One of my favourite words is “Apoplectic” – it means exactly what it sounds like. And it rolls off the tongue with a forceful tone that tells the listener precisely how one feels. POP POP… almost like a gunshot. A perfect description.
- They are the absolute bane of my existence.
- For the most part, these are people who cannot make it in the private sector, selling themselves as servants of the people, who, once elected, make decisions on our behalf that rarely, if ever, positively impact the poor souls who have put them in the seat.
- All the while consuming our hard-earned taxes by swanning around the world on fancy flights and in luxury hotels, attending “important” conferences, and not really achieving much except spending our money.
- As a perfect example, let's use the South African National budget and all of the goings-on between the various public officials from the plethora of political parties in South Africa, most of whom represent less than 2% of the voters nationally.
- The issue causing all of this hand wringing and self-righteous posturing was/is of course, the proposed VAT increase that moved from a 2% hike to a .5% increase and then to no increase, after almost 6 weeks of arm wrestling and head bashing.
- For starters, let’s simply analyse why the finance minister intended to hike VAT in the first place.
- After 15 years’ worth of mismanagement of Government finances, our debt levels have risen from 25% of GDP to 75%.
- Multiple SOE bailouts, poor policy choices, social grants, and a continuation of largesse, even at one stage having to raid the Reserve Bank's foreign currency profits, leading to multiple downgrades, the Government has simply run out of road.
- The ANC’s solution – raise taxes!!!
- Nothing about cutting the size of the Bloated cabinet. Nothing about cutting the size of the massive bureaucracy, all earning above inflation increases, nothing about policy shift….just raise taxes on an already constrained populace – the very people who put these “honourable public servants” into their seats.
- Enter the DA, with a loud beating of their chests and lots of fanfare, they drew yet another red line in the sand. Over our collective overpaid dead bodies, will we agree to this, they said.
- Except, depending on which media outlet you believe, they were allegedly prepared to agree to the initial 2% increase, so long as the ANC backtracked on EWC and NHI.
- Thus, the initial budget presented to Parliament swiftly collapsed, causing market upheaval amidst all the confusion.
- The process was referred back to Parliamentary committees for resolution, where some smaller parties presented proposals, again, depending on who you believe, may or may not have included a smaller VAT increase.
- The EFF and the DA went to court, and once again, depending on who is telling the truth, the ANC realized that they were going to lose, leading to them approaching the DA for an out of court settlement.
- All of which resulted in the fact that VAT will not be increased (yet).
- Oh man, this is where every political party's PR department sprang into action.
- The ANC said that they have listened to the people, and that they, the ANC, the party (not the Government) didn’t approve the VAT increase in the first place.
- The DA said that they had won a victory for the people.
- Action SA, BOSA, the PA and others said that it was their actions that had staved off a VAT increase.
- In short, everyone claimed victory, with almost everyone blaming the DA.
- The end result of which is that there is still a large budget gap to be filled, with the ANC stating that they will find the money through improved revenue collection, something which the SARS commissioner postulated in the first place.
- However, once again, no change in economic policy, the very thing needed to get us out of this endless cycle of looking for money to plug the funding gaps.
- Growth is what is required.
- Growth requires investors. Investors require confidence. Confidence requires certainty and ease of doing business. We cannot have confidence where, for example, property rights are under threat.
- It's eye wateringly bewildering and if you want to define “self-interest” – this is the very definition of that.
- Oh, and then let’s also talk tariffs and trade wars – in fact, let’s not, because that is just as confusing.
- There are tariffs and then there are not. There is blame gaming and then there is backtracking.
- One thing I am confident about is that for sure the Chinese have gamed out all of the various scenarios being thrown at them from the U.S administration. They have a carefully planned response to all the various tariff messaging coming from across the Pacific.
- Is it any wonder that I have not written anything for a while – I would have to post daily retractions as the messaging changes. Ain't nobody got time for that.
- We should all be Apoplectic. We should all be enraged.
- I suppose I should be grateful. Were it not for politicians all over the world, there would be no requirement for currency traders.
- Doesn’t mean I can’t be apoplectic at the same time.