UNEMPLOYMENT is desirable. That is what I told the Minerals Petroleum Board when I gave evidence on "the surge in job losses in the mining industry". They might regret having invited me, but I hope not. They were congenial, probing and attentive. They raised challenging questions to which my responses seemed well-received.Most jobs should be "lost". Eventually. That is what they should tell the minister who mandated the inquiry. But will they? Do political imperatives allow them to be frank? They should add, of course, that employment carnage can be reversed by labour policies that lower employment cost, pro-investor policies that attract mining companies, foreign exchange policies that stop pretending they "defend" the rand, and industrial policies that encourage income and incentives (unlike "beneficiation").Promarket reforms can offset job losses. Eventually most jobs in most sectors must be replaced by other jobs. All jobs were lost in the ox wagon, chimney sweeping and switchbo...
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