I’ve been simmering on this one for a while, and the recent SBS Insight episode The Boomer Economy has pushed me over the edge. If I hear one more person on TV, social media or radio tell us all how they’ve ‘worked hard’ to justify their excessive wealth, I’ll quite possibly spew my smashed avo all over their sensible walking shoes.
They may be genuinely well-meaning, but when someone utters ‘I’ve worked hard’ what they are actually telling the listener is that those who don’t have the wealth they have amassed haven’t worked hard, not to mention the convenient ignoring of their own privilege. The counter statement is of course ‘Oh right, so if I start right now – I’m going to work hard too – can I own multiple properties?’
Hardly. Let’s be honest, everyone works hard, but the wealth disparity hasn’t been caused by ‘hard work’ (whatever that is), it’s literally been a case of great timing, and of falling over ass-backwards into a perfect storm of:
- Cheap property when compared to wages
- Encouragement via policy by successive governments keen to discharge their duty to provide social housing by pushing the responsibility onto the public
- Outrageous tax benefits through the use of legal, yet socially irresponsible financial mechanisms pushed onto everyday people by creative accountants
One of the great mistakes governments made in cultivating this culture of wealth creation was encouraging us to embrace the concept of a home – a universal fundamental right – as being an ‘investment’. But all investment involves risk, and we’ve painted ourselves into a corner where it’s difficult to change policy without potentially triggering some sort of perceived collapse, even if only on paper, and reducing the wealth of the people (and politicians of course, who’ve been more voracious in the uptake of investment properties than just about any cohort in the country). This highly protected entitlement to a risk-free investment with guaranteed profit and annual growth is deeply troubling, and a major factor in driving the social divide. A secondary flow-on effect has been the perception of tax avoidance as normal and accepted, an area in which Aussies have become gold medallists over the last 40 years; the great land down-under is a thriving environment for ‘clever’ accountants with questionable financial ethics. Gee they’ve been great for society (and we wonder why social housing is in crisis and there’s a general decline across the board in services).
‘I’ve worked hard’ is a dismissive, tone-deaf statement that reflects how the American dream (to be the winner while others lose) has slowly become our own. Our strong ties to the mother of all social democracies – post-war Britain – has gradually eroded, and been replaced with the plasticity of our friends across the pacific, and their more palatable if indefinitive messages of ‘freedom’ and prosperity. ‘Greed is good’ has suddenly become another scroll-past moment in the mainstream.
The reminder for us all is that we are not in Trumpland, and even though it’s easy to miss the big highway sign signalling that we have arrived at the great goal of ‘enough’, and continue on blindly into the uncharted waters of hoarding and greed, we still live in a society that must care for all – even those who apparently haven’t worked hard.
