Against the Tide by Steven Friedman

The national treasury wants the government to cut its spending. It believes that it must keep a tight lid on its finances to attract investors. Its critics say that it needs to do the opposite - to spend more to grow the economy. But, right now, how much the government spends is less important than how it spends what it has. Spending often does not meet the needs of most people because the government often offers people what it thinks they need, not what they think they need.

This is the argument of my weekly Against the Tide column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, please visit the Against the Tide website or contact us at info@againstthetide.co.za to request a free or reduced subscription. 

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.