Thursday, February 23, 2012

How to get screwed on a budget

"Please, sir, I want some more." (Dickens)

It is said that the more things change, the more they tend to stay the same. Such is the feeling after the pious budget speech delivered with much smurkiness by the positively radiant South African Minister of Finances on Wednesday the 22 February 2012.

We, the people, have been told to work together towards building a better country. And with that emotive aphorism, all is well in the land of the living. Or so we are told.

We were even told that if we think that running a democracy is easy that we should go and work with 'them' for a while. If this is not a veiled threat of 'we know what we are doing,' then I don't know what the meaning of a veiled threat is!?

What irks me the most is the constant fleecing of the motorist whenever funds are required to pay for financial blunders by those that have our best interests at heart? If this is having our best interests at heart, I would hate to see what it would mean to be on their bad side!?

And as predicted, the e-tolling system is going ahead. The difference is that the motorist will now not only be paying the tolling taxes as one drives through the numerous tolling gantries but also paying for the tolling deficit through the fuel levy. Is this what is meant by being cautiously optimistic?

On the plus side, the platitudes for the wonderful buoyant budget-speech have been flowing freely by all financiers, bankers, political parties and most news agencies. I, for one, can't wait for the post-mortem.

At least we the people are assured that the sun will continue to shine and the moon to wax and wane.

Comment: if Governments have to power to print money when required (and they do,) why is the concept of taxation still in existence?

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