Even as we spent less, the Reserve Bank kept raising rates – and now household disposable income is back to what it was in 2015

Guardian Economist Greg Jericho shows - with interactive graphs - how the RBA’s interest rate policies have missed the mark and depressed Australian living standards in an unprecedented way.

  • Salvo@aussie.zoneEnglish
    5·
    6 days ago

    The problem is that the RBA increased interest rates to discourage individuals from borrowing more. The problem is that We had already borrowed so much that the increase was crippling.

    They should have only increased rates on new loans and reduced rates on existing loans.

    • ryannathans@aussie.zoneEnglish
      6·
      6 days ago

      That’s an interesting concept but not one the RBA has any control over. You’d have to freeze old loans somehow too to prevent people redrawing and consolidating debt into old facilities? And get all the banks to adopt it? What about international debt? Don’t think would be doable in practice

        • Hanrahan@slrpnk.netEnglish
          3·
          5 days ago

          I don’t know the details of how that works, but yeah, it’s possible for the vast majority of home borrowers to be on fixed rates.

          Essetially “socalism”, In the US Goverments backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, so commercial banks had to compete for loans.

          We’d need a government bank to do the same, I think its part of The Greens policy to reestablish one and offer them? but we’d need way more voters to pivot Green, thay seems unlikely, so we’re left with the same stupid, repeating the same stupid mistakes… we sold the last Government bank off.

          Or legislation and that’s never going to happen with ALP/LNP.

        • Taleya@aussie.zoneEnglish
          6·
          6 days ago

          not just the yanks, I have a mate from france I caught up with earlier this week who could not comprehend how a home loan had a variable rate. She thinks we’re all insane.