Monetary Imbalance

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have learnt in my short life that those who invest in the right things, gain the proper dividends. It is a rational and obvious thought. What you invest your energy, resources and money on, will have a direct effect on its prosperity. It's like the principle of the harvest. A farmer will not reap a harvest if he does not sow seeds on the land. It's a basic principle. No seed, no harvest. The farmer can pray, stand on his head or he can blame others or things, no matter what he does, he will not see a harvest. Simply because of one reason, he has not sown seed.

A country who does not invest in the social fibre of it's citizens, can not expect these citizens to enjoy good social welfare. No investments. No dividends.

Let's have a look at South Africa:
South Africa has five Social Grants as from April 1, 2012

Source: Department of Social Development South Africa
Grant Amount (PER MONTH)
Old-age, Disability and Care-Dependency- R1 140 (AU$142.50)
Pensioners over the age of 75- R1 160 (AU$145)
Foster care grant- R740(AU$92.50)
Child support grant -R260 (AU$32.50)
War Veterans’ grant -R1 160 (AU$145)

Now, I have lived in Australia for more than a year now. I am looking at these figures from an outward perspective and just want to speak the facts here. I do not seek to be controversial, but I think someone needs to say something.

Now, let's have a look at 5 similar social grants issued by the Australian government (Queensland). These are payments made under the Social Security Act and Student Assistance Act and New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999. There are about 15 different social welfare payments altogether, including these 5, administered by a body named Centrelink.

Source: Social Security Australia
(The payments are made fortnightly, but I worked it out on a monthly rate..and based on eligibility)
Age Pension - R 11 980.80 (AU$1497.60)
Disability Support Pension - R 10 750.40 (AU$1343.80)
NewStart Allowance (Unemployment benefit) - R 9084.80(AU$456.00 + AU$111.80 for rent assistance)
Youth Allowance (Youth Allowance can assist you if you are a young person who is studying, undertaking training or an Australian Apprenticeship, looking for work, or sick.) - If you live at home with parents and is under 18 (no children) - R 3526.40(AU$ 220.40)If you live at home with parents is above 18 (no children) - R 4240(AU$265.00) If you are under or over 18 and not living at home (no children)- R6443(AU$402.70) If you are single with children - R 8440(AU$527.50).
Baby Bonus (when you have a baby you can get a payment of R 43 496(AU$5437 in 13 fortnightly installments)
Child Care Benefit assists Australian parents with the cost of approved and registered child care. It is a means tested payment and is based on the recipient's taxable income; low income families receive the highest rate of Child Care Benefit.
The Australian Government spent approximately $2.1 billion on Child Care Benefit to assist families with the cost of child care in the financial year ending 30 June 2011

It is easy for me to say, 'Well, this is Australia, and that is South Africa.' Or better yet, the classic cliche,' Australia is a developed country, and South Africa is a developing country, we can not compare the two.' Let me just say, I'm tired of these excuses. Looking at the above-mentioned figures make me sick! This monetary imbalance have been there for too long. Someone needs to say something, do something.

Let's go deeper...

Here is an extract of a Policy Brief by the Inter-Regional Inequality facility issued in February 2006:

"The historical approach to social security in South Africa has been one
of meeting the needs of the white minority. Social security for the
elderly began with the Old Age Pensions Act of 1928, which explicitly
excluded most black South Africans. In 1937 a disability grant was
extended on the same racial basis. In the late 1930s and 1940s, the
social security system was extended more broadly, but with racially
differentiated benefit levels. Even by 1987, child support grants to
blacks remained a small fraction of the size awarded to whites.
In 1994 therefore, the first democratically elected government in
South Africa inherited a fragmented social security system rooted in a
concern for the interests of the apartheid constituency. The challenge
faced by the government was to give meaning to the mandate in the
new Constitution, that “everyone has the right to have access to social
security, including, if they are unable to support themselves and their
dependants, appropriate social assistance” (1996 Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa, Section 27, 1c). At the same time however,
the levels of benefits previously provided to the white minority were
such that they could not be universalised in a fiscally sustainable
manner."

South Africa, with an unemployment rate of more than 26%, and a poverty rate of approximately 50%, should have a government whose sole mandate is to tackle these figures. Surely a system such as Centrelink can not be rolled out overnight, but from my perspective, it should be.

Coming back to Martin Luther King Jr's words,' A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom,' I would like to rephrase... 'A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on political government expenses and not on social uplift, is approaching moral decay.'

Make poverty history!

Clinton Plaatjies for Plato's Republic