Share prices
in the USA are setting new highs every day. This is not the sort of behaviour
associated with the forthcoming economic depression being forecast by most of the
talking heads. One side in this debate is badly misinterpreting the signals and
Tidemarks is starting to wonder if most
of us are unable to grasp that the internet is facilitating the development of
a huge, significant but somewhat opaque economic force. Are countless billions
of transactions perhaps unintentionally but more likely deliberately simply bypassing
the traditional models and methods of data collection and surveillance? Even
casual users of the internet’s services will have noticed the recent appearance
alerts about cookies and other monitoring tools. These messages are presumably prompted
by official demands that service providers get to know their clients. But the
only way to control this genie is to shut down the internet – a method tried by
some countries recently but doomed to failure as satellite coverage of the
globe grows. It’s a difficult time to be a despot or a financial analyst.
So this
fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is real then? And like other social upheavals
worthy of that name, it is leaving all but a few scrambling for understanding
of the details. Furthest in the rear are of course the politicians who depend
on being able to maintain different persona depending on their audience and don’t
appreciate having their insincerities exposed.
It is a great
pity that the world is already over-supplied with hypocrisy because we here in
South African have tons of the finest A-Grade stuff ready to export. The brazen
insouciance and stunning ignorance that our putative leaders display in dealing
with the vital and critical matters that they need to solve for the future of
our nation is breath-taking and dispiriting. They change their minds and stance
just as fast as some of them can shuck a red overall and slide into an
impeccable suit. The shocking behaviour by the MPs of the EFF party towards a
minister who obviously scares them deserves far stronger sanction than so far
administered.
In the presence
of overwhelming evidence that governments are terrible at running things,
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has paused in his hobby of producing on-line
cooking lessons to announce the formation of a government-owned bank. The implicit reason for such a move is that
existing commercially owned banks don’t care much about the poor. Well, true.
The poor are generally not great clients for banks but nevertheless a feature
of the recent financial landscape has been the formation of several banking
enterprises which admirably can see benefits in catering to our many currently unbanked
citizens. Taxpayers, who presumably will be expected to fund this state bank venture,
would be delighted to be provided with both a business plan and a form with
which to accept or decline to participate. Come to think of it we still haven’t
been told how the grandiose National Health Insurance scheme will work, beyond
the rumours that the state will decide where, under what conditions and for
what rewards all the nation’s doctors will practice. Cue even more stories
about internationally in demand professionals flocking to the airports.
What would be
more useful from this minister would be an explanation for why our currency has
strengthened around 8% so far this month and an assurance that he will keep it
on that track.
Even Lewis
Hamilton is finding the amount of televised sport on offer this weekend
overwhelming. And he gets to watch the Silverstone Grand Prix from the best
seat in the house, his own car. The rest of us must shoehorn that event in between
the men’s Wimbledon final, the cricket world cup final, the Tour de France,
Currie Cup rugby and replays of the few games that Bafana and the Proteas have
won in recent weeks. Demanding and dedicated couch surfing awaits.
James Greener
Friday 12th July 2019
