Chalmers can’t walk both sides of sorry street
There are two essential truths of a tanking economy that Jim Chalmers is struggling to explain.
There are two essential truths of a tanking economy that Jim Chalmers is struggling to explain.
When governments throw money around during an inflation crisis, there are going to be as many losers as winners. Those losers will continue to be borrowers.
The PM’s ‘good guy’ image remains, but its legitimacy is facing fresh scrutiny ahead of next year’s federal election.
According to Chris Bowen, the reason for the shortfall of electricity in NSW was not because there wasn’t enough wind or solar, but because there wasn’t enough coal.
Australia’s living standards are unlikely to return to pre-inflation crisis levels for several years – and maybe not until the end of the decade – according to exclusive analysis of RBA forecasts.
Jim Chalmers’s story is the only one Labor can tell, politically. The economy is still growing, inflation is coming down. The story of households is told through another set of numbers.
The Albanese government is presiding over the longest household recession with GDP per capita going backwards for the past six quarters, in a trend that exceeds any period in the past 50 years.
A cultural and economic clash may be unfolding on a scale not seen since Gough Whitlam’s term. The prediction? Labor will end up on the wrong side of it.
Living standards in Australia during the inflation crisis have fallen more dramatically than in other OECD countries, with real disposable income down more than in the last four major recessions.
Hope is fading of a cut to rates before the election and this will continue to dawn on people over the coming weeks. It becomes a significant problem for the Prime Minister in trying to frame the election narrative.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/simon-benson/page/15