There was a great paragraph in Peter Martin’s weekend article:
Private businesses are telling the Reserve Bank they are reluctant to invest until they see a durable pick-up in consumer spending. But spending, and the confidence that drives it, are fragile. Talk of a second tough budget could dent it. Some of the economists most worried about Australia’s outlook are reluctant to even talk about their fears. Like the government, they don’t want to dent confidence and make their prophecy self-fulfilling.
In other words, everyone is lying to sustain the unsustainable.
