Publisher : The Age, March 27th 2009
DESPITE talk of recession and worldwide financial crisis, Australia’s Reserve Bank believes many of us have never been better off.
It backs its claim with statistics in its half-yearly Financial Stability Review, though it notes that retirees are an exception.
The real after-tax incomes of households on wages have jumped 10 per cent in the past year — more than double the usual rate.
The bank says the December stimulus payments were responsible for much of the rise, along with tax changes in the middle of last year.
For households with interest bills, things are even better. The bank says the ratio of interest payments to disposable incomes has fallen from 15 per cent to 11 per cent and is set to fall further, undoing five years of growth.
The bank also notes that petrol prices are down. Continue Reading…