While this is true (a referendum is relatively easy to trigger) it's still rarely used indiscriminately. Even though only 50'000 signatures are required to cal

While this is true (a referendum is relatively easy to trigger) it's still rarely used indiscriminately. Even though only 50'000 signatures are required to call for a referendum and potentially kill a law, significant resources are required during the referendum phase. Referendums are usually carried by political parties (at least partially) and there's only so much money and man power they can pour into it. There is a positive side effect in referendums in that it usually prevents extreme laws from being made by parliament. It also forces the parliament to compromise on a lot of issues, before a law is enacted. You can argue that compromising is a bad thing. But don't forget that it's a big part of how Swiss politics happen. It's not a winner-takes-all system.