ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Reserve Bank boss Philip Lowe is mulling today as it’s the first Tuesday of the month. Along with the board of the nation’s central bank, Mr Lowe will decide the monetary destiny of millions when they meet in Sydney later this morning.
In his bi-monthly telephone call with The Advocate, the seemingly quiet country boy who controls the levers that heat or cool the economy said it could go either way today and that we’d have to wait to see what happens, like the rest of the country.
But he did offer his thoughts on where the economy is at the moment.
“We have this situation where there are really quite wealthy people and people who are struggling and living week to week,” he said.
“There aren’t really that many people in the middle. Well-paid young people who rent? I guess that’s the new Australian middle class. I suppose anyone over 40 with a mortgage is also middle class. Who knows, it’s all a bit of a clusterfuck at the moment. Nevertheless, my inbred friends, it’s the big corporations making enormous profits right now that are throwing petrol on the inflation fire. Companies like Qantas that are doing it tough but making billions in raw profit. Coles and Woolies are just absolutely gouging everyone. It’s disgusting, really.”
“But yeah, I’m not a tax man, I’m but a humble central banker. If you want tax reform, go bark up Albo’s tree. He won’t help you much because he’s Inner West Malcolm these days. Cool haircuts and DJ sets but regressive tax policies and immigration-fueled economic growth. As Pete Townshend once wrote, ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,’ which is what’ll happen when I get booted from here and retire to the front bar at Bonnie Doon.”
“Anyway, folks, companies are making too much money. Wealthy older Australians are spending too much money. People from overseas are spending too much money here. You know what that means. Renters need to be punished. Young homebuyers with little equity need to be punished. You know the drill. Res ipsa loquitur, let the good times roll.”
Mr Lowe chuckled to himself and hung up on our reporter.
More to come.
