Low-income earners must quit bad habits to prosper

• I thought about a recent study that found that men in the province spend more money on alcohol than on food. According to the study, the monthly spending per drinker was Sh2,500 for alcohol compared to Sh2,000 they spend on food. The study findings support an argument I have always had with Kenya Revenue Authority as they increase tax on alcoholic beverages.
• The argument is that drinkers will drink anyway — Too much tax on alcohol is likely to affect other budgets like the kitchen one. Trends indicate that many Kenyans do not want to do away with small luxuries like smoking and drinking. This means that they can qualify as basic needs while the real basic needs suffer in times of budget constraints.
• Gina Reinhart the Australian mining heiress who is ranked as the richest woman claims that the poor should drink less, smoke less and work more. The idea behind the view is that being present minded and sober helps one to capitalise on the opportunities that the world presents minute by minute.
• She was hitting on class warfare whereby the rich are demonised by the non-rich. Her point was that the non-rich need to work harder to improve their status instead of whining all the time about the rich.

Last week, I was working in Central Province and issues that affect the region were top of my mind.

I thought about a recent study that found that men in the province spend more money on alcohol than on food. According to the study, the monthly spending per drinker was Sh2,500 for alcohol compared to Sh2,000 they spend on food. The study findings support an argument I have always had with Kenya Revenue Authority as they increase tax on alcoholic beverages.

The argument is that drinkers will drink anyway — Too much tax on alcohol is likely to affect other budgets like the kitchen one. Trends indicate that many Kenyans do not want to do away with small luxuries like smoking and drinking. This means that they can qualify as basic needs while the real basic needs suffer in times of budget constraints.

Away from the central Kenya, today’s Market Talk looks at drinking from a wealthy people’s perspective. I came across an article by Gina Reinhart the Australian mining heiress who is ranked as the richest woman where she claims that the poor should drink less, smoke less and work more.

The idea behind the view is that being present minded and sober helps one to capitalise on the opportunities that the world presents minute by minute.

She was hitting on class warfare whereby the rich are demonised by the non-rich. Her point was that the non-rich need to work harder to improve their status instead of whining all the time about the rich.

The Australian authorities condemned the piece as an in insult to all Australian who go to work every day in order to feed their children and pay bills.

Her opinion was that even if the rich were to be taxed more, as the non-rich and poor would want to be the case, their lifestyle continues.

They can invest in other countries with better tax regimes, own fewer cars, spend fewer days on holiday in dream destinations but life will continue anyway. She argued that the poor and the non-rich suffer most from anti-business and anti-investor policies that penalise the “rich”.

She warns government against overtaxing the rich. Factories are relocated to more tax friendly countries meaning fewer jobs in the market.

If everyone was to work towards improving their own plight then we can create a country full of people who take charge of their situations without blaming the problems on the rich.

She wrote that if you are jealous about those who have more money don’t just sit there and expect manna from the skies. Do something to make you some money, drink less, smoke less, socialise less and make money.

These thought reminded me of a self-help group that was started by friends who drink at a certain bar on Jogoo Road in Nairobi. According to the chairman, it is always good to balance consumption and saving. The group started by each member saving Sh1,000 a week.

As the price of alcohol increased over time, the weekly savings were adjusted upward to ensure the balance between the alcohol consumption and savings. The group is now more than 10 years old and anyone who seeks to join the group today must pay goodwill of about Sh1 million on top of matching the savings by other members.

Excessive drinking