Tag: Free Market Foundation

Austrian economists argue that capital is more than just money, it is a living process in which private individuals set aside present consumption, conserve resources, and pour those resources into ventures they believe will yield increase later. That choice demands patience, sound judgment and - above all - ownership.

National Treasury's draft proposal for a 20% national tax on the gross gambling revenue of all forms of online gambling, including online sports betting, which is legal, must be called what it is: a revenue grab. This proposal violates constitutionalism, undermines democratic practice and punishes enterprise. All of this is dressed up as a measure to reduce social harm. It is, in effect, a revenue-driven gambling tax.

The current Businesses Act 1991 requires a business licence to carry on essentially only two categories of business. The Act repealed prior licensing laws that had required many more types of business to be licensed. At the time, the Free Market Foundation through its Law Review Project helped persuade the government to repeal those prior licensing laws and introduce the light-touch 1991 Act.

If you are a vaper in South Africa, you need to understand what is about to happen. Within months, the government’s new Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill will pass through Parliament. When it does, vaping in this country will be finished.

We have called upon Parliament to repeal the Expropriation Act of 2024. We also urge lawmakers to introduce a just and equitable land reform programme that adheres to both the text and the spirit of the Constitution. This is an essential step toward pursuing real land reform.

In a video clip that has gone viral on social media, a South African TikToker by the name of "Voice of RSA" (the Voice hereafter) aims at what he calls the dominance of "trickle-down economics". The TikToker argues that economic growth during the presidencies of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki was essentially jobless

When Jean-Baptiste Say published his Treatise on Political Economy in 1803, he was not trying to be provocative. He was trying to be clear. In doing so, he ended up stating something both obvious and easy to forget: real economic activity begins with production, not consumption.

South Africa needs urgently to reflect on a landmark legislative initiative that is unfolding in the United States of America. Designed to curtail the expansive authority of federal agencies which can issue economically significant regulations without congressional approval, this effort marks a pivotal attempt by American lawmakers to reclaim their constitutionally enshrined role as the nation’s primary lawmakers.

Some months ago, I exchanged views with Buddy Wells, one of South Africa’s more vocal supporters of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). In our debate, he argued a familiar point. According to him, governments can print money to employ the jobless without causing inflation, as long as those being hired are not already doing anything useful.

The charts below, and others like them, are frequently used online and in presentations by economist and author Stephanie Kelton. She uses them to support the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) claim that, contrary to conventional wisdom, government deficits are not harmful. Instead, she argues they represent a gain to the economy.