Stats NZ gave us the latest household living-costs price indexes.
This is what we pay for stuff. This is the cost of our living or, as is more often than not referred to by the media and the miserable, the "cost of living crisis".
In that name, "the cost of living crisis", lies a lot of our problems. And a lot of our problems lie in our attitude.
The "cost of living crisis" no longer exists. It arrived in Covid and it roughly finished when inflation dropped back to a more orderly level.
Now this is not to say things are perfect, or brimming, or bullish. It's just that it's not as bad as it was, nor indeed anywhere close.
But we've decided the "cost of living crisis" has stuck. It makes us feel justified in moaning and it gives some political operators ammunition.
The actual increase in our cost of living was 3.2%. That's actually not bad. It's not great, but it's not bad and just about in the Reserve Bank band.
If you take out petrol, which has nothing to do with us, it would have been way lower.
What was way lower was the interest rate costs on the mortgage. See, not everything is going up.
We hear a lot about power and rates, and rightly so, but little about the mass saving that has arrived in our bank accounts by paying interest rates that by any historic reading are quite low.
Like all stories your individual circumstances matter; how much petrol you use, what your income is, what industry you are in, what sort of pay rise you got, etc. They are in fact, the majority of people you know, doing fine.
They have plentiful work, they are well paid, they have savings, take holidays, wish the power bill was cheaper but, by and large, life is decent and there is no crisis.
It's getting close to the time that if we can get the war out of the way, the oil at about $70 a barrel consistently, and renewable power supply dropping generation prices, we will actually arrive economically at a pretty good spot.
At 3.2% with a war, we are close to being maybe 2% without one.
And that is what they call a sweet spot. All that’s left is for those obsessed with the negativity of a crisis to recognise that it isn't.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
The "cost of living crisis" no longer exists. It arrived in Covid and it roughly finished when inflation dropped back to a more orderly level.
Now this is not to say things are perfect, or brimming, or bullish. It's just that it's not as bad as it was, nor indeed anywhere close.
But we've decided the "cost of living crisis" has stuck. It makes us feel justified in moaning and it gives some political operators ammunition.
The actual increase in our cost of living was 3.2%. That's actually not bad. It's not great, but it's not bad and just about in the Reserve Bank band.
If you take out petrol, which has nothing to do with us, it would have been way lower.
What was way lower was the interest rate costs on the mortgage. See, not everything is going up.
We hear a lot about power and rates, and rightly so, but little about the mass saving that has arrived in our bank accounts by paying interest rates that by any historic reading are quite low.
Like all stories your individual circumstances matter; how much petrol you use, what your income is, what industry you are in, what sort of pay rise you got, etc. They are in fact, the majority of people you know, doing fine.
They have plentiful work, they are well paid, they have savings, take holidays, wish the power bill was cheaper but, by and large, life is decent and there is no crisis.
It's getting close to the time that if we can get the war out of the way, the oil at about $70 a barrel consistently, and renewable power supply dropping generation prices, we will actually arrive economically at a pretty good spot.
At 3.2% with a war, we are close to being maybe 2% without one.
And that is what they call a sweet spot. All that’s left is for those obsessed with the negativity of a crisis to recognise that it isn't.
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
14 comments:
I have a special savings acct where I set aside money for my rates and insurance on a nice but average house in the outer Wellington region….7.5k plus 13k respectively just this year and the rates are going up 7%…..& the gall of the council is to put out comms saying would I like another rates rise or services cut?
My council doesn’t do rubbish and I already get a water bill….meanwhile they rip up perfectly good roads to use up budget.
All of the councillors campaigned on reducing rates and none of them have delivered a damn thing ….while the local blob continues to expand and frustrate and add ridiculous costs for ridiculous hurdles for local businesses…..I’ve come close to dragging my family back to Australia a few times in the past year. This place is a mess!!
Renewable energy, aka wind and power, are expensive forms of energy due to the need to get that power into the grid. That is why our power bills are going up and will for the foreseeable future.
Your article is hopelessly wrong, Mike. What you are measuring is not how far your dollar goes in NZ. Its the real wage you should be reporting. It has fallen the past year as pay did not keep up with costs. Its that ratio you should have reported. And its the level that matters to people, not rate of change, which you also get wrong. Better you dont make comments on economics. Amazing for Newstalk ZB to put in writing NZ Kiwis are delusional about cost of living crisis then use the wrong stats to falsely "prove" the fake assertion.
I posted the following a few days ago on another thread. I will post it again, as it is my experience of 'average' (imo) kiwis.
Robert - Mike is also claiming attitude, which is a massive part of this issue. He is correct. Robert imo you are also correct - you have a point, but you are letting your dislike of what this govt is doing cloud your judgement imo.
Here is my experiences.....
Ryan, im one of the luckiest guys on this planet. I live a great life. Not too many worries shall we say.
I now give a lot back. I have a business or 2 and I (businesses) do a lot for charities and people that are struggling.
Here's where it gets interesting. I recognized a number of years ago that people were struggling to make ends meet. Stuff ran scaremongering stories about families not coping. (I refuse to read far left stuff now days).
I decided to help. Im not a financial advisor or planner, but im good with money, budgeting and investing etc.
However money is just a small part of the problem. Without the correct mindset, which can be changed, you just have to want to change - is a much bigger part of the issue.
I had a number of people referred to me and I helped them make their situation work for them. But what i discovered is that these people don't want to sacrifice or go without. Now im not talking big stuff here, im talking about junk food, eating out, alcohol, smokes, concerts, iPhones, bigscreen tv's, fancy cars they cant afford etc etc.
I recon that for 90% of these people claiming ‘cost of living’ and demanding more money - i could fix their situation.
The simple fact that these people can't work their own problems out for themselves means they have a real issue, which is actually ‘themselves’. Unfortunately these people dont want to hear what im trying to tell them. You have to remember, all I’m doing is HELPING THEM. They have the problem - not me!
The simple fact that pretty much none have taken the very simple basic advice I gave them which would have made their lives immeasurably better, tells me that these people want to be miserable but with a flash phone and a cigarette in hand.
I just don't understand them. They unfortunately will be miserable, by their very own hand, for most of their time on this planet.
Oh, I will also state, imo there is no poverty in this country. It is a made up far left situation to take from those who produce and give to those that don't want to contribute and believe they are entitled not to contribute.
Poverty imo is what you have in 3rd world countries where most don't know where their next meal is coming from. Not like here, where a kid with an iPhone 15 is in 'poverty' because they are 2 models out of date. That is NOT poverty.
We have a budgeting, fomo, a live for now and entitlement problem – NOT POVERTY like the left claim.
Anon 7.10. Absolutely incorrect, i think because your comment makes no sense at all. Power is not a source like wind as you suggest, or if it is this is a new one to me. Wind is tho, so you are half correct.
Wind, sun, geothermal and water will exist and continue. Why not harness these resources to produce energy?
They are readily available and NOT expensive as you claim - did you pay anything for the wind to blow today?
However, what is expensive is the cost to build the infrastructure to utilise these resources to produce energy. I'm guessing thats what you actually mean.
I still dont see your problem though, do you want this stuff for free I'm guessing?
Millionaires driving exotic sports cars aren’t exactly a bellwether of whether there is a cost of living crisis.
Building hydro dams and generators want cheap either. And the main trunk power line? Woah, talk about spendy!
What Mike oblivious to is the massive raises that preceded it haven’t suddenly gone away. In fact, they’re now getting 4% worse!
Mike was very worried about global inflation factors 3 years ago. I wonder why he believes we shouldn’t pay attention to them any more. Curious.
Unless Trump wipes out Iranian control of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb straits we can look forward to $4+ petrol and 6%+ inflation as our agrarian economy gets blasted with escalating costs - indefinitely . Buckle up.
Robert MacCulloch is right. If Mike cannot distinguish between a rate of change of prices and the prices themselves he should not be making public comments on economics.
Yes, the rate of increase of prices has moderated but the prices themselves when aggregated over the past 6 years, have increased massively.
And most people have not seen a corresponding increase in wages.
This gap between prices and wages (and not their rates of change) is the cost of living crisis.
Mike is would be better commenting on things he knows something about.
From the nationwide Ipsos Issues Monitor survey survey results this week:
Top five issues are: Cost of living, healthcare, the economy, housing, and unemployment
Oh, Mike. Bless.
4.22 - yeh right. There is no cost of living crisis. I help these people in the so called 'cost of living crisis'. We certainly have a 'living beyond our means ' crisis tho. I see it first hand every day.
Bless.
Glad Mike has solved the number one issues affecting kiwis. We just have healthcare, the economy, housing, and unemployment to go. Onwards, comrades!
I don’t take one man’s word for it. We need to hear from at least another 5 millionaires on whether there is still a cost of living crisis.
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