Sweetbabyjesus. Things are crazy out there at the moment. The USA is chasing Zimbabwe’s credit rating. London Bridge is burning down. Ireland, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy are bust. Nutty Norwegians are shooting kids. That paragon of sanity, Gaddafi, is surviving the full onslaught of NATO’s army whilst calmly trying out frocks for his victory march. Syria’s army is attacking its own people. The markets are crashing, and I can’t carry a call in Joburg for longer than a minute!
Its seems the end is here.
Don’t panic!
It’s easy to run with the herd. “Julius will be the next president.” “Stock up on tinned food, quick.” “Sell stocks and but gold.” “Hide the family jewelry, the looters are coming.” “Instant coffee is good for you.” “The world is going to hell, we’re screwed.”
What’s not easy is taking a step back, breathing deeply, and saying, “WTF?”
Sunny SA ain’t so bad. Sure, the rest of the world is going pear-shaped, but we’ve just opened a high-speed train between Pretoria and Jhb, our banks are posting profits, and we’re the gateway to a booming Africa.
Take stock of what we have. Our national debt is 30% of GDP. The USA is 120%. UK is 200%. Ireland is 800%.
We have a growing economy with a strengthening currency. Our banks are not only stable, they make profits (a global anomaly nowadays.) Compared to the rest of the world, we’re doing pretty damn well.
Plenty of people are saying this is the end. This is not the end. This is the beginning.
What we’re witnessing is a long-awaited change in the global order. Gone are the days when are lectured by Europeans and Americans on the efficacies of sound financial management. Not only have we avoided the financial crisis, it looks like we’ll be sending peacekeepers to protect the Poms! Maybe the next step is a Coalition of the Willing to overthrow the US government J
Whilst things are not perfect here, there’s plenty of good news. Our brothers and sisters are coming home now that jobs and visa’s are harder to come by in the UK and USA. Welcome back guys, nice to have the extra capital and skills!
And what about all the spare cash sitting in USA companies? Will they sit on it as the US Dollar heads the way of the Zim Dollar? Hell no. That money is heading for more exciting places, Africa is at top of the list, and South Africa is the gateway.
Are things tough? Yebo. Does it feel like we’re on the precipice? Yebo. Does Ricoffy taste kak? Yebo.
The roses don’t smell better in the Garden of the West. We have Julius, but that have Sarah Palin. Nationalization, jobs, media freedom, HIV, maths, corruption, politics, blah blah blah.
We’re here, here is better than the rest, focus on the good stuff and to hell with the doomsayers. Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not ok, it’s not the end.