Tag: Free Market Foundation

During a long conversation with a friend while driving from shutting up a house in Italy for the winter and heading back to Germany, he asked what I thought about the economics of Christmas. One thing I always try to do is think of things people much smarter than I have said. To do that, I have to figure out the best way of approaching the topic.

According to Stats SA, the country has about 58.8 million people living in the country. Of those, 8.8 million pay for private medical cover, and the Council for Medical Schemes’ annual report shows that they pay a collective sum of R179.8 billion a year, at an average contribution rate per member of R1,695.10 per month.

Proponents of socialism and social democracy would have you believe that capitalism is a purely Western construct that carries no deeper legitimacy in terms of our evolutionary development or our historical roots. They claim that the hierarchical nature of capitalism was imposed by the West, and without this system, humans wouldn’t arrange themselves hierarchically.

It is a reality of human nature that across all cultures all people perpetually strive to make improvements in their socioeconomic circumstances. A dream that all human beings strive to achieve. An opportunity to eradicate poverty and can come in a form of a job, education or even becoming a home-owner after an awfully long wait.

Any society that restricts the economic participation of half of its members is doomed to failure, and women make up roughly half of the population in any society. Regression studies reveal that equality before the law is second only to inflation in terms of its contribution to GDP per capita growth.

The Economic Regulation of Transport Bill (B1-2020) published for public comment is problematic across three broad areas. It unnecessarily and unjustifiably expands the extent and potential scope of government interference in the transport sector; like much other legislation it vests executive officials, primarily here the Minister of Transport and the proposed Regulator, with discretionary powers that are not restrained by any objective guiding criteria; and it is clearly aimed at centralising governmental power away from civil society and independent institutions into the hands of the Department of Transport and its Minister. Also, it contains vague provisions that do not meet the requisite quality of legislative drafting.

Mauritius is of serious significance to countries in the Africa sphere. Its high ranking means that the economy of the country is organised in a manner that brings great benefits to its inhabitants. This island country is ranked 7th out of 162 countries in the Economic Freedom of the World Report 2020. 

The National Sport and Recreation Act, 1998, calls itself a statute for the promotion and development of sport. This year’s threatened draft changes would violate the Rule of Law just as the Act’s 2007 amendments do. The 2007 amending statute’s preamble declares that sport belongs 'to the nation'. Its administration, though, is been 'entrusted' to sport bodies.

The best was left for last. If what is promised in the end really happens, we will have a real prospect of desperately needed prosperity and jobs. If we really get reductions in spending and debt, market barriers down by 50%, a seriously reprioritised Budget, release of superfluous air waves spectrum, unbundling of Eskom, private power generation and the like, we will be a freer economy. Freer economies – as measured by the Economic Freedom of the World Index – always and everywhere prosper.

South Africa ranks 90th out of 162 countries and territories included in the Economic Freedom of the World: 2020 Annual Report, released today by the Free Market Foundation in conjunction with Canada’s Fraser Institute.