The government's plan to end a grant on which millions of people rely to get by is a huge political mistake and will also harm the economy. So why is it planning it? Because deep prejudices ensure that when well-off people get a subsidy, it is praised. When poor people get a grant, it is denounced by the minority who decide what the rest of us should think.
This is the argument of my weekly Against the Tide column sent out to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, please visit the Against the Tide website. To discuss a free or reduced subscription, contact info@againstthetide.co.za.
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.
