Idiots Guide to the Economy

So you're watching the Australia dollar on the six-thirty news, and it suddenly dawns on you: I know absolutely nothing about what is going on. 'GFCs' and 'RSPTs' seem to be flying past your head, and until now, there has never be a way out of this quagmire of confusion. Behold, your own Idiot's Guide to the Economy. Follow my method, and you're sure to get a reputation as a slightly more bogan Ross Garnaut.

You can't go wrong:

1. Budget surpluses are always good. (I promise you that you'll never know why, so think of the Australian treasury as a kind of magical piggy-bank, either filled with shiny dollars, or filthy IOUs.)
2. Interest rates:
1. When interest rates are increasing, Australia invariably suffers from a skills shortage.
2. When interest rates are dropping, weep for the unemployed.
3. A dollar that buys more US green gets you cheaper plasma TVs.
4. The mining boom:
1. If you live in the West, the mines are God's gift to Australia.
2. If you live in the East, you're praying to sweet Yahweh that something lifts your monthly welfare paycheck.

Aaaand sadly that was not as funny as I thought it'd be! 

But Menzies'd be proud if we named the RSPT to the RESPECT.

-B