Dollars & Sense

Budgets are about choices – and successive governments have chosen to punish jobseekers, says Greg Jericho. JobSeeker unemployment payments are “seriously inadequate” according to the government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee. But why has their value fallen so far behind the aged pension? And with budget night fast approaching, will the government choose to fix a broken system – or do its priorities lie elsewhere? Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Additional editing: Emily Perkins Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.Support Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 rising cost of university and record indexation is driving up student debt, putting a major burden on younger Australians. On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg explores what the government could do to address the situation, plus the what the latest inflation figures tell us about the health of the economy. Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Additional editing: Emily Perkins Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.Support Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The government is under fire for trying to ‘pick winners’, but green manufacturing could be the pony to get behind, says Greg Jericho. The Australian Government wants to create a future that’s ‘made in Australia’, but can it really compete with the likes of China and the United States? On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg explores whether the new Future Made in Australia strategy could spur on the renewable manufacturing sector – or if the government’s flogging a dead horse. Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Additional editing: Emily Perkins Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.Support Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that Australians feel the pinch of interest rate rises more than people in any other advanced economy. On this episode, Greg explores the reasons why – and why house prices have more to do with it than the IMF thinks. Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Additional editing: Emily Perkins Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions Show notes: ‘Monetary policy, mortgages, and the housing market’, VoxTalks Economics, Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.Support Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The budget balance usually steals the headlines on budget night, but it’s not that important, says Greg Jericho. With budget night a little over a month away, Greg tees off on Australia’s political obsession with budget deficits. He argues it’s not a good measure of the health of the economy or of who is a better ‘economic manager’ – and the forecasts are often wildly wrong anyway. Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Additional editing: Emily Perkins Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.Support Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute, discusses the misconception that wage increases lead to inflation spikes. He explains the importance of fair wage growth, challenges fears of economic repercussions, and analyzes the impact of minimum wage adjustments on the economy. Jericho also compares Australia's minimum wage internationally and examines the relationship between wage growth and inflation.

Unemployment dropped in a big way in February, so is the Australian economy now out of the woods? On this episode, Greg Jericho discusses the link between unemployment and recessions, what message the data holds for the Reserve Bank and why Treasury should hold off on the party poppers – at least for now. Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Additional editing: Emily Perkins Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.Support Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Housing prices have risen so much in Australia that 2020 prices look almost reasonable. In fact, if the house price to income ratio were the same as it was in 2000, the average price would be nearly $400,000 less. Greg Jericho is Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Subscribe to Between the Lines, the Australia Institute’s fortnightly-ish newsletter. Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Theme Music: Blue Dot SessionsSupport Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 with Guardian Australia. Each week on Dollars & Sense, Greg dives into the latest economic figures to explain what they can tell us about what’s happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Subscribe to Between the Lines, the Australia Institute’s fortnightly-ish newsletter. Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Theme Music: Blue Dot SessionsSupport Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia. In Dollars & Sense, each week, Greg Jericho will dive into the latest economic figures, and explain what they can tell us about what's happening in the economy, how it will impact you and where things are headed. Recorded on Thursday 29th February 2024. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram or visit our website. Subscribe to Between the Lines, the Australia Institute's fortnightly-ish newsletter. Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work Producer: Jennifer Macey  Theme Music: Blue Dot SessionsSupport Dollars & Sense: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.