The Whinging Index: Why We Can't See How Good We Have It
I’ve been diving into an interesting discussion about Australia’s ranking on the Local Purchasing Power Index, where apparently we sit at a respectable fourth place among developed nations. The LPPI measures what you can actually do with your salary rather than just raw numbers – basically, how far your money goes when you factor in the cost of living. It’s a more useful metric than just looking at average wages in isolation.
Predictably, this sparked a fascinating debate. On one hand, you’ve got people saying “stop whinging, we’ve got it good” and on the other, there’s a chorus of “but things used to be so much better!” Both sides have valid points, but the conversation reveals something deeper about how we perceive our own circumstances.
Someone made an observation that really stuck with me – we’re not comparing Australia to other countries anymore, we’re comparing it to Australia twenty years ago. And fair enough, there’s genuine concern about housing affordability and wage stagnation in certain periods. The data shows that real wages were indeed better between 2012 and 2021, and we’re only recently recovering to where we were a decade ago. That’s not nothing. People got comfortable with a certain lifestyle during that period, and having to adjust backwards feels like a betrayal, even if objectively we’re still doing well compared to most of the world.
But here’s where it gets interesting. Someone who actually lived here twenty years ago – back in 2005 – pushed back hard on the nostalgia, pointing out that life wasn’t some golden age we’ve lost. And another person went even further, comparing today to 1985. Their breakdown was compelling: better healthcare, stronger worker protections, improved consumer laws, less tolerated domestic violence, racism, sexism, and homophobia. More people attending university, lower crime rates, better infrastructure. Sure, house prices are brutal, but we’re eating out more, travelling internationally more, and have access to information and opportunities that would’ve been unimaginable in the ’80s.
The thing is, I think both perspectives can be true simultaneously. We can acknowledge that Australia is objectively a great place to live while also recognising that specific metrics – particularly housing affordability – have deteriorated significantly. The median house price to median income ratio has absolutely exploded in the past two decades. That’s not people being precious; that’s a real structural issue that affects life trajectories, particularly for younger Australians.
What frustrates me is the dismissiveness on both sides. Yes, some people catastrophise and act like Australia is a failed state, which is ridiculous when you look at global standards. But equally, telling people to just be grateful because we’re better than the worst examples isn’t helpful either. It shuts down legitimate conversations about where we need to improve.
The reality is more nuanced. We’ve made enormous progress on social issues, healthcare, education access, and workplace safety. My DevOps career wouldn’t have been possible without the democratisation of education and technology. But we’ve also seen wealth inequality increase, housing become increasingly unattainable for many, and real wages stagnate for chunks of the population. Both things can be true.
There’s also this phenomenon of social media warping our perception. We’re not keeping up with the neighbours down the street anymore – we’re comparing ourselves to influencers and tech millionaires from around the world. That constant comparison definitely breeds dissatisfaction, even when our actual material conditions are historically unprecedented.
I think what gets lost in these debates is the recognition that being grateful for what we have and pushing for improvements aren’t mutually exclusive. I can simultaneously appreciate living in a country with universal healthcare, strong labour protections, and relatively low corruption while also advocating for better housing policy, stronger climate action, and reduced inequality. In fact, the reason we have those good things is precisely because previous generations didn’t just accept the status quo – they fought for better conditions.
So where does that leave us with this LPPI ranking? I think it’s a useful reality check. We genuinely do have it better than most of the world, and that’s worth acknowledging. But let’s not use that as an excuse to ignore legitimate concerns about housing affordability, wealth concentration, and whether our children will have the same opportunities we did.
The path forward isn’t to choose between gratitude and ambition. It’s to hold both. We can recognise our privileged position while still striving to ensure that Australia remains a place where hard work leads to security, where housing is attainable, and where the next generation has it even better than we do. That’s not whinging – that’s citizenship.