Doom and Gloom 101 . . .

Is Australia in recession or isn’t it? (Is NSW in recession ahead of the rest of the country?) Will we lose our jobs? Will my business fail? These are the questions occupying the minds of most Australians at the moment. The thing is, there are the real life influences e.g. BHP laying off 3000 Australian jobs, and then there is the mental factor – the fear factor if you will. This is just as real and perhaps more destructive than the actual events themselves.

According to the National Retailers Association, 74% of those polled are maintaining their existing higher mortgage repayments to pay their loans off faster. Of the 26% who have had their monthly payments reduced in line with interest rate cuts, half of those were using the extra funds to pay down other debt such as credit cards. Only 3% were using the additional funds for consumer spending.

People are just not spending at the moment – some because they can’t, but most because they are fearful to. People are not shopping, not going to restaurants, not getting things repaired, not replacing their cars etc etc. And in the long run this will do more to bring the Australian economy down than anything else because if retailers and businesses fail, more people are unemployed and less money is circulated. It’s a vicious cycle.

The current problems will not end overnight. Consumer confidence is a hard earned commodity, and we need consumer confidence to get the wheels turning again. Interest rate cuts will not be enough to kickstart industry again – it requires a certain optimism about the future. In the U.S. this week a new, dynamic young president was inaugurated. While many were happy to see the man himself take over the reigns of power, I think many more see this event as a turning point in the U.S. economy and welcomed him with hope and optimism for a brighter future. Whether he achieves this or not is immaterial – it is the mental turning point that is important.

We in Australia are really largely untouched by the world economic turmoil. But to remain that way we need to be hopeful – not fearful – about the future. Now get out there and buy that house, order that new car and that new office equipment – I need you to and Australia needs you to.

And always remember . . .

"A day without sunshine is . . .  well, like night really."