Monday, April 02, 2007

Awkward Silence…Subject Change....

Ok, this has been fun, but the theme of wallowing in my fermented misery has left a dull thud around my mind. For you at least, I am moving on out of this space…

And so on to happier topics, let’s talk about: SA’s Screwed Up Unemployment Situation.

While jobs are being created, this mainly is happening in the service industry. An industry where people are paid not so sweetly for their hourly slaving.

“Most of these jobs are created in the services economy. This has implications for poverty, since it appears that the long-term trajectory in South Africa, as in many other countries, will be one where a large majority of people work, but also live in poverty.”
Miriam Altman, the executive director of the employment, growth and development initiative at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)

So what we are getting is poor people being paid poor wages, but at least they have a job. Something to do in the day, not enough income to pull themselves out of dependence and impoverishment.

Your tips earned should pay for your transport home. Your meagre wages pay for basics to live. You hope.

Great.

So not even when we have created the jobs, are they necessarily solving one poverty problem.

THEN, to quote Professor Haroon Bhorat, director of the development policy research unit at the University of Cape Town, “Job creation has, on average, been increasing by 1%. With the population growing at about 2,8%”.

While Rudi Dicks points out that “There are approximately 300 000 to 350 000 new entrants to the labour market each year, thus job creation will fall far short of our overall objectives of halving unemployment by 2015.

What this means: Stop pomping people!!

We do not have the ability to cope with all of us already! Making more of us, while we also seem to be willingly making Zimbabweans secondary SA citizens, means there will not be enough “middle-and-lower-income-cash” for all of us. (Was this a slight jab at the tremendous disparities of income in this country? Hmmm. Maybe.)

There is so much more about Asgisa, “the most vital of the government’s growth initiatives” in the article, that are able to depress you into hopelessness, but I think that I have managed to make a sterling subject change for now….

11 comments:

ChewTheCud said...

Happier topics? HAPPIER TOPICS? Sometimes I think you just like being miserable! And making other people miserable! What happened? It's Monday, a whole mess of people just finished telling you how incredible, gorgeous, talented and awesome you are and now you post this? I really think you need to take this Personality Test! Right now! Do it!

Anonymous said...

What this means: Stop pomping people!!

... but i'm just getting back into pomping people...

Champagne Heathen said...

Chews - maybe THAT'S the issue! ;) I think I am just fascinated by puzzles, and SA is one of the most massive of all puzzles! Maybe you just need to give me a JUMBO SUDOKU AND CROSSWORD book & I'd be happy! :)

Thegodowner - Well, then, you just wrap up!!

Rob - It does seem kinda unfair to make the poor guys stop shagging, but if the EU stats are to be trusted...

Better family planning strategies would be ideal. But I don't think we've figured out such strategies. Right now we just kinda beg.

Maybe we need to do one mass exchange with Japan. I hear they're on the other end of the population problem scale!

Revolving Credit said...

Professor Borat

Rudi Dicks


R U serious??
Are these actually REAL people??

Champagne Heathen said...

Rob - I am checking out that slide show as we speak (I type)...slow internet enforces multitasking.

Virgin now has condoms??

Rev - April Fools perhaps?? Except the dates don't match. But maybe they are being that tricky this time.

Phlippy said...

I just realised i read your post and didn't comment... am feeling stupid now. Did what you were doing a while ago.

Here for you Champers, as always, a phonecall away

DaveRich said...

A good waiter makes a fortune, could be up to R8000 a month.
Its the back of house people I often wonder about.
We provide transport home at nights for the staff but they have to find their own way to work.
One guy lives in Vereeniging and pays his own way from town at night time. Its mad.

Champagne Heathen said...

Phlips - that's cause you are so busy being a 300 leading man. Thank hon!

DaveRich - To Vereeniging every night? That's insane! That's further than Orange Farm & I know their transport costs to town were barely worth the trip. Ouch!

Mr Memetic said...

I actually have really strong feelings about this subject.

I agree with the post. It's like, things happen in waves. And it's like we're going backwards, back towards a serfdom, or even worse...

And as hectic as it is having poor people, disadvantaged by lot, etc, being little more than slaves subject to the whim of the *VARIOUS* aspects of the market (remember when the Rand dropped, and food prices went up? Funny how it didn't balance out when the Rand went up again...), but to have highly qualified people slogging like dogs to the point where they have to give up, almost, on actually living. I have a friend, a good person, a kind person supremely talented at her job, but she's paid fuck all, but recently promoted. Promoted in responsibility but not in pay?!

Humanity is slowly poisoning itself. And the poison is not drugs, alcohol or sex. Those are just side effects of the real problem. But we're corrupted.

We are in decay.

Champagne Heathen said...

Ohgod, I hope not. I hope that we are just in the same space, and that we kid ourselves that we are developing. I'd rather have that then regressing.

I think this definitely is a subject I need a holiday from. I think I losing any hope of any change, and then have to ask, "So what the hell am I doing every day".

Bugger it. I am going to eat a chocolate now.

Mr Memetic said...

Didn't mean to make you eat chocolate. Oops. I get satisfaction from venting, I guess, but like hot air vents, it's others who end up with rising tempratures (possible sp.)...

Bugger. Well, I noticed you post on "First Build God". He's a personal friend of mine, though you wouldn't think so based on the nature of my posts (which is under Mr Memetic), but he's actually an awesome dude and he lets me make snarky comments, which is legendary of him.

But anyway, he basically quit his job to go travelling (into forests to lick strange frogs). That's after he spent five years making sh*tloads of money.

It is possible to control your destiny, to make a plan, to escape serfdom.

I'm working on my own plan as we speak...