aloft: the whythawk blog Did you know that emerging markets are lucrative investments?
Ask Whythawk. |
|
|
Report a comment Thank you for taking the time to report the following comment to the administrator of this site. Please complete this short form and click the submit button to process your report. Comment in question » Go back to the article |
...
By: Twylite on 03 May 2007
First, hawkers and car guards are very different. Try not to confuse them. Hawkers run a retail business, card guards offer a service.
The outrage over hawkers should be obvious: without control, hawkers cost jobs and damage the economy. They pay R0.00 to set up on a pavement outside a legitimate retail business (which pays rent and employs a number of staff), and obscure or obstruct the business frontage and entrance, causing financial damage to that business.
This is why most cities have designated areas on pavements for controlled trading, where hawkers with the appropriate license can trade legitimately.
Car guards by comparison provide a service even if you don't request it (negative option marketing), and can become obstructive if you don't pay them. Sometimes they are actually providing a valuable service, but most often they are a nuisance, getting in the way of moving vehicles.
Hawking and car attending are real jobs, but they are subject to regulations like any other real job. I can't set up a business on public property, nor can I practice in the security industry without training and union affiliation.
These laws are there to ensure a working social and economic system. The fact that the most impoverished in our society have trouble clearing these hurdles is a problem that must be addressed, but mischaracterising the problem as "the refined, rarefied noses of those with nice jobs" doesn't help anyone.
The informal economy is not driven by individuals eking out a living. There is no growth there. It is driven by wealthy individuals who start small businesses and create employment and further wealth. The sooner we learn to value wealth as a creator of wealth, the sooner we will discover how to address the problems of poverty.
» Report this comment to administrator
» Reply to this comment...