There was a time not that long ago that if you had $1 million you were considered wealthy and well set. These days I would say $1 million is seen as a good start and you would need to add an extra zero on that figure at least. Being in the top 1% in South Africa you would need to have more than $1 million and it seems like pocket change when you start seeing what things cost today. The ones who are not complaining are the ones who have stolen their wealth and there are plenty of those types around. Money is now like Monopoly money and I see money in a far different light these days as it is worthless.
This morning whilst out driving I saw a billboard for a new residential complex offering a 1 bedroom apartment in a not so great area for R720K. This I thought was rather scary as very little makes sense financially any more and from where I am standing the middle class is being destroyed. You are either financially well off or you have nothing and there is no real middle ground any more.
Money may have had some sort of value 10-20 years ago, but I do not see that value today and the prices are just silly money for most things. You start wondering when is this going to stop and more importantly can it stop or is this the new future. I do have a hard time comprehending the prices I see today knowing the same item was less than 70% 5 years ago and struggle to justify the purchase. Income has not risen by 70% over that same period so I have no idea how families are making ends meet each month and I guess many are not or are doing so without the basics.
There seems to be a large black hole where society is falling into because the ones making these decisions have lost all sense of reality as they are thinking from a different economic view point that is not real. This for me is kind of scary seeing this play out in real time because the rate things are going none of us will have enough for the future unless we think outside the box.
The economy in South Africa is shot to pieces with the future showing no signs of hope or recovery. The unemployment is steadily increasing with a reported 62% for the 16-34 year age group. This will rise to 70 % very quickly as there are no jobs available with companies looking at down sizing and not expanding.
The minority that are working are funding the entire economy and this over a period of time is unsustainable so you would think something has to give at some point. My packaging business partner went on holiday to Mauritius last week and this cost him and his family of 4 R300K. When you think about this you are either well off or are struggling away most likely in debt. The middle ground has been lost and the middle class is vanishing very quickly.
When one looks at the economy from a retail side of things the customer base is shrinking and why many of the items in store or online have risen in price to make up for the shortfall in revenue being generated. This is the madness that is taking place and why this cannot continue and this will only end in tears for so many.
Somehow we need to be wealthy in order to count or you will be part of the masses that have nothing and for some reason are not considered important any more. This type of thinking is very dangerous because those in power will be over thrown if things get too bad and they are getting that bad already. I can only imagine if we see a 70% or 80% unemployment how this place will look as there will be complete anarchy.