This paper examines the policy challenges associated with the ageing of the Australian population through the prism of the global financial crisis. The paper observes that much of the commentary prompted by the financial crisis has featured a reaction against credit-driven consumption--the so-called ‘debt binge’ that has plunged household savings into the red in recent years--and a shift in sentiment that favours traditional values such as thrift.

There is a streak of hypocrisy about the reaction to the financial crisis because of what isn’t being said about the most important issues concerning the national saving culture or lack thereof. These issues identify the failure to put the principle of thrift into practice in a crucial policy area, and illustrate the way Australia is currently going backwards in dealing with intergenerational challenges.