www.transamericanalliance.org
“DIRECT DEMOCRACY” ENHANCES COUNTRIES’ SOCIO-ECONOMIC STANDING
More than two-dozen countries around the world have held “national electorate referendums”
as some form of “Direct Democracy” since the mid-1800s. But do you know how many times
the United States of America has held national referendums to solicit its voters over the last
220-plus years? Well, let us provide the quick answer: There is no historical precedence.
Judging from empirical research conducted by World Economic Forum and the United Nations,
it is readily apparent that various forms of “Direct Democracy” (such as national referendums,
ballot measures, etc.) have had some degree of translatable, beneficial impact on key
European and Asian countries’ standard of living and economic competitiveness
measurements.
Here are some fast facts:
• The case for “Direct Democracy” is perhaps best illustrated by Switzerland,
which, according to the Centre for Research on Direct Democracy (C2D), has
held over 450 national electorate referendums since 1848 — making it one of
the most affluent, stable countries in Western Europe and the world.
• According to The World Economic Forum's 2007-08 Global Competitiveness
Report, Switzerland ranks as the second-most competitive economy in the world
— behind the United States — despite the fact it is merely 2% of America’s
population (7.5 million people) and half of 1 percent of our country’s land mass
(41,000 kilometers).
• As great as our country is nourishing and supporting business innovation, there
is a huge disconnect in the lowering of America’s Standard of Living scores,
which had the U.S. slipping four slots to be the 12th-ranked country in the United
Nation’s 2007-08 Human Development Index (HDI) report. (The HDI measure
encompasses such criteria as life expectancy, literacy and school enrollment
levels, and gross domestic product and purchasing power of an industrialized
nation.)
• The other six other nations atop the HDI report — Iceland (6 national
referendums), Norway (6), Australia (49), Ireland (29) and Sweden (10) — have
all held national referendums since the turn of the 20th Century. In fact, since
the HDI measure began in 1988, the United States has never held the top
ranking while Canada earned the top slot 10 times, followed by Norway (6
times), Japan (2), and once each for Iceland and Switzerland.

Despite the unparalleled historical prosperity of the United States, the fact is there has been
steady erosion in our country’s’ “Standard of Living” scores, which may mean it is about time
for some form of participatory, “Direct Democracy” in America.
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