Reserve bank ‘out of touch with reality’
On Wednesday, Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr announced another hike in the official cash rate, taking it to the highest level since 2008. So, in technical terms, it’s now at 4.25 per cent — up by 75 basis points.
And when you hear economists talking about it and getting all breathless about numbers, it can start to get a bit blah, blah, blah on it, can’t it?
That’s until you think about the realities behind the numbers — and there were two that came crashing home to me.
The first was to do with mortgage rates and my initial relief that we’re still on a fixed term for quite a few months yet. But when that fixed-term ends, there’s going to be quite a shift upwards.
That day of reckoning will be coming sooner rather than later for a lot of people. You might be in that boat yourself.
The other thing that came crashing home, was how stupid one of Adrian Orr’s comments was.
This is a chap who has just been signed up for another five years as Reserve Bank Governor, and who will earn truckloads for each of those years.
Now I’m not begrudging him that — because being Governor of the Reserve Bank is a big job and, if you heard him on Newstalk ZB Wednesday morning, you would have heard his thinly veiled comments about the impact
Government policy has had over the last few years on his ability to control inflation.
Remember the days when the Reserve Bank’s job was to keep inflation at 0-2 per cent? That seems a long time ago, doesn’t it?
So a tough job being Reserve Bank Governor, but I couldn’t believe it when he stood up, announced the cash rate hike and then told us we need to stop spending and start saving.
Now, I know the stats are saying that a lot of us are rushing out regularly and buying stuff. TVS, holidays, renovations — all those things.
But, at the same time, I don’t think
I can recall a time when there’s been so much concern about what it’s costing just to live day to day in this country.
Yes, I know there were times when people were paying massive mortgage rates — not just double digits, people even talk about mortgage rates up around the 20 per cent mark, don’t they?
But life is just so expensive these days and I couldn’t believe it when Adrian Orr stood on the Reserve Bank pulpit and said we must stop spending money and start saving.
Because, really, who saves money these days? Or, should I say, who can afford to save money these days? You’ve got the mortgage — or rent if you don’t own your house — you’ve got grocery bills. The list goes on: fuel, cellphone bills, school donations, and childcare costs.
And now we’ve got the prospect of mortgage rates going up and — not just that — the prospect of the country going into a recession some time next year.
So all of this is happening, and Mr Reserve Bank stands up this week, announces things are going to get even worse, and then tells us we need to stop spending and start saving.
Personally, I can probably think of things that we could choose to stop spending money on. But they wouldn’t be game-changers.
Because, like you, I’ve got no choice over what I pay for fuel. No choice over what I pay for groceries. No choice over what I pay for electricity and gas. No choice over how much I pay to go to the doctor.
This is why I think the “Stop spending, start saving” message we got from Adrian Orr shows how out of touch with reality the Reserve Bank is.