July 2024
Australia wastes billions making housing more expensive
It’s not easy to screw up the housing market this badly – it’s taken Australia decades of bad policy and billions of dollars to get here, Matt Grudnoff says.
Supermarxist? Dutton and the duopoly
The prime minister joked that the Coalition is turning communist, but having strong powers to break up the Coles-Woolies duopoly is sensible economic policy, Matt Grudnoff says.
June 2024
The narrow path
At a time of major uncertainty in the economy, Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock’s honesty is refreshing, says Greg Jericho.
Pick your poison
The government is trying to strike a delicate balance in the economy, getting inflation down without sending the country into recession, says Greg Jericho.
Why our GDP is going nowhere
Near-zero economic growth is a good sign of how bad things are, says Greg Jericho.
How Australia created a housing crisis (and what we can do to fix it)
Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis, fuelled by poor government policy.
May 2024
Walking the inflation tightrope
Inflation isn’t falling as fast as most economists want, but a rate rise now would do more harm than good, says Greg Jericho.
Poverty is a policy choice
According to the Productivity Commission, wealth inequality declined during the COVID years due to boosted government support payments. And when those payments finished, predictably inequality went back up. The overwhelming majority of gains from economic growth since the GFC have gone to the wealthiest people. On this episode, Greg Jericho discusses inequality, poverty, and government
The budget and why your wages are lagging 14 years behind
The pandemic and runaway inflation reversed more than a decade of progress on living standards in just two years – and it’s going to be a long wait for them to inch back, says Greg Jericho.
Budget 2024: what you need to know
Budget 2024 had a little bit for a lot of people, but in trying to please everyone, has the government disappointed everyone instead?
We. Do. Not. Need. A. Recession.
Calling for a ‘short recession’ as an economist is like calling for a ‘small war’ knowing you’ll never be on the frontlines, says Greg Jericho.
The budget vs inflation
Millions of Australians are struggling to make ends meet, yet when it comes to the federal budget, too often we hear that governments ‘can’t afford’ additional spending.
JobSeeker drags people into poverty, but the government could fix this today
Budgets are about choices – and successive governments have chosen to punish jobseekers, says Greg Jericho.
April 2024
What the HECS?
Annual inflation is on the way down, but rents remain high and many people’s higher education loans are growing, even after repayments, says Greg Jericho.
The market expects rates to fall – but that may be optimistic
Greg Jericho discusses the decisions facing the Reserve Bank in coming months and a new report showing that rate rises hurt Australians more than anyone in the world.
Not seeing the koalas for the carbon credits
Rather than delivering on their election promise to create a Great Koala National Park, the New South Wales Government is sitting on its hands until it can earn carbon credits from forests.
The big budget con
The budget balance usually steals the headlines on budget night, but it’s not that important, says Greg Jericho.
March 2024
Waiting for Godot (and wage-price spirals)
Despite claims by some business groups and commentators, a modest wage increase for workers isn’t going to send inflation skyrocketing, says Greg Jericho.
Too good to be true? Employment spike exceeds expectations
Unemployment dropped in a big way in February, so is the Australian economy now out of the woods?
The end of capitalism with Yanis Varoufakis
Capitalism is dying, but not in the way you might think.
Housing is so bad that 2020 prices look good…
Housing prices have risen so much in Australia that 2020 prices look almost reasonable.
GDPitiful
Australia’s recent gross domestic product (GDP) figures show that the economy is weak and people are struggling to keep up. So what can the federal government – and the Reserve Bank – do to help? Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics
A Bad Case of Gas
The gas industry likes to tell us it’s vital to the Australian economy. But when people are paying more in GST for Taylor Swift merch than many companies are paying in company income tax per year, and the government collects more from HECS than the PRRT, you know something is seriously wrong. Greg Jericho is
February 2024
The Push to Stop Pork Barrelling
Independent MP Helen Haines has introduced a bill to Parliament designed to prevent pork-barreling, where taxpayer money is allocated according to where it is needed to win votes, not where the public needs it most. This was recorded on Tuesday 27th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Bill Browne,
Wages are up! And, why non-compete clauses are bad for the economy
Wages are up over the past year, for the first time since 2021! Which means your real wage has increased as well, but by a small amount. Also this week, the Bureau of Statistics looked at restraint clauses, or non-compete clauses. So what do they mean for workers, and the economy as a whole? Lower
How John Howard Ruined Housing
The Right to Disconnect is attracting criticism from business groups and others, saying it will reduce productivity. Well, it won’t. And do they mean productivity, or profits? Also, how negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount delivered massive tax breaks to the rich at the expense of affordable housing for the rest of Australia.
The Right to Disconnect
Federal Parliament is set to pass new industrial relations laws, including the ‘right to disconnect.’ This means that workers will legally be able to ignore calls outside of work hours. This was recorded on Tuesday 13th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Jim Stanford, Director, the Centre for
The Great Gas Rort: Fixing the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax
Every year, the Commonwealth collects more revenue from HECS than it gets from the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. The PRRT is so weak that gas companies love it! Mark Ogge explains the Government’s proposed changes, and how we can fix it to tax our gas companies fairly. This was recorded on Tuesday 6th February 2024
Inflation seems to be under control…what now?
The latest CPI figures show inflation has fallen, hopefully putting an end to interest rate rises for the moment. But does that mean the economy is healthy now, or is there more to it? Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with
Stage 3 Tax Cuts reform: “The biggest and most honest piece of tax reform in decades”
It’s been a week for the books in Australian Politics history, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing changes to the highly-criticised Stage 3 tax cuts. Which got the media, and the opposition, into a bit of a frenzy. So what’s changed, and how will it affect you? This was recorded on Tuesday 30th January 2024
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