Poverty is unaffordable – there’s a big way out

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) challenges the Centre for Development and Enterprise's (CDE) opposition to a basic income grant (BIG) in South Africa. The IEJ argues that social protection, rather than austerity or market-led structural reform, is essential for economic growth. It asserts that cash transfers stimulate labor demand, entrepreneurship, and grassroots productivity, while progressive taxation to fund these grants can lead to positive GDP changes and employment surges without causing economic crises.

• The IEJ contends that a basic income grant (BIG) supports employment by increasing both the demand for and supply of labor, revitalizing economic activity, and helping individuals overcome geographical barriers to work.
• Evidence suggests that cash transfers in low- and middle-income countries promote self-employment, entrepreneurship, and investment in productive assets, acting as an investment in human capital and grassroots productivity.
• The IEJ rejects the claim that progressive taxation to fund social protection slows economic growth, citing an International Trade Union Confederation study of eight low- and middle-income countries where such taxation led to positive GDP changes and modest employment increases.
• The document argues that austerity measures and cuts to social spending have choked GDP growth and increased poverty, suggesting instead that macroeconomic policy should increase aggregate demand and domestic supply to improve the debt-to-GDP ratio.

APA

Mncube, N. C. K. H. Z. (2022). Poverty is unaffordable – there’s a big way out. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/poverty-is-unaffordable-theres-a-big-way-out/

Chicago

Mncube, Neil Coleman, Kelle Howson, Zimbali. Poverty is unaffordable – there’s a big way out. Institute for Economic Justice, 2022. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/poverty-is-unaffordable-theres-a-big-way-out/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mncube |first1=Neil Coleman, Kelle Howson, Zimbali |title=Poverty is unaffordable – there’s a big way out |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=18 June 2022 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/poverty-is-unaffordable-theres-a-big-way-out/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mncube2022poverty, author = {Mncube, Neil Coleman, Kelle Howson, Zimbali}, title = {{Poverty is unaffordable – there’s a big way out}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/poverty-is-unaffordable-theres-a-big-way-out/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }