Recent Charts

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Recession and Recovery in the OECD

This from Macleans. Everyone else in the world knows Australia has done better than any other developed country after the global crisis, just not the right-wing ideologues like Judith Sloan, Adam Creighton and virtually everyone else at The Australian, who it seems are immune to statistical information and analysis related to events. 

To work out the relevance of location on the graph you need to know that being in the top right corner is a good thing because it means that the downturn in Australia was not very deep, initially because of Rudd government fiscal policy and Reserve Bank monetary policy and subsequently because of continuing demand from China.

The vertical axis measures the depth of economic downturn and the horizontal axis measures the strength of recovery from the pre-crisis peak of each country.

Tax Rates, Cheap Dates and Ciggies

The top marginal tax rate and the point at which it kicks in matter most when considering income taxes. Also important is the fact that the rate is marginal meaning you don't pay this rate for all your income, but for the income above a certain threshhold.

CNN Money has a great chart on top tax rates and the level they kick in. (h/t Leith van Onselen)

Once again let's be clear, Australians are not highly taxed.

While we're not highly taxed, the cost of living in Australia is at the top of the global scale. Deutsche Bank has a cheap date index, which ranks Australia at the top of the scale.

This cheap date would be considerably more expensive if you and your date were to smoke Marlboros.

Australia Compared: Still Better than Rest (especially in buying cars)

Looking at the graphics below on industrial production and car sales it is clear that Europe is still in deep trouble and that the United States is on a tentative road to recovery. Comparatively Australia is doing very well, particularly in the arena of car sales.

Compare these dismal figures for car sales in major markets with the long-term picture of Australian car sales. No wonder Australia is seen by international car companies as an important growth market, despite the relatively small Australian market.