So the NHI is predicted to cost R125bn in 2012 rising to R214bn by 2020. I need to dig into this more, but I researched on StatsSA website: 2009 personal income tax raised as R154bn. This excludes SITE, but still asks a very specific question about affordability.
South Africa’s unemployment is a different creature from that in the US and in the developed world’s papers at the moment. We don’t have a cyclical lack of demand (although demand isn’t as robust as I’d like). Â We have massive, unmanaged structural unemployment in large sectors of the economy. I say “in large sectors of…
I really enjoyed Paul Krugman’s analysis of differences between French and US GDP per capita. (It’s very short and very readable.) In short, the French are less productive than the Americans, they just work less (for good and bad reasons). Â This highlights the dangers of using measures and analytics lightly without understanding/allowing for other differences.
Divorce is becoming less popular, the world didn’t end at the end of the millenium and StatsSA makes it hard for us to draw conclusions.
I’ve been exploring the 2007 Census data for South Africa, mostly just to see what is available. I was checking the reasonability of some marital status assumptions for pensions valuations, which got me looking at the marital status info from the Census. Some interesting descriptive graphs. First, let’s look at the total population. (Note this…
I have a clear strategy for how not to lose money playing the Make a Million competition. As I explain it, you may come up with some smart tactics to win the competition and enhance your returns, but you’re on you’re own there. So, how does one not lose money with the Make a Million…
The Economist has a brilliant interactive chart showing nominal house price growth across a range of countries, including South Africa. It’s clear, as we already know, that South African house price increases have been dramatic. Somehow though, seeing it on a graph with a range of other countries brings it into sharper focus. Our property…
In broad terms, we are all mostly ignorant. Worse than ignorant, we have notions and views, firmly held, that are entirely incorrect. We only complain about what we don’t like Nobody complains to their boss that they are overpaid. Nobody complains that their pension or social security increases were above inflation last year. We don’t…
