Switzerland: Young Liberals push for "administrative brake" on federal staff costs

In Switzerland, a new initiative championed by the Young Liberals (Jungfreisinnigen) seeks to curb the growth of federal government spending on personnel. Titled the "Administrative Brake," the proposal, supported by a broad coalition including parties like the GLP, Mitte, FDP, and SVP, aims to tie the increase in federal personnel costs to the Swiss median wage. The core argument is that the federal administration has experienced unsustainable growth, increasingly competing with the private sector for skilled labor and burdening citizens and businesses with "politically driven bureaucracy."

The initiative draws parallels to the successful "debt brake" (Schuldenbremse) that has governed federal finances for years, ensuring spending does not exceed revenue. By linking personnel expenses to the median wage, the proponents argue that the current number of federal jobs would be maintained, but any future expansion would be directly tied to the economic reality faced by the general workforce. This, they believe, would not only control administrative bloat but also potentially slow down the increasing density of regulations.

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Was wir heute beobachten, ist kein gesundes Wachstum mehr, sondern ein strukturelles Übergewicht der Bundesverwaltung.

Data cited by the initiative's committee suggests that if the "Administrative Brake" had been in place since 2010, federal personnel costs would have risen by a maximum of 17 percent by 2024, mirroring the median wage increase, instead of the actual 32 percent rise. This stark contrast is used to highlight the perceived unchecked growth in federal staffing and associated costs. The initiative aims to ensure that the federal administration's expansion remains in sync with the broader economic conditions of the country, preventing it from becoming an oversized entity detached from the private sector's realities.

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Die "politisch getriebene Bürokratie" belaste Bürger und Unternehmen.