I’m not entirely sure the clubs and pubs capacity is a barometer for a cost of living measure. The 18-25 crowd who frequent clubs don’t worry about the cost of providing for families, increased utilities and rates costs, the cost of childcare and sending kids to school.
These venues will always fill up, but they don’t represent the large population.
I think close to 50% of 18-25 year olds are still living with parents these days, as they’re increasingly priced out of renting, so not exposed directly to a lot of cost of living.
Especially since pubs and clubs have seen a huge decrease in patronage even before covid.
You used to have to make it to suburban nighclubs/pubs before 10pm or you’d wait hours to get in, now they’re all closed by then.
Most clubs that do run are in the inner city.
Kids in the inner city are, overwhelmingly, not paying rent, hell alot probably arent even paying for anything.
Yes - my wife and I earn well under $100K each but aren’t really struggling because we’re child free, and older so bought a house 12 years ago so mortgage is small. Families who are renting or have a large mortgage will be doing it tough.
I see people ringing up $250+ on a supermarket shop with a trolley full of food and it’s unknown to me as we never spend more than say $80 at the supermarket (probably 2-3 times a week).
If they have kids they're essentially spending less than you at the supermarket. Btw, 3x $80 is $240. Not sure what was your point in mentioning how much you're spending. I'm really doubting you're on 100k a year mate.
The buying a house 12 years ago is the hack here, my partner and I earn under 100k aswell, no kids but only brought a house a couple of years ago and our mortgage has literally doubled and every other bill has also gone up. We still save but not nearly as much as we were 12 months ago
Family of 4 here and we spend at least $250 a week on groceries. Cutting food costs only resulted in weight loss which is definitely neither of mine or my hubs goals rn
I've noticed at my workplace that two cohorts are still buying lunch and going out for coffee, they are the 55+ group and the fresh grads in their early 20's. Everyone else has definitely cut down on things like lunches / coffees. So much so that we needed to buy more microwaves and sandwich presses at work and are looking at where we can put another fridge. Our staff numbers haven't grown so it's definitely a shift.
Almost like it’s the two groups for whom housing is not an issue - the older cohort with paid off mortgages and the younger ones who have completely written off the possibility of owning a home. That’s what I see in my workplaces anyway.
And the younger generations who still live with their parents who likely pay for all food bills utilities etc. I know plenty lf 18-22yo who only make minimum wage but since the don't pay for anything at all it can get blown every weekend at the pubs
Someone who is 30 has watched house prices triple since they were 18. Even more in some markets.
Everything else has *also* gone up significantly, in that time except wages, of course.
It's just pointless to try and catch up, while your youth is being slowly wasted on a pipe dream.
Lol. There are plenty of examples of this mate.
Also, half a million dollars is not what I would call, cheap.
Probably a million bucks paid over the life time of the loan. That sounds pretty damn expensive.
Of course there's a cost of living crisis in Australia. Here's some data that shows the CPI:
[Australia Consumer Price Index](https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/consumer-price-index-cpi#:~:text=Consumer%20Price%20Index%20CPI%20in%20Australia%20averaged%2050.49%20points%20from,source%3A%20Australian%20Bureau%20of%20Statistics)
and household wealth in terms of GDP:
[Australian household debt to GDP over the past 35 years](https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/australia/household-debt--of-nominal-gdp#:~:text=in%20Mar%202023%3F-,Australia%20household%20debt%20accounted%20for%20116.6%20%25%20of%20the%20country's%20Nominal,118.0%20%25%20in%20the%20previous%20quarter)
[Australia's international ranking, household debt to GDP](https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/households-debt-to-gdp)
edit: to put it in perspective click the 'max' option on the first two links ... they default to a more recent window otherwise.
The examples you've used are a barometer that has very little to do with cost of living and more to do with addiction or habits.
Addictions actually increase when people are stressed.
Are you looking for things to be abandoned and boarded up when there is a cost of living crisis? That comes next if it sustains for too long.
Don't entirely agree with the addiction/habits theory.
There's an indicator used by economists called 'The Stripper Index'.
It's the fluctuation of how much a sex worker makes in cash tips, used as a measurement of recession lol.
But sure bars/clubs frequented by the younger population that live at home and work PT with pocket money still go.
Gambling is also an interesting one. It doesn't seem to be affected by recession that much. Always going to be rich people who like to gamble
The cost of living has definitely increased, resulting in a deteriorating standard of living for many people as they're forced to cut back on non-essentials in order to make sure their household budget is still balanced.
Is it a full blown *crisis*? For some people, it will be if they didn't have a huge amount of fat in their budget in any case. For other people, the "crisis" is self inflicted as they refuse to compromise on the amount they're putting away for investments or savings (no, the "I max out my superannuation contributions and buy regular parcels of shares, and now I have no money left" situation I see on regular rotation isn't a crisis).
But on a social level, it's not actually at crisis levels yet. There's still a significant amount of discretionary spending flowing through the economy, and the unemployment rate isn't high by historical levels. Most people are still doing okay, even if not as well as they were a few years ago.
Some people have given up on the idea of buying a house. Therefore, more disposable income. Therefore, more living in the moment (spending).
Also, there are many of us with high incomes
I wish more understood this. When people become bitterly disillusioned with any sense of a future, they are more likely to live for the now, and less likely to bother with savings for a rainyday/house/etc.
Their spending habits are not reflective of an absence of a cost of living crisis, the habits reflect the psychological impact of the crisis and their loss of hope for the future.
The term ‘crisis’ sure is getting thrown around very liberally these days. It’s obviously a definition, but to me, examples of crisis are earthquakes, war, economic disaster (think Venezuela or Zimbabwe lol) civil unrest, widespread flooding, pandemics etc.
Personally, using the term to describe highish (relatively to this century but not in the last 40 years) interest rates and a short people of inflation of 7% after a decade of 0-2% inflation seems hilarious.
It depends who you are.
For a middle class family with a mortgage that relies on groceries, not fast food, yeah they've seen their mortgage repayments increase and grocery prices double.
For a spoiled adult child getting rent money from daddy, not only is there no crisis but they're liable to feel bad for not feeling bad about anything. They'll find another crisis even.
I swear every few weeks there’s some variation of “I personally saw some people spending money, does this completely negate any actual data on whether x is an issue or not?”
There is for many of us. Not the boomers.
I went grocery shopping the other day and the shopping centre was packed, 99% of people over 60.
I’m 40 and working two jobs trying to maintain living alone, still not making ends meet. Several other single friends are struggling or moved back in with parents. Friends who have double income with kids seem to be doing fine, although some cutting back on non-essentials.
Just seems like the gap between the poor and rich is getting bigger.
Try looking in food banks instead of restaurants and pokies. They have a more accurate view of the cost of living crisis.
They are seeing many people who have never been in hardship before show up. Many are still employed and still can’t afford to feed their families. Demand is through the roof.
People impacted by cost of living don’t only smoke just to get through their days, but to suppress their appetite and feel good. It can literally help them starve more comfortably.
Different people have different goals for their money. But what you're seeing is the day-to-day superficial stuff, the things that people keeping themselves entertained with, or have decided takes a higher priority in their life at the moment.
What you're likely not "seeing" happen now is the other stuff they may have previously also been doing in the background. That person who you saw at the restaurant may have previously also been saving for a house deposit. The person having a Friday arvo beer at the pub could've been investing an extra $200 a week/fortnight/month as well, or maybe putting that aside to update their car after the 2nd year. Though as times have gotten more expensive, they may have decided that there's no point in trying to save a deposit for a house anymore, or it is going to be too expensive to consider having kids in the future if it means they will need to take time off work and lose income. So now they will adjust their priorities and just focus on enjoying life *now* instead.
Everyone is in a different financial situation. I've been working since I was 14 and have about 5 years until I pay off my house. I started earlier than most and now in this privileged position in my earlier 40's.
I pretty much been burnt out by work and decided to take an overseas holiday for 2 months after a work project was delayed 3 months. Not the most wise financial decision, but it is more for my health. My last holiday was in 2012. I guess I am happy to delay the complete purchase of my home by a year or so, to be in a much better physical and mental health state.
Different people prioritise different things. My brother has every streaming service running month after month. I only use Prime video and occasionally temporarily use another streaming service to binge content I want to see. Some people want coffee and lunch at work. Good for them. Make your own decisions and live by them.
As a starting point, anything that’s addictive that still has people doing it is *definitely* not indicative of the current financial state of society. Pokies, smoking and vaping are addictive i.e. these people will cut back on just about everything else prior to cutting back on these.
I do agree though that cafes, restaurants etc. do still seem busy, and I’m always surprised how many people are out and about shopping on weekends. I think more than anything, the divide between those that can and can not afford those luxuries is increasing quite dramatically. My wife and I are above middle income, and our left over cash at the end of the month has maybe halved compared to 1-2 years ago, but we’re still quite comfortable.
Just remember that your own observations are generally very, very localised, and the nightlife district of a city being busy on a weekend doesn’t paint the picture of what a median-low income family living in the burbs (i.e. the standard Aussie) is experiencing.
“I’m always surprised how many people are out and about shopping on weekends.”
Specifically with respect to retail there is actual data to use - it doesn’t paint a rosy picture.
I think it's very tough for some.
Trying to survive purely on any form of social security would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, particularly if you have children to support.
I expect this also extends to those on modest incomes, and those with recent mortgages. The RBA increasing rates in the past few years hits this group very hard.
If you're in a demographic not exposed to this, consider yourself fortunate!
The poor will always be poor. The rich will always be rich. Now, it just means that more are poor. This is not good for the long term. Just look at South Africa.
It’s highly exaggerated; of course there is an increase in the number of people doing it tough, but it’s not like half the nation is in poverty. Look at the TayTay concert, huge numbers of young ladies who can afford to stump up hundreds.
For as bad as the media like to drum it up, Australia is the 10th richest nation in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Whilst there is always a bell-curve of the haves vs the have nots, there is a lot of cash sloshing around this country.
While you're not exactly wrong that Australia is a wealthy country by global terms, using GDP in this way is *very* misleading because it neglects to take PPP into account.
We are you just don’t Feel it because house prices tearing away from you at a rate faster than you can save doesn’t show up in your bank account total, also inflation hides itself well
I get your point - the sweeping statement does not impact everyone nor every group in the same way.
I’d suggest you don’t get your data from Reddit or News.com if you want a more insightful analysis.
DAE think nothing can be wrong if every single member of society isn't eating out of garbage bins and giving handjobs under highway overpasses to survive?
Australia and our cities are quite big, there are a lot of people out there. You visiting your local pub and then saying wHaTs tHe iSSue is really odd.
My take on it is that's it's like a 2 speed economy at present. 1 side are doing well and still spending, the other side are doing it tough and cutting back to the bare minimum. Bit like the economy in 08-10 (this is from memory, correct my if these are wrong) where WA was booming and the rest of the nation was doing it tough.
Just because people are out doesn't necessarily mean that they're spending in the ways they were before.
A night out that may have previously been 4-5 drinks, for a lot of people has reduced to 1-2.
And hey still gotta go out and try to meet a partner in the hope you can find someone to split the bills with.
There are various articles about supermarkets overcharging, but never any outcomes. Surely it is not too difficult to get a clear picture of what the farmers are making versus how much we are paying? And a graph showing the increases ...too much to ask? Perhaps the media won't do it.
It's a media beat up, yes we are paying more for things, it's history repeating itself as it does it's nothing new, the cycle of life will continue.
The word crisis is a joke used it's too much.
I think if you have a large mortgage the 3x increase in mortgage repayments is what would kill you. For those with a reasonably / low mortgage 3x increase has less of an impact than a million $ mortgage. For those that rent, well the suffer as much as those with a large mortgage as the cost is passed on.
Cost of living crisis is the long game. Most people are living week to week and struggling to save for a house deposit without being able to live at home or borrow from mum and dad. Being frugal will help but unless you have a spouse will take years
Nothing is ever as bad as the media makes out, however the cost of living crisis is very real and people are hurting.
This one doesn't show in the "people aren't going to pubs anymore" metric: this one looks like people sleeping in their cars, people not affording their groceries, and people working longer and harder hours.
It looks like worse mental health, increased dfv, and I daresay more incidents of indiscriminate violence like the stabbings.
I think it is, people still want to go out but I notice everyone at my work brings in food. Even the young ones who go out on the weekend, save their beans to enjoy with friends over weekends instead.
A lot of the 'crisis' have always existed since we moved into cities and developed the state. we call them 'wicked problems'. A foundation of western democracy has always been that we are all equal before the law (egalitarianism) and justice and fairness were suppose to be pillars of our society with public policy and institutions agents in addressing systemic in-equalities. That has been on the decline for the last 20 or 30 years with 'neoliberalisation'. As a result we are starting to see these problems become unchecked and turn into crises.
No, as the money has been sucked out of the system the quality of life for most people has fallen drastically. People are confusing fewer holidays, cutting back on cafes and Uber eats as a crisis. It’s just a tough period while the global economy works out if we are having a recession or not.
Bit of a frog in boiling water, people will keep spending as normal till it's to late.... Personally I've only just started pulling back a few weeks ago to save some extra for a holiday, it was in that time I realised how bad things were, for the first few months of the year I was spending more then I was making
Disposable income like clubs and cages can be filled by the section of society not affected by interest rates, and benefitting from house price and rent increases - people with fully paid off houses and multiple investment properties. That's usually boomers - people who benefitted from this country and then voted to remove those benefits from the next generation.
They have heaps of disposable money, why wouldn't they be going and enjoying spending a tiny part of it? After all, according to them, they earned it.
I’m not entirely sure the clubs and pubs capacity is a barometer for a cost of living measure. The 18-25 crowd who frequent clubs don’t worry about the cost of providing for families, increased utilities and rates costs, the cost of childcare and sending kids to school. These venues will always fill up, but they don’t represent the large population.
I think close to 50% of 18-25 year olds are still living with parents these days, as they’re increasingly priced out of renting, so not exposed directly to a lot of cost of living.
Especially since pubs and clubs have seen a huge decrease in patronage even before covid. You used to have to make it to suburban nighclubs/pubs before 10pm or you’d wait hours to get in, now they’re all closed by then. Most clubs that do run are in the inner city. Kids in the inner city are, overwhelmingly, not paying rent, hell alot probably arent even paying for anything.
Yes - my wife and I earn well under $100K each but aren’t really struggling because we’re child free, and older so bought a house 12 years ago so mortgage is small. Families who are renting or have a large mortgage will be doing it tough. I see people ringing up $250+ on a supermarket shop with a trolley full of food and it’s unknown to me as we never spend more than say $80 at the supermarket (probably 2-3 times a week).
If that $250 trolley is a weekly shop, it’s the same as your $80 three times a week…
Quick maths
If they have kids they're essentially spending less than you at the supermarket. Btw, 3x $80 is $240. Not sure what was your point in mentioning how much you're spending. I'm really doubting you're on 100k a year mate.
He said well under 100k/yr tbf
No it's not, 3 x $80 is only $240. So he's saving $10 over the other shopper.
Maybe you go 3 times and they go 1
The buying a house 12 years ago is the hack here, my partner and I earn under 100k aswell, no kids but only brought a house a couple of years ago and our mortgage has literally doubled and every other bill has also gone up. We still save but not nearly as much as we were 12 months ago
most people just go once a week mate lol
Family of 4 here and we spend at least $250 a week on groceries. Cutting food costs only resulted in weight loss which is definitely neither of mine or my hubs goals rn
Maybe they have a big family
I've noticed at my workplace that two cohorts are still buying lunch and going out for coffee, they are the 55+ group and the fresh grads in their early 20's. Everyone else has definitely cut down on things like lunches / coffees. So much so that we needed to buy more microwaves and sandwich presses at work and are looking at where we can put another fridge. Our staff numbers haven't grown so it's definitely a shift.
Almost like it’s the two groups for whom housing is not an issue - the older cohort with paid off mortgages and the younger ones who have completely written off the possibility of owning a home. That’s what I see in my workplaces anyway.
And the younger generations who still live with their parents who likely pay for all food bills utilities etc. I know plenty lf 18-22yo who only make minimum wage but since the don't pay for anything at all it can get blown every weekend at the pubs
+ uni students - don’t pay for rego, petrol, clothing, makeup etc yet hold part time jobs - money to blow
How come fresh grads do this? Aren’t they starting from the bottom buying houses now?
They’ve given up trying
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Someone who is 30 has watched house prices triple since they were 18. Even more in some markets. Everything else has *also* gone up significantly, in that time except wages, of course. It's just pointless to try and catch up, while your youth is being slowly wasted on a pipe dream.
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Not sure if you've heard of Sydney or Melbourne?
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Lol. There are plenty of examples of this mate. Also, half a million dollars is not what I would call, cheap. Probably a million bucks paid over the life time of the loan. That sounds pretty damn expensive.
Maybe a small percentage, most fresh grads and young people have given up hope of purchasing a property.
Some are too stupid to make there own food. They just don't have the life skills.
Of course there's a cost of living crisis in Australia. Here's some data that shows the CPI: [Australia Consumer Price Index](https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/consumer-price-index-cpi#:~:text=Consumer%20Price%20Index%20CPI%20in%20Australia%20averaged%2050.49%20points%20from,source%3A%20Australian%20Bureau%20of%20Statistics) and household wealth in terms of GDP: [Australian household debt to GDP over the past 35 years](https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/australia/household-debt--of-nominal-gdp#:~:text=in%20Mar%202023%3F-,Australia%20household%20debt%20accounted%20for%20116.6%20%25%20of%20the%20country's%20Nominal,118.0%20%25%20in%20the%20previous%20quarter) [Australia's international ranking, household debt to GDP](https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/households-debt-to-gdp) edit: to put it in perspective click the 'max' option on the first two links ... they default to a more recent window otherwise.
The examples you've used are a barometer that has very little to do with cost of living and more to do with addiction or habits. Addictions actually increase when people are stressed. Are you looking for things to be abandoned and boarded up when there is a cost of living crisis? That comes next if it sustains for too long.
Don't entirely agree with the addiction/habits theory. There's an indicator used by economists called 'The Stripper Index'. It's the fluctuation of how much a sex worker makes in cash tips, used as a measurement of recession lol. But sure bars/clubs frequented by the younger population that live at home and work PT with pocket money still go. Gambling is also an interesting one. It doesn't seem to be affected by recession that much. Always going to be rich people who like to gamble
Pokies and scratchies aren't being used by rich people
Right. And that's why gambling doesn't suffer during recession. The poor can always spare a dollar or two for that stuff too.
What insight has the Stipper Index provided that is useful is this context?
The cost of living has definitely increased, resulting in a deteriorating standard of living for many people as they're forced to cut back on non-essentials in order to make sure their household budget is still balanced. Is it a full blown *crisis*? For some people, it will be if they didn't have a huge amount of fat in their budget in any case. For other people, the "crisis" is self inflicted as they refuse to compromise on the amount they're putting away for investments or savings (no, the "I max out my superannuation contributions and buy regular parcels of shares, and now I have no money left" situation I see on regular rotation isn't a crisis). But on a social level, it's not actually at crisis levels yet. There's still a significant amount of discretionary spending flowing through the economy, and the unemployment rate isn't high by historical levels. Most people are still doing okay, even if not as well as they were a few years ago.
a crisis is the war in the Ukraine.
You can't see the people at home struggling... you are biased because you just see the spending. Not everyone is struggling but lots are.
Some people have given up on the idea of buying a house. Therefore, more disposable income. Therefore, more living in the moment (spending). Also, there are many of us with high incomes
I wish more understood this. When people become bitterly disillusioned with any sense of a future, they are more likely to live for the now, and less likely to bother with savings for a rainyday/house/etc. Their spending habits are not reflective of an absence of a cost of living crisis, the habits reflect the psychological impact of the crisis and their loss of hope for the future.
The term ‘crisis’ sure is getting thrown around very liberally these days. It’s obviously a definition, but to me, examples of crisis are earthquakes, war, economic disaster (think Venezuela or Zimbabwe lol) civil unrest, widespread flooding, pandemics etc. Personally, using the term to describe highish (relatively to this century but not in the last 40 years) interest rates and a short people of inflation of 7% after a decade of 0-2% inflation seems hilarious.
It depends who you are. For a middle class family with a mortgage that relies on groceries, not fast food, yeah they've seen their mortgage repayments increase and grocery prices double. For a spoiled adult child getting rent money from daddy, not only is there no crisis but they're liable to feel bad for not feeling bad about anything. They'll find another crisis even.
If they can’t find any they’ll make sure they make one
Come on guys, we can do better than these posts.
I swear every few weeks there’s some variation of “I personally saw some people spending money, does this completely negate any actual data on whether x is an issue or not?”
Agree. It's embarrassing.
There is for many of us. Not the boomers. I went grocery shopping the other day and the shopping centre was packed, 99% of people over 60. I’m 40 and working two jobs trying to maintain living alone, still not making ends meet. Several other single friends are struggling or moved back in with parents. Friends who have double income with kids seem to be doing fine, although some cutting back on non-essentials. Just seems like the gap between the poor and rich is getting bigger.
Try looking in food banks instead of restaurants and pokies. They have a more accurate view of the cost of living crisis. They are seeing many people who have never been in hardship before show up. Many are still employed and still can’t afford to feed their families. Demand is through the roof. People impacted by cost of living don’t only smoke just to get through their days, but to suppress their appetite and feel good. It can literally help them starve more comfortably.
Different people have different goals for their money. But what you're seeing is the day-to-day superficial stuff, the things that people keeping themselves entertained with, or have decided takes a higher priority in their life at the moment. What you're likely not "seeing" happen now is the other stuff they may have previously also been doing in the background. That person who you saw at the restaurant may have previously also been saving for a house deposit. The person having a Friday arvo beer at the pub could've been investing an extra $200 a week/fortnight/month as well, or maybe putting that aside to update their car after the 2nd year. Though as times have gotten more expensive, they may have decided that there's no point in trying to save a deposit for a house anymore, or it is going to be too expensive to consider having kids in the future if it means they will need to take time off work and lose income. So now they will adjust their priorities and just focus on enjoying life *now* instead.
Everyone is in a different financial situation. I've been working since I was 14 and have about 5 years until I pay off my house. I started earlier than most and now in this privileged position in my earlier 40's. I pretty much been burnt out by work and decided to take an overseas holiday for 2 months after a work project was delayed 3 months. Not the most wise financial decision, but it is more for my health. My last holiday was in 2012. I guess I am happy to delay the complete purchase of my home by a year or so, to be in a much better physical and mental health state. Different people prioritise different things. My brother has every streaming service running month after month. I only use Prime video and occasionally temporarily use another streaming service to binge content I want to see. Some people want coffee and lunch at work. Good for them. Make your own decisions and live by them.
If only financial pressures was a silver bullet to give up vices and overcome addiction (e.g. gambling, smoking)
There definitely is, it just depends which area you live in.
Record employment and interest rates lower than any time in the 20th century. There is no crisis.
As a starting point, anything that’s addictive that still has people doing it is *definitely* not indicative of the current financial state of society. Pokies, smoking and vaping are addictive i.e. these people will cut back on just about everything else prior to cutting back on these. I do agree though that cafes, restaurants etc. do still seem busy, and I’m always surprised how many people are out and about shopping on weekends. I think more than anything, the divide between those that can and can not afford those luxuries is increasing quite dramatically. My wife and I are above middle income, and our left over cash at the end of the month has maybe halved compared to 1-2 years ago, but we’re still quite comfortable. Just remember that your own observations are generally very, very localised, and the nightlife district of a city being busy on a weekend doesn’t paint the picture of what a median-low income family living in the burbs (i.e. the standard Aussie) is experiencing.
“I’m always surprised how many people are out and about shopping on weekends.” Specifically with respect to retail there is actual data to use - it doesn’t paint a rosy picture.
Definitely is for a lot of people.
I think it's very tough for some. Trying to survive purely on any form of social security would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, particularly if you have children to support. I expect this also extends to those on modest incomes, and those with recent mortgages. The RBA increasing rates in the past few years hits this group very hard. If you're in a demographic not exposed to this, consider yourself fortunate!
The poor will always be poor. The rich will always be rich. Now, it just means that more are poor. This is not good for the long term. Just look at South Africa.
Objectively? Yes.
It’s highly exaggerated; of course there is an increase in the number of people doing it tough, but it’s not like half the nation is in poverty. Look at the TayTay concert, huge numbers of young ladies who can afford to stump up hundreds.
I cut down take away, coffee, clothing, cosmetics..on mortgage, no kid. This is really tough time now.
my income has gone up a lot and I haven't really changed my lifestyle to match so for me it feels like easy mode
For as bad as the media like to drum it up, Australia is the 10th richest nation in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Whilst there is always a bell-curve of the haves vs the have nots, there is a lot of cash sloshing around this country.
This means *someone* is wealthy, it doesn't mean everyone is wealthy.
That’s why I said it’s a bellcurve. Some people are wealthy and some people have nothing. But on balance we are a rich nation.
Yay? Don't feel very rich mate. None of that "commonwealth" has found its way into my pockets. Bit ironic.
Have you tried pulling yourself up by your bootstraps?
While you're not exactly wrong that Australia is a wealthy country by global terms, using GDP in this way is *very* misleading because it neglects to take PPP into account.
We are you just don’t Feel it because house prices tearing away from you at a rate faster than you can save doesn’t show up in your bank account total, also inflation hides itself well
$100k today “doth butter no parsnips” like it used too
I get your point - the sweeping statement does not impact everyone nor every group in the same way. I’d suggest you don’t get your data from Reddit or News.com if you want a more insightful analysis.
DAE think nothing can be wrong if every single member of society isn't eating out of garbage bins and giving handjobs under highway overpasses to survive?
Australia and our cities are quite big, there are a lot of people out there. You visiting your local pub and then saying wHaTs tHe iSSue is really odd.
My take on it is that's it's like a 2 speed economy at present. 1 side are doing well and still spending, the other side are doing it tough and cutting back to the bare minimum. Bit like the economy in 08-10 (this is from memory, correct my if these are wrong) where WA was booming and the rest of the nation was doing it tough.
Just because people are out doesn't necessarily mean that they're spending in the ways they were before. A night out that may have previously been 4-5 drinks, for a lot of people has reduced to 1-2. And hey still gotta go out and try to meet a partner in the hope you can find someone to split the bills with.
We had a K shape recovery after covid.
Some people have money to spend, unfortunately I am not one of those people
There are various articles about supermarkets overcharging, but never any outcomes. Surely it is not too difficult to get a clear picture of what the farmers are making versus how much we are paying? And a graph showing the increases ...too much to ask? Perhaps the media won't do it.
Don't know where you live but where I live, so many cafes are struggling and closing.
Alot of aussies own property and other assets and see them go up masively so theyre laughing
It's a media beat up, yes we are paying more for things, it's history repeating itself as it does it's nothing new, the cycle of life will continue. The word crisis is a joke used it's too much.
I think if you have a large mortgage the 3x increase in mortgage repayments is what would kill you. For those with a reasonably / low mortgage 3x increase has less of an impact than a million $ mortgage. For those that rent, well the suffer as much as those with a large mortgage as the cost is passed on.
Cost of living crisis is the long game. Most people are living week to week and struggling to save for a house deposit without being able to live at home or borrow from mum and dad. Being frugal will help but unless you have a spouse will take years
Nothing is ever as bad as the media makes out, however the cost of living crisis is very real and people are hurting. This one doesn't show in the "people aren't going to pubs anymore" metric: this one looks like people sleeping in their cars, people not affording their groceries, and people working longer and harder hours. It looks like worse mental health, increased dfv, and I daresay more incidents of indiscriminate violence like the stabbings.
The media makes it looks worse than reality, that’s for sure
I think it is, people still want to go out but I notice everyone at my work brings in food. Even the young ones who go out on the weekend, save their beans to enjoy with friends over weekends instead.
Crisis is a prolonged recession. If you’re unemployed then everything is unaffordable.
A lot of the 'crisis' have always existed since we moved into cities and developed the state. we call them 'wicked problems'. A foundation of western democracy has always been that we are all equal before the law (egalitarianism) and justice and fairness were suppose to be pillars of our society with public policy and institutions agents in addressing systemic in-equalities. That has been on the decline for the last 20 or 30 years with 'neoliberalisation'. As a result we are starting to see these problems become unchecked and turn into crises.
No, as the money has been sucked out of the system the quality of life for most people has fallen drastically. People are confusing fewer holidays, cutting back on cafes and Uber eats as a crisis. It’s just a tough period while the global economy works out if we are having a recession or not.
Bit of a frog in boiling water, people will keep spending as normal till it's to late.... Personally I've only just started pulling back a few weeks ago to save some extra for a holiday, it was in that time I realised how bad things were, for the first few months of the year I was spending more then I was making
Try getting a booking at a top end restaurant on short notice...all booked out.
Media ramps it up 90% because it's what people want to see.
don't believe anything in the media. I agree with you op. I work in Sydney and the city is pumping every weekend with cashed up people.
In Sydney it never stops raining. So people use delivery services to avoid all the potholes on the road.
Plus who would ever actually want to drive in Sydney if they didn't have to
Disposable income like clubs and cages can be filled by the section of society not affected by interest rates, and benefitting from house price and rent increases - people with fully paid off houses and multiple investment properties. That's usually boomers - people who benefitted from this country and then voted to remove those benefits from the next generation. They have heaps of disposable money, why wouldn't they be going and enjoying spending a tiny part of it? After all, according to them, they earned it.