There is still some sanity in Europe. On Sunday, 79% of Swiss voters rejected imposing an inheritance tax on estates worth over $62 million. The proposed wealth tax failed in all 26 Swiss cantons. The tax would have confiscated 50% of a lifetime of wealth.

Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter hailed the decision, saying “We already have enough redistribution today.”

The Swiss also jealously guard their civil liberties. On Sunday, 84% of Swiss voters also rejected requiring every citizen, regardless of gender, to do national service in the army or in civilian work. And the city of Zurich rejected imposing a speed limit of about 20 miles per hour on its roads.

Our friend Dan Mitchell tells us there’s a long tradition of sensible votes in Switzerland, which accounts for much of its prosperity and growth:

• • • In 2001, the people of Switzerland voted by a 5-1 margin in favor of a national spending cap.
    • In 2014, Swiss voters overwhelmingly killed a minimum-wage mandate.
    • Also in 2014, the voters rejected single-payer healthcare in a landslide.
    • In 2016, there was a landslide vote against a scheme to provide universal basic income.
    • In 2023, voters in Geneva rejected a wealth tax.

No wonder the Swiss are so wealthy. They reward wealth and entrepreneurship rather than punish it.