The only people who feel good are making over $200k and have large portfolios

The first thing I thought about as reading this: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"

We have a big "cost of living" concern in Australia, and it's very ripe to gaming the system through things like energy bill handouts.

I can only talk from the Australian perspective, but I think there's certain elements set up like a Ponzi scheme, and we'll need to correct it and stick to fundamentals, and that is going to break quite a few eggs.

>"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"

This is what "the economy" has become.

It is supposed to be metrics for quantifying the productivity and prosperity of a nation. It has now become the target for short-sighted bureaucrats, usually at great cost to the nation.

It's much more difficult to quantify happiness, community, harmony, purpose, togetherness, connection to people and soil and history. Can't hit those KPIs.

But you can absolutely destroy a nation trying to boost the next GDP stats in time for the election.

Yeah it always struck me as odd to see the news about inflation going up primarily because the handouts stopped. This feels like nothing fundamental in the economy or the value of a dollar changed. The energy handouts should have never counted as suppressing inflation in the first place.