Piketty fails to convince in arguments on inequality
His crypto-Marxism, moribund ideology and muddled thinking are concealed by an intellectual sleight of hand in his book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, writes Leon Louw
STREET DOGS: Do as they say …
… and not as they do. Because experts don’t always follow their own advice, writes Michel Pireu
Counting unhatched chickens after Bucs win par for the course for country
Lavish pre-victory celebrations a unique South African distraction Pirates can ill afford — just ask Carlos Alberto Parreira, writes Mninawa Ntloko
Piketty’s wealth tax fails to solve SA’s inequality riddle
Celebrity economist Thomas Piketty underplays South African fiscal policy makers’ strongly redistributive thrust in democratic era, writes Hilary Joffe
Super-rich thwart fight against inequality
Governments face a more complicated reality — the super-rich have literally become ungovernable and untaxable, writes Zama Ndlovu
Local business views recycled as world opinion
World Economic Forum survey a ‘world opinion’ fallacy of prismed views to support business and blame government, writes Steven Friedman
THE INSIDER: Green light for safe and reliable trains
Prasa’s fired former boss may be on the last safe, reliable and efficient train to nowhere
Noah must nail political colours to the mast
South African comedian Trevor Noah should not sit on fence any longer — we need him to cut through perplexing, self-defeating nature of politics and lighten our load, writes Nomalanga Mkhize
Previous columns
Work ethic underpins Duminy start
JP Duminy makes all the difference with seven sixes in brilliant two-runs-a-ball innings to win the match, writes Neil Manthorp
DA moves quickly to neutralise racism irritant
Party’s swift action against Kohler Barnard fuelled by possibility too many voters still regard Democratic Alliance as a racist party, writes Aubrey Matshiqi
Likes of Bra Dods will address lack of black bankers
The sooner we accept that the pipeline of good black bankers is short, the better, writes Phakamisa Ndzamela
The DA’s ANC moment
Judgment against tyrannical king Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo exposes the Democratic Alliance’s craven self-interest and gutless expedience, writes Gareth van Onselen
ON THE WATER: We can all see through transparent party punt
Anglo American Platinum chairman Valli Moosa’s expedient call for transparent party-political funding a classic straw man fallacy, writes Neels Blom
ON THE MONEY: SA needs transparency about wealth — starting with companies
Corporate secrecy is pervasive. Unless a company is listed, there’s almost no way to find information about its financial position, writes Stuart Theobald
ON WORK: Hands up if you can say what your company’s values are
Values may be important, but they are also slippery. When anyone tries to write them down they become trite and unhelpful , writes Lucy Kellaway
Boks starting to look like a team that can challenge the best
Handré Pollard shines as Springboks march emphatically to a World Cup quarter-final, writes Mark Keohane
Civil society has a job to do against the corrupt
Corruption not simply a matter of a few individuals stealing from public coffers, but it is an institutional culture, writes Mzukisi Qobo
HALF ART: If self-incrimination stirs no outrage, beware
Nigerian Adejoke Tugbiyele’s art touches on local manifestations of global issues: migration and its dangers, energy crises, crumbling urban infrastructure, consumerism, writes Chris Thurman
STREET DOGS: We delude ourselves
We want not only to be loved, we want to think of ourselves as lovely, writes Michel Pireu
LAW MATTERS: JSC interviews not for faint-hearted
Judicial Service Commission veteran Franny Rabkin considers advising aspirant judges on minefield of rigorous vetting from Broederbond ties to ‘Yini umehluko?’
Bank must heed past inflation targeting lessons
Inflation targeting provides clarity when economic turbulence generates conflicting calls on interest rates, writes Gavin Keeton
STREET DOGS: Your tolerance for financial risk is what it is
Your tolerance for financial risk is what it is and not what it could or should be, writes Michel Pireu
Social media polarises discourse
What makes false dichotomies in social media so dangerous is they are hugely divisive, writes Bronwyn Nortje
AT HOME AND ABROAD: US lurch to the right bodes ill for the world’s democracies
Social democracies of northern Europe are models to follow not extremism of Jeremy Corbyn and Donald Trump, writes Allister Sparks
Irregular spending does not go into a hole to rot
Government ‘wasted expenditure’ lines pockets and finds its way back to economy, writes Xhanti Payi
Why state enterprises will never get it right
Nothing can change the extent to which SOEs are doomed until enlightenment and reality replace antiprivatisation fanaticism, writes Leon Louw
THE INSIDER: A not-so-bright future awaits
Before a cash injection ANC Youth League’s English-writing skills need a shot in the arm
Mining big ideas for wisdom
The nature of human psychology is such that you’ll torture reality so it fits your models, writes Michel Pireu
Chinese deserve BEE benefits
Opposed voices argue that some Chinese people must be stripped of their BEE status, writes Phakamisa Ndzamela
VRROOM WITH A VIEW: Rocky road ahead for backfiring motor industry
It looks like the South African motor industry is in for a particularly tough year, writes Alexander Parker
THE INSIDER: Blowing their own toy trumpet
Big-talking security firm no stickler for reality as it issues toy guns to guards at municipal water plants in Klerksdorp
Stop the world, I want to invest
Mega-shifts that technology will bring will create opportunities for those who can correctly predict their effect on companies, writes Michel Pireu
UNEMBARGOED: Saving the ANC will take drastic measures
The ANC, an organisation that sees itself as an organism, is a shadow of its former self, writes Songezo Zibi
ANC and thuggery have some of our universities on the run
Universities under siege by ruling party bent on capturing ‘centres of power’ too weak or supine to resist, as well as from student thuggery, writes John Kane-Berman
Africa needs more clout in UN security council
Africa has important role in peacekeeping missions yet continues to be marginalised in United Nations decision-making often dominated by France, the UK and the US, writes Adekeye Adebajo
STRAIGHT TALK: How to outsmart global bullies
SA remains an attractive capital destination, but we should be wary of those who see us as a takeover target, writes Mark Barnes
LIQUID INVESTMENTS: All divisions add to success of Cape wine sector
Cape wine industry splits into three broad divisions and each has its own unique selling proposition, writes Michael Fridjhon
THE INSIDER: You have two choices: pay up or pay up
Just admit to debt, give written consent to a monthly repayment, and all will be fine
Few notice the power play in the countryside
Apartheid’s pernicious forms of power live on in SA’s rural areas as government twists communal tenure to create blocs of ethnic power, writes Jonny Steinberg
Old school blue chip trackers still hard to beat
Traditional blue chip tracking index funds demonstrate theory that average returns of stock markets better than what most actively managed funds achieve in given year, writes Robert Laing
Benefits of having a thick skin in advertising
Resilience and a tough hide are needed for creatives in sometimes treacherous advertising industry, writes Suhana Gordhan
EDITOR’S NOTE: Lessons to be learnt from VW Dieselgate scandal
Dieselgate should open up the debate on vehicle emissions standards in SA, writes Mark Smyth
THE INSIDER: Feeling low about the state of higher learning
South African universities showing in global ranking of 800 institutions appears distinctly underwhelming
DA’s antidemocratic biases come to light
Democratic Alliance defaults to heavy-handed sloganeering in line with political climate and so misses informed solutions, writes Steven Friedman
SA could learn from France’s appetite for investment
France is world leader in tourism and does not shrink from global competition for investor capital, writes Hilary Joffe
Scorned Johnson has little sympathy for beleaguered coach Igesund
It seems relationship between the two coaches was irreparably damaged after Gordon Igesund replaced Cavin Johnson as United coach in August last year, writes Mninawa Ntloko
STREET DOGS: Timeless advice
Still valid: general rules offered by Benjamin Graham back in 1951, writes Michel Pireu
LETTER FROM LONDON: Rand’s inexorable slide can help focus the mind
Like the Boks against Japan, we seem unable or unwilling to take the points that a weaker rand offers, writes Marvin Meintjies
THE INSIDER: Pick up the Rolls and run with it …
Rolls-Royce’s latest wheeze is to latch on to the World Cup Rugby tournament in England
VRROOM WITH A VIEW: Egg on red faces of green VW and diesel lobby
Volkswagen to pay a heavy price for deception, but sheer scale of its technical prowess and employment record cannot override brief slip in ethical standards, writes Alexander Parker
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