NEWS The RBA held the the cash rate at 3.85%, so I’ll still be eating my 2-min noodles for the foreseeable future
BY: Kartya Vucetic
In a move economists are calling “unexpected” and the rest of us are screaming “wtf?”, the RBA has officially held the cash rate at 3.85% this afternoon.
In a decision that has been held six votes to three, it comes as a surprise after predictions claiming there to be a 90% chance the cash rate would be dropped to 3.6% today. And while that’s not exactly a sweeping change, it certainly was enough to dangle the false hope of an improving (and deflating) economy.
Either way, this doesn’t substantially impact you if you’re part of Gen Z, working freelance jobs, paying $700 a week to live next to a train line, or still buying two-minute noodles from Coles that cost $1.80 now. At the very least, the rate hasn’t gone up.
If you were to cut me open rn, I’d be mostly this
The cash rate determines the interest banks pay to borrow money. When it drops, banks might lower interest rates for mortgages, loans, and credit cards. But most renters (especially in Sydney) won’t see that impact anytime soon. Because let’s be real, when could we ever really trust a landlord to do the right thing? Rent prices are still through the roof, wages are still stagnant, and the avo toast remains offensively priced.
And it’s not just you feeling the squeeze.
Just this past week, it was revealed that over 800 restaurants in NSW closed in the past year, with cost of living cited as one of the main concerns. That’s nearly two venues a day, gone. Whether it’s rising produce costs, shrinking margins, or customers simply not affording a $27 pasta anymore, the reality is bleak.
Pictured: Zafferanos in Surry Hills is one of many Sydney restaurants on the chopping block
So while the RBA has started to loosen its grip these past few months, they’re making it very clear that this won’t be a quick shift, and we’ve got a long way to go for serious economic healing. Sadly, as it turns out, it isn’t easy magically undoing years of unaffordable living, casual job insecurity, and housemates who don’t do the dishes.
TL;DR? It’s bleak news, but definitely could have been worse. Any direct benefits or harms right now will be felt by those holding a mortgage, aka very few of us. If you’re like me and holding a reusable coffee cup and a maxed-out Afterpay balance, welcome to more of the same.
