Comments on: A new beginning in Zurich, “the world’s most livable city” http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2008/08/07/a-new-beginning-in-zurich-the-worlds-most-livable-city/ for students and teachers of AP and IB Economics Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:11:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Jason Welker http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2008/08/07/a-new-beginning-in-zurich-the-worlds-most-livable-city/#comment-5452 Jason Welker Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:50:54 +0000 http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/?p=529#comment-5452 Joel says: "who are the undisclosed clientele who put their money in our banks and prop up the Swiss economy? Could our prosperity be linked to dictators or even mass murderers’ money sitting in our banks?" Mr. Welker says: Probably, that is the case. I would have to learn more about the whole story with Switzerland's banking regulations and discloser laws. I have read a couple of interesting books that relate to some of this though. "Confessions of an Economic Hitman" and more recently "A Game as Old as Empire" which talks a lot about offshore banking and how development AID to many African nations has ended up in the offshore bank vaults of contless dictators in place like, yes, Switzerland. Joel says: “who are the undisclosed clientele who put their money in our banks and prop up the Swiss economy? Could our prosperity be linked to dictators or even mass murderers’ money sitting in our banks?”

Mr. Welker says: Probably, that is the case. I would have to learn more about the whole story with Switzerland’s banking regulations and discloser laws. I have read a couple of interesting books that relate to some of this though. “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” and more recently “A Game as Old as Empire” which talks a lot about offshore banking and how development AID to many African nations has ended up in the offshore bank vaults of contless dictators in place like, yes, Switzerland.

]]> By: Joel http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/2008/08/07/a-new-beginning-in-zurich-the-worlds-most-livable-city/#comment-5451 Joel Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:32:31 +0000 http://welkerswikinomics.com/blog/?p=529#comment-5451 Hi Mr. Welker One issue you might want to follow up on is that of the Swiss banking secrets. As you may well know, there have been some recent conflicts with our banks' confidentiality policies and court cases in the United States. If Swiss banks begin to make compromises, or are forced to disclose privileged information about their clients, their principal sales pitch would be all but destroyed. Swiss banks would be just the same as any other banks around the world, and people would take their money elsewhere. What kind of an impact could such an eventuality have on the Swiss economy, one which is substantially based on financial services? More on an ethical note, who are the undisclosed clientele who put their money in our banks and prop up the Swiss economy? Could our prosperity be linked to dictators or even mass murderers' money sitting in our banks? Hi Mr. Welker

One issue you might want to follow up on is that of the Swiss banking secrets. As you may well know, there have been some recent conflicts with our banks’ confidentiality policies and court cases in the United States.

If Swiss banks begin to make compromises, or are forced to disclose privileged information about their clients, their principal sales pitch would be all but destroyed. Swiss banks would be just the same as any other banks around the world, and people would take their money elsewhere. What kind of an impact could such an eventuality have on the Swiss economy, one which is substantially based on financial services?

More on an ethical note, who are the undisclosed clientele who put their money in our banks and prop up the Swiss economy? Could our prosperity be linked to dictators or even mass murderers’ money sitting in our banks?

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