government is pushing Digitalisation and as far as I'm concerned here and in my homeland... companies do not use digital enough as it is... so why push it?

If you want Digitalisation then that means everything...not that I totally agree with it.

Why did Migros Bank send me a paper copy (no thrown away) about new terms and conditions ??? When this could have saved a tree and I could have agreed to it on line anyway????? So companies are not digitalised enough now...

So YES~

Bruno Kaufmann
Bruno Kaufmann
The following contribution has been automatically translated from DE.
@Anonymous

You write: "If we (...) insist on voting on every project that exceeds a certain financial threshold, we will have a big standstill in the administration of the country." But this is precisely the mechanism that the existing financial referendum provides for - in different configurations in the various cantons. And research shows: The more people can have a say in financial matters, the more efficiently business runs, tax evasion falls and happiness grows. Not bad at all.

Sie schreiben: "Wenn wir (...) darauf bestehen, über jedes Projekt abzustimmen, das eine bestimmte finanzielle Schwelle überschreitet, dann werden wir einen großen Stillstand in der Verwaltung des Landes haben." Aber genau diesen Mechanismus sieht das bestehende Finanzreferendum ja genau vor - in unterschiedlichen Ausgestaltungen in den verschiedenen Kantonen. Und die Forschung zeigt: Je mehr die Menschen in Finanzfragen mitentscheiden können, desto effizienter läuft das Geschäft, sinkt die Steuerhinterziehung und wächst das Glück. Gar nicht so übel.

LynxVegas
LynxVegas

Yes - power to the people. Imagine if I had a say in roads and housing. For example, no money for cycle lanes going the wrong way down one way streets. Money from cyclists - road tax, set at the same level as a small car. Housing - more, cheap, Government owned city center properties for single workers. e-cars - grants to help the poor to buy one.

Anonymous
Anonymous

In my home land I must receive a report, yearly, from those companies I have Shares with and it is supposedly 'law'. Yet my home land government doesn't send me anything 'willing' Why is this?

So I for one as much as I don't know.. think Citizens SHOULD be at the basic level involved in Budgets and what the money is for.

How can the USA get away with spending millions on invading other lands without citizens approving this by voting individually rather than electing a Party that does that for them!! This is known as Outsourcing One's Vote.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR