SUNNY DAYS HAVE ARRIVED
It’s time to take a look at the good things we all share
JOIN our Campaign for Optimism. We’ve had enough of the whingeing, the whining, the glass half empty rhetoric. We’re drawing a line in the sand. No more.
We meet lots of visiting global business leaders and financial experts and the most common comment we get from them is: “I can’t believe how much people complain here when the rest of the world sees you as an economic miracle. You don’t know how good you’ve got it.”
They are right. Compared with the rest of the world we have never had it so good.
Look, there is a lot we could do better … reduce government debt, bring the budget back to surplus sooner and introduce meaningful tax reform, but overall, we get a lot right.
What’s this got to do with investing and finances?
Economies and investment markets are driven by psychology. The happier we are, the more confident we are, the more we’ll spend and invest, producing better profits for business, who will create more jobs, leading to better wages, creating better tax revenues, to spend on more services and projects, which create more jobs … you get the picture.
We call it the Circle of Optimism. Everyone is potentially a winner.
That’s why we need to encourage optimism. Don’t get sucked into the negativity of people around you. Stand up to it and try to stop the pessimism.
The Campaign for Optimism is about turning the psychology of grumpy Aussies around for a better and more profitable nation.
So here are four quick facts to hit a whinger with:
1) AUSTRALIA HOLDS THE WORLD RECORD FOR THE LONGEST SINGLE PERIOD OF POSITIVE GROWTH
Yep, the world record of 26 consecutive years. During that time, the rest of the world endured an Asian financial collapse and a Global Financial Crisis, bringing double digit unemployment, property price crashes and bank collapses. We had none of that. No Australian under 44 has endured an economic recession as an adult. 2) THE AVERAGE AUSTRALIAN IS THE SECOND RICHEST IN THE WORLD
That’s from the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook. The richest are the Swiss, then Australia, US, Norway and New Zealand.
We understand many Australians may feel asset rich and cash poor at the moment because wage growth has been subdued (but still positive), however your superannuation fund and most house prices have been making terrific gains.
3) THERE ARE PLENTY OF JOBS … WE’RE ALMOST AT FULL EMPLOYMENT Unemployment is at 5.5 per cent nationally and 124,000 full- time jobs have been created since last September.
Structural full employment is generally defined to be around a 5 per cent unemployment rate, so we’re heading towards that level and NSW, ACT and Northern Territory are already there.
The recent rise in job advertisement numbers and fall in job vacancy rates, indicate job creation is strong thanks to a rise in business confidence.
When bosses are confident, they are more likely to hire new people or add work hours for casuals and part-timers.
4) MONEY HAS NEVER BEEN CHEAPER
This doesn’t mean you should over-extend yourself or pay extortionate interest rates on outstanding credit card balances.
But with official interest rates at a record low of 1.5 per cent, the cost of borrowing to use productively on good investments has never been lower.
Remember there is always good and bad debt. Good debt is borrowing to invest in an asset that will grow in value. Bad debt is borrowing to invest in something that depreciates. Now is a great time for “good” debt.
We think you’ll agree these facts will help people to stop, think about their whingeing, and maybe change their tune.