If you could sharply improve SA as measured by one metric, which metric would you choose? Why? The intersection of our politics and economics resembles a traffic circle where potholes block exits and the signposts are obscured by political placards proclaiming platitudes. Despite surveys identifying jobs as the voters’ top concern, our economic debates fixate…Continue reading SA’s unignorable harbinger

ANC’s legacy, a democracy extinguished? When important people are old or very sick, newspapers don’t wait for them to die to start writing their obituaries.  This month’s voting could be our last legitimate national election. The terminal decline could be accelerating by this time next month. When reading an obituary, we want to know the…Continue reading Our democracy: A draft obituary

AI is turning into a formidable antidote, but it may be too late to stop the march to Marxist paradise True or false: “The truth will set you free”? Elon Musk has been saying artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to more truthful media. Yet May’s vote could be our last legitimate election. When ChatGPT and…Continue reading Why May’s vote could be our last legitimate election

If next month they form a national ruling coalition with the EFF or MK, ANC leaders will have decided to avoid legitimate elections in 2029. South Africa has the world’s most entrenched youth unemployment crisis. Over the next five years, the number of permanently marginalised young-ish adults will rise more than a million. As the…Continue reading If SA’s democracy experiment fails

By reframing our challenges we can identify innovative solutions to the economy and joblessness SA has the world’s highest youth unemployment, and it is routinely presumed that economic growth is the necessary remedy. Rather, innovative thinking is required. It seems reasonable to expect that if an economy swiftly expanded — say 30% — employment should…Continue reading What a bus stuck in mud says about our economy

After thirty years of promising ‘a better life for all,’ ANC rule has entrenched rampant poverty and world-topping youth unemployment. If, as the lead partner in a national coalition government, the party continues to govern badly, it will prompt a hectic backlash. For centuries, long-lived grandparents have witnessed some of their offspring becoming much better…Continue reading Sacrificing dignity perilously

SA should develop paths to integrate into the global economy, as the UAE and Israel have done Without a major pivot to pro-growth policies, our economy will wobble until it tumbles. An ANC-EFF coalition looks increasingly likely. The new MK party might then support coalition efforts to cripple constitutional protections necessary for legitimate elections.  If…Continue reading SA’s plight should warn Africa not to do the same

If we were to somehow surge job creation by increasing regional exports, our neighbours would be worse off and South Africa’s gains would be short-lived. By better appreciating the dynamics behind this, we can identify high-growth paths. Africa, with 18% of the world’s population, accounts for barely 3% of global GDP. This puts its share…Continue reading SA’s misplaced African hopes

Only intense dread would motivate the ANC and the DA to form a national coalition government Only tremendous fear would motivate the ANC and the DA to form a national coalition government. The ANC must fear rampant domestic turmoil amid SA lacking international support. The DA must fear the death of our democracy. The ANC…Continue reading Fear or hope could inform election outcomes

We must support policies which tame poverty and unemployment even if they increase inequality. Many people maintain that inequality can always be reduced by making taxes more progressive. But raising taxes for high income earners can result in fewer jobs and more poverty.  Reducing poverty while broadly improving living standards requires increasing productivity. Placing an…Continue reading Thank – don’t tax – the rich