When did we decide joy was a commodity we couldn’t afford?

Much has been written on the ‘politics of joy’, the term coined to explain New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s mission as a politician. 

While still in the race, Mamdani addressed the absence of joy in people’s lives and said:

“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the childcare that we’re making universal—it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”

In Australia, do we expect working people to live lives of joy, art, rest and expression?  Do we even afford workers the expectation of living a life of joy and rest?

The ABS measure of our satisfaction levels, is falling and financial stress is one of the key reasons for our falling levels of joy. 

As you are reading this, things are about to get harder with the fuel excise discount now phased out, meaning fuel prices will jump by about 16 cents. That comes at the same time as economists are betting on when the RBA will raise interest rates again this year, not if.  

And it comes at the same time as workers feel, in real time, that they are........

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