The harshest cuts have yet to happen, but the bite is already being felt.
Unemployment is the main concern for about half of South Africa’s poor population while the other half is concerned about low earnings or the poor quality of work.
Reuters/Jon Herskovitz
One in five workers in South Africa is poor. The plight of the working poor has wide implications. Employers have a responsibility to ensure a minimum level of decent wages.
The South African government should weigh its decision carefully whether to increase value added tax (VAT) as indirect taxes fall most heavily on the poor and the middle class.
Rather than hold on to the idea of equality of opportunity, it might be more accurate to say that we don’t really support it because it comes at too high a price.
What happened to America’s working class?
Lego lunch via www.shutterstock.com
One reason for widening inequality is the decline of unions, which in turn is partly the result of the gradual elimination of the “working class” from our vocabulary.
Equalisers: Argentina’s Cristina de Kirchner, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff, and Uruguay’s Jose Mujica.
EPA/Leo la Valle
One of the great issues of our day is inequality. Whether it is the Greek debt crisis, anxieties about Sydney real estate prices, the continuing resonance of “Occupy” and cries about the “1%”, or the publishing…
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby in the The Great Gatsby. Jay’s story has been used by economists to explain the combination of unequal distribution of income and less economic mobility.
Reuters/Andrew Kelly
Evidence on the ability, or lack thereof, of children to rise above the economic status of their parents shines light on the continued persistence of inequality, including in South Africa.
There is no one perfect package for alleviating poverty, but there is agreement on what the elements should be. Combination and sequence of interventions varies, depending on context and beneficiaries.
Both Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have defended the budget savings as ‘fair’.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Nigeria has been among the fastest growing economies this past decade but only 25% of the country’s population has benefited from this growth, leaving the majority trapped in the informal sector.
There is a gaping hole in South Africa between those who are wealthy, and the working poor
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South Africa’s inequality levels are stark. The rich are super rich, the poor very poor. There’s a gaping hole in the middle and this is the greatest threat to stability.