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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

Today’s R&D provides resources on the South African economy.  Like other BRICS nations, South Africa’s economy is underperforming, registering an average of 1.8% GDP growth since 2008.  The economy contracted 1.3% in the second quarter of this year and demands for employment are pushing the African National Congress (ANC) in a more leftist direction.  Critics of the ANC government say that it needs to bolster infrastructure spending and warn that solutions that call for nationalizing properties could prove counterproductive.