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Comment by tonyedgecombe | Hacker News Reader

Interest rates are a blunt instrument but they do have an impact. The biggest problem is the pain isn't spread evenly. If you have just fixed your mortgage for five years then they don't impact you but if you are just about to renew then you will be bearing more of the cost. If you are a net saver then increases are generally a good thing.

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Australia has fairly short fixed term mortgages. There are people who are barely recovering from covid effects on the interest rates. There are many who lost everything. Another bout of "high interest rates are a blunt instrument" could cause serious problems.

Note. This doesn't affect me, and I have strong opinions on the property market in Australia, but I'm pointing out that many people will go to the wall if interest rates are increased again,despite how much I think they may deserve it.

I think it’s well established in economic circles that unemployment goes up as inflation falls. We are seeing signs of this in the UK at the moment.

Letting it run away causes its own problems though. Take a look at South America to see what happens if you can’t manage inflation.

Inflation and unemployment are seen as results of demand. They're both regarded as effects. One isn't the cause of the other.

At least in most economic theory... Which is possibly not the best theory to put much weight in, considering how changeable and unproven it is.

No but they are inversely correlated. As you bring inflation down you expect unemployment to rise.

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