A quick thread: you know how all those ~data guys~ were circulating homebrew graphs that did little more than illustrate an exponential function starting with data from Australia’s Covo testing numbers? >

I’ve been asking every one I’ve seen if they could turn their attention to mapping the lifelong financial consequences for a person who takes the legislated opportunity to withdraw $10K from their superannuation.

Not one has agreed. >

That right there speaks to motivation: the belief that if you can scare enough people, we’ll have a society-wide lockdown, and that will save the world.

Not actually helping to protect specific people from harm and inequity. >

To highlight the potential harm of this policy, I’m going to calculate the cost of withdrawing $10K for a woman aged 30-34 with the average super balance, reported by AMP as $34K, ignoring tax concessions, insurance, and fees. >

I’m going to compare it to the cost of borrowing $10K from Monzi, a predatory lender that will lend money to people on Centrelink, over a 24-month term. >

Also, I’m assuming no further contributions, which is unrealistic but this is ~illustrative~ like the epi curves.

$34K at 30yo adds up to $694K at 65yo. (Assuming retirement still exists in 2055, and also that climate change hasn’t wiped out humanity.)

$24K adds up to $490K >

By contrast a $10K loan from a predatory lender over a 24mo term is going to cost $650 in monthly repayments, which is manageable on a JobSeeker payment (assuming the supplement continues til 2022). Total cost, $15.6K. Even at 56% interest, a predatory loan is much cheaper. >

tl;dr: The super withdrawal is an absolute stinker of a policy and you would be better off taking out a loan from a predatory lender. DON’T DO IT. -fin-