Updated 24 November 2009
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* Government wants more control of gambling
A recent study excluding the national lottery found that the gambling sector contributes 0.93% to total GDP and provides 0.9% of total employment. Provinces benefit from tax revenues from gambling casinos. But the urge to regulate in order to
Updated 09 June 2009
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* Regulation kills the better life – 09 June 2009
Regulation is a form of taxation, as Wayne Crews and Ryan Young of Americas Competitive Enterprise Institute explain. Alongside USAs new TARP $787-billion stimulus bill and projected $1,845 trillion budget deficit sits yet another trillion-dollar poker
Updated 29 September 2009
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* Freeing the labour market would help growth
The World Economic Forums recent Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010 places SA at number 106 regarding flexibility of its labour laws. It also ranks SA 125 with hiring and firing procedures, just behind Brazil but ahead of Italy and
Updated 27 October 2009
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* Politicians should have to explain themselves
Business Days Tim Cohen sums up the labour-broking row. SA has constructed one of the industrial worlds most restrictive, worker-friendly regimes. Its hard to fire anyone, so companies are reluctant to hire. Hence the burgeoning labour-broking process as companies
Updated 25 August 2009
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* Parastatals carry too many burdens
Washingtons Cato Institute identifies eight costs of big government. Three extraction, displacement and negative multiplier costs – relate to tax revenues or how much of GDP the state commandeers for its own use. Three market price distortion, inefficiency
Updated 24 February 2009
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Boosting farming – 24 February 2009
In the private sector, successful large commercial farmers tend to buy up smaller farms. The number of farms in active production fell from 57 980 in 1993 to under 40 000 in 2007, and gross farming sector income rose from
Updated 28 April 2009
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* Scrap BRT white elephants and deregulate taxis? – 28 April 2009
Under construction towards next years football extravaganza, Joburgs Rea Vaya bus rapid transit system embodies government hope of recapturing the commuter transport business for the state. The largely informal and tax-avoiding private taxi industry
Updated 26 May 2009
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* China: Reducing tax by 19.5% of GDP gets 8% growth! – 26 May 2009
Although bank lending surged this year, 40% of it went to government projects. Private companies arent getting enough access to financing as banks play it safe. Economic uncertainly underpins the need
Updated 25 March 2009
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* Labour is a protected, vanishing species
Stewart Jennings of car parts association Naacam suggests that employment should become the new economic vision for SA. As well as anti-dumping taxes and a cheaper rand, he wants government to intervene because the labour movement has far too
Updated 16 December 2008
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* All we are saying is give growth a chance – 16 December 2008
Metropolitan Asset Managers economist Rejane Woodroffe thinks people are likely to use their savings from Reserve Bank interest rate cuts to pay back debt. She reckons its up to government to make
