Economy calls for measures to curb debt
The Swiss business community says measures must be taken to regulate debt in the social insurance and health sectors.
They say that the financial situation of social insurance is at present “strained”, if not “catastrophic”.
At a news conference in Bern on Friday, the Swiss Business Federation, economiesuisse, and the Swiss Employers’ Association said a debt brake would help ease the burden of debt on future generations.
“What we’re trying to do is to define a rule that assures that we more or less follow the road that is a balance between income and cost, ” Thomas Daum, director of the Swiss Employers’ Association told swissinfo.
“We need some kind of alarm system to avoid that the political system waits too long to have a correction.”
State spending on social insurances and health climbed from 42 per cent of total expenditure in 1990 to 51 per cent in 2005. Estimates say this could reach 65 per cent by 2025.
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