Tag: Free Market Foundation

The unfettered liberty for individuals to pursue their socioeconomic aspirations so long as there is no force or fraud entailed in their endeavours should be the cornerstone and point of departure for all government policies. This principle should also be the litmus test in reviewing existing policies in order to expunge bad ones from the statute books.

Israel approved the ‘Open Skies’ agreement with the European Union in 2013. The goals were to increase the number of foreign airlines operating in the country, expand the number of routes served, lower fares and stimulate tourism. An Open Skies setup makes it easier for airlines to negotiate their own terms for operation with their intended partner/particular airport.

Tragedies, such as legislated racism and disrespect for individual and property rights are generally manufactured by individuals with malign political intentions. The adoption of The Natives’ Land Act, 1913, is a historical example of this kind of political manipulation and these tragic consequences are with us today. Unfortunately, South Africans appear to be about to once again become the victims of the same kind of political manipulation.

The invention of money allowed people to replace their original system of trade, which was barter. Instead of swapping one good or service for another, the creation of money allowed people to buy what they wanted on credit.

In the real world of economic consequences, the NMW is set to harm a great many unfortunates who currently earn incomes that are well below the NMW. The NMW will cause many to lose their jobs and make it even more difficult for the 9.48 million unemployed to access jobs.

South African Airways (SAA) is at the point where it must be either privatised or liquidated. The latest bailout only prolongs the pain inflicted on the South African tax payer.

If the constitutionality of the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (Act 70 of 1970) was challenged in the Constitutional Court it would likely lead to the repeal of the subdivision restriction on farmland. This would make small farms much more affordable in South Africa.

Every earner is taxed. Through one kind of tax or another, government takes a bit out of everyone’s earnings. This means everyone is forced to spend some months working for government. Tax Freedom Day is the day on which average South African income-earners at last start working for themselves, the day on which they have finally paid their tax bill in full.

Government’s 2016 ICT policy, and by extension the new Electronic Communications Amendment Bill, however, exacerbates the bad aspects of the ECA and then also introduces bad (and potentially bad, given the Bill’s ambiguity) new policies.

Nationalisation of property, inefficient State-owned enterprises, raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21, and higher taxes in a low-growth environment. These ideas have all been tried elsewhere. And they have failed consistently, with few exceptions.