I am a bit tired that every discussion starting on a valid personal finances topic often derails into endless drama about politics and people’s personal choice (unrelated to personal finance).
I used to think that I should let people discuss anything and everything on this forum, but the amount of drama makes it actually harder to find the relevant information in the discussion. Especially when we reach a point when people don’t participate to debate, but to put their opinion in the middle, not being prepared to change its mind, and somehow thinking that the other side will change theirs.
It’s hard enough to have accurate financial expertise on this forum, I don’t expect any of you to be an absolute expert on topics as varied as public healthcare, childcare, should-people-have-kids-or-not, taxation policies and what have you.
(If we have the extraordinary chance that one of you is actually an expert in one of those fields, great. If that’s the case, please link your arguments to scientific white-papers).
So from now on, a few guidelines, with examples of the few last heated discussions:
- I don’t care if you think people should have kids or not, or if mom or dad should automatically leave their job. What’s relevant is how much childcare costs and what the opportunity cost is.
- Taxation levels are what they are, I don’t expect any of you to have any power to change them in Switzerland, or in EU or in the world (the obvious exception would be a new votation on this exact topic in CH). Therefore I don’t want to hear how socialistic or capitalistic the world should be, or if Ayn Rand is the solution to all world’s problem. This topic always degenerate, here or on thousands of other forums on the Internet.
- On the other hand, what I’d encourage to discuss on the taxation topic is: given my current situation, and the current taxation levels in CH, what should I do to best meet my personal finance objectives?
- I don’t care about your opinion about public health policies, mask mandates, vaccination and so on. Over the last two years, public experts have changed their opinion on those topics two or three times, and once again it would be a miracle if we had a virology/immunology/publich health policy expert among us that happens to have studied this exact topic during his whole career. Seeing how much drama and irrelevant content this topic has generated on this forum over the last years, let’s not add more salt to the wound.
I am not sure yet how I will enforce those new rules. But if I see yet another thread where 5% is relevant personal finance information and the rest is endless drama where people spread their personal political agenda, I will start taking measures, including temporary and definitive bans.