The economics of ressentiment

Alan Breward, industry economist with the Victorian State Government, takes a swipe at economic rationalists in this piece on housing affordability, aired on ABC Radio National's "Ockham's Razor." Breward maintains that "[b]ecause of what economic rationalists have done and said, Australia’s economic prosperity now depends on a lie;" and his piece constitutes a warning to "democracy's soil," the aspirationals, not to be misled by the dodgy use of statistics of some of Australia's major financial institutions in trying to reassure us how easy it is to manage a mortgage.

There's more good news for Howard's Battlers: interest rates are set to rise again and we're heading for higher inflation. There's even talk of a recession.

But don't worry. Take out a second mortgage, buy another home theatre unit, book your next holiday trip to Bali, and you'll feel right as rain in Jesusland again.