I know we have already had a thread about the global economic crisis but that was relating to our parks. Now how is it affecting you ????????
I am still a student but, I know of many teachers at my school have taken a big hit to their super so the affects are visible but haven't really reached me yet, have they reached you ?

Cheers,

Yes, the Theme Park Review trip is costing me more than 40% extra.

No I don't think its actually affecting anyone dramatically yet. Give it till the end of the year and there will be mad panic. I honestly think that we are going to spiral into a depression again. Hmm.

Nah, I don't think things will get particularly bad in Australia. Our banks are better regulated, and we haven't had a crash in house prices (Though I am a bit concerned that could happen)
I'm interested though...Lack of confidence is partly responsible for some of the falls, but what about people (like me) who are a bit apathetic to the whole situation and will carry on as normal.

This one is for Richo, but what specific factors have caused demand for the AUD to fall relative to other currencies (Or has demand just been 'artifically' high for some time?) I know lower interest rates would be one obvious factor, but are there any others? That's probably the main way it has affected me since it'll make some of my travel plans cost a bit more.

I heard thismorning that 2 million Australians were behind on their credit card payments and only 47% of the whole Australian population said they were living comfortably or better.

My feeling is effects of the current global economic situation aren't being felt here, at least not to any significant extent. Superannuation is a long-term investment so even though most funds have taken a fall in recent past, there's nothing to suggest long-term losses. Indeed most funds are in fact well above their predicted return over five and seven year averages.

As far as the dollar goes, there are a few answers, none of which I think entirely explain things but the easiest explanation is that in a time of economic downturn, a resource-based economy like ours suffers because there's simply less global demand for resources (much like we're seeing oil prices slip as a result of decreased demand). I think the $0.65 we're at today (up from $0.60 or so yesterday) is woefully undervaluing our currency and has been a knee-jerk reaction from the market. I'd expect that what we've seen is as low as it gets, and I'd hope we level off at around $0.75 mark.

People being behind on credit card payments is not a symptom of this problem; that's a problem stemming from people's inability to live within their means. This mindset itself has contributed to some of the problem, namely in the US with people taking on mortgages they can't possibly repay (encouraged by an industry with no oversight or regulation to stop them from giving these people the money, which has caused much of this unravelling), but 2 million people behind on credit cards just means there's 2 million people incapable of managing their own finances.