Byron remarks in his Journals that Berne is “the district famous for cheese, liberty, property and no taxes.” He took liberty quite seriously. And also cheese.
|
|||||
|
We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people. Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house] Authors
Arts, Tech & CultureCivil LibertiesCommentary
EconomicsSamizdatistas |
18 comments to What is important |
Who Are We?The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling. We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe. CategoriesArchivesFeed This PageLink Icons   |
|||
All content on this website (including text, photographs, audio files, and any other original works), unless otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons License. |
|||||
Berne a cradle of liberty ? Tell that to the Vaudois !! They suffered under the Bernese yoke for more than 300 years, it took the French invasion to liberate them.
Of course there was the incident in the 18th century when a local militia leader, Major Davel decided to march with his troops on the Capital and kick the Bernese out. But he forgot to order his men to load their weapons so the whole thing fizzled and he was executed.
The lesson being that it is better to carry a loaded gun than to lose your head.
So what are the tax rates today in Berne?
Fairly reasonable:
http://www.wfb.ch/3297/3543/3544/3551/3558.asp
The effective cantonal top rate is a little over 20% But from a British point of view it is the civil approach to the basis of assessment that is the pleasant surprise in the Swiss system.
I am told by a German acquaintance who moved to Switzerland, that in some cantons expatriates make an agreement with the authorities what it would be reasonable to pay in direct taxation, given the canton needs to make something over the services it will provide to them but cannot be bothered with the inhospitality of assessment.
Cheese is a fine thing.
But in moderation – unlike liberty.
What that rather bland stuff will all the holes in it, that the Swiss are so fond of?
Sounds a lot like Liberty to me Grommit!
I think I may have lived in England too long, because I now believe that stilton is the finest cheese there is.
Or it may be that stilton is the finest cheese there is.
Sound man Michael.
I get a Round of Stilton and a few bottles of Port in for the Christmas festivities every year.
Yes there really is nothing finer. Bugger Brie!
I’m fond of stilton and brie! Pretty much any cheese, for that matter. (Except for that odd Italian one with the live maggots in it; I don’t think I could bring myself to try that.)
Stilton is the king of cheeses. Brie de Meaux is Le Roi des Fromages. The English and the French both have a point here, because we are talking two magnificent cheeses.
On the other hand, brie de Meaux is illegal in the US. WTF?
Try a bottle of Madiera. The burnt raisin aftertaste definitely adds something. I hope you don’t make a well in the stilton and pour port in it.
Good cheese, good bread, good wine. What else matters, really?
Well good friends has to be in there too Philip.
I hope you don’t make a well in the stilton and pour port in it.
What kind of philistine do you think I am? I may be Welsh, but we know our cheese! We even have a snack involving it, named after us! 😉
Shouldn’t we be having a bit more of a pop at Byron’s idea of Liberty though? I know he was big on the freedom of Greece from the Ottoman Empire, but generally his idea of Liberty was taking them with other people’s wives.
Nae, Rab. Given enough good wine the company doesn’t matter…
But generally yes, there is nowt so wonderful as a bunch of like-minded friends gathering together over good food and good wine and exchanging ideas. Throw in some good music and I’m there in a New York minute.
Isn’t that amazing? It’s an idea of the good life that has remained the same for thousands of years.
Laird wrote:
Including Velveeta? 😉
Sure, Ted, why not? It has its uses.
What Philip said. It is amazing, but then it really shouldn’t be.
There are better Cantons than Berne (the Social Democrat led home of the Federal administration – and for all the talk of Confederation, Switzerland is really a Federation and has been since 1847).
Of course the Switzerland that Bryon knew really was a Confederation.
As for Byron himself – he was all over the place politically.