It must be said that nothing has been announced officially, as yet, but the signs are all there.
In fact it’s more a matter of when and how much, which begs the question: “Is there anything ratepayers can actually do, or do we just grin and bear it?”
In Wollongong residents have virtually no chance of a reprieve with three newly appointed state administrators focused solely on breathing life into a bloated, scandal ridden bureaucracy already burdened with decades of seriously under funded infrastructure.
Other YOC communities such as Parramatta and The Shire have differing, less publicised, issues but none is in the position to rule out the usual increases and some commentators are already suggesting the State Government will grant them all the right to strike a rate higher than is automatically allowed.
That’s because local rates are based on State Government valuations and any recent dips in land values have automatically locked in a reduction of income meaning the councils will have to hike rates, just to stay where they were for the last round.
Of course, when land values do finally recover (and they always do) the councils will receive an additional boost to their coffers - but that’s in the future - and in the meantime how do struggling families survive the seemingly endless price rises which are affecting nearly all aspects of their daily lives?
Inflation is at the root of all our current financial problems and it must be acknowledged that handling systemic inflation is taxing the minds of a lot of people both in Australia and around the world. What’s more, the so-called experts who should know, economists, are conspicuous by their absence in the media which says to me they haven’t really got a clue and certainly don’t have an easy answer.
It has always seemed to me that in situations of great complexity (how to fix inflation) the best strategy (at a personal level) is to concentrate on simple solutions, after all you can’t usually influence the big ticket items even if you think you know the answer.
So here goes: two things - either increase your family’s disposable income (get another job, work overtime, even sell some surplus items) - or reduce your outgoings, and preferably both.
And if you can do this (say $100 a week) put the savings in one of the big banks and steadily build it up.
Over time (probably 4-6 months) this strategy will build a small buffer and increase your ability to handle any more bad economic news down the track and buy your family time to make the best out of any unforseen situations that may arise.
The virtue of this approach is that it builds on what strengths you already possess and also positions your family above all the others who just sit there and do nothing constructive (and will ultimately suffer any dire consequences before you have to).
Remember, if enough ordinary people suffer financial hardship all popularly elected governments, and particularly Labor ones, will finally act. You just have to make sure you and your family are still standing!
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