Who would have thought it. "The People Against Rip-Off - Vote Yes on 3 March 2013" reads one of the campaign texts of the "Rip-Off Initiative" (original Swiss German: "Abzocker Initiative"), lesser known as the Minder Initiative after the entrepreneur who started and followed through on it. On 3 March 2013, the Swiss people voted with a 68% majority to legally limit the pay received by CEOs employed with Swiss companies. As measure of enforcement they added up to three years imprisonment and up to six years salary forfeiture. According to German weekly "Der Spiegel", it gives Switzerland one of the strongest CEO pay laws worldwide. The decision represented a historic third-highest majority for all referendums in this small, very wealthy nation. Now, the Swiss did this by constitutional referendum. They were finally and fully fed up with CEO remuneration that has been the highest in Europe, and they have put a stop to it. People Power. The media report this William Tellian feat in various colors and shades. They have also had difficulty with the name of the initiative: "Abzocker Initiative". While "Initiative" is the same as in English, German "Abzocker" is a person who rips people off. The verb is "abzock(en)", while the person who does this action is an "abzocker". This is similar to English with the verb "talk" and the person doing the action a "talker". Now in English, a "ripper-off" or "rip-offer" is unfortunately not known. Most media, not incorrectly and closest to the actual term, decided to simplify and translate the initiative to "Rip-Off Initiative". The original term really targets the person doing the action. Looking for this offender, and rip-off equaling scam, the correct translation is probably "Scammer Initiative". Still, "Rip-Off" does get the point accross quite nicely. But another translation, the almost endearing "Fat Cat Initiative" (BBC) does not. European media have brought the referendum result out as important news, US media show mixed results - basically along the lines of the left-right spectrum, some mentioning the decision with positive commentary, others raising question marks (... Swiss "guinea-pigs"). On some mainstream media this news is difficult or even impossible to find (pst, don't wake any sleeping dogs). See below, too.
Related
http://data.huffingtonpost.com/paypals - 2014-04-28 http://www.alternet.org/corporate-accountability-and-workplace/silicon-valleys-techtopus-inside-one-largest-wage-theft?paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark - 2014-04-27 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/george-osborne-isolated-as-even-swiss-vote-to-limit-executive-pay-8518072.html - 2013-03-05 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/james-moore-precious-little-humility-from-those-at-the-top-despite-banks-misdeeds-8520129.html - 2013-03-05 (mainly second half) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-04/switzerland-land-of-corporate-governance-guinea-pigs.html - 2013-03-05 http://americablog.com/2013/03/switzerland-overwhelmingly-passes-exec-pay-limits.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_campaign=0&utm_content=26985 - 2013-03-04 http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-04/swiss-limits-on-executive-pay-less-than-meets-the-eye - 2013-03-04 http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/03/corporate-profits-are-eating-the-economy/273687 - 2013-03-04 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21647937 - 2013-03-03 (with wrong translation: Fat cat initiative => Rip-off initiative) http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/schweiz-beschliesst-eines-der-schaerfsten-aktiengesetzte-der-welt-a-886640.html - 2013-03-03 (German) http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_CH/ch/services/tax/corporate_tax/e2c460d4adce8310VgnVCM3000001c56f00aRCRD.htm - 2012-07-19 Abzocker Initiative - Ja (Rip-Off Inititative Yes - site) http://www.abzockerinitiativeja.ch (German, French, Italian)