There's an old joke that economists were invented to make astrologers look good.
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As we stare into the cost-of-living crystal ball it's hard not to see dark times ahead.
Reserve Bank boss Philip Lowe was certainly feeling everyone's pain at the Senate Estimates grilling last week, flagging there might be more pain required to ease the pain he was feeling on behalf of everyone he was causing pain to.
Not just because he is going to stay on as RBA governor. But rather because interest rates have gone up nine times since he mentioned they'd stay low - Philip Lowe.
Ironically, they went down because authorities were worried people would stop spending.
Now they're going up because the RBA is worried people will keep spending.
On trying to stay afloat.
Meanwhile, banks have filled their books with business during the low interest period and stand to reap a huge harvest.
Talk about the house always wins.
Hopefully that includes the humble houses of those who locked in cheap fixed rate loans at the height of the property boom.
Possibly emboldened by Phil's now infamous tip.
Those same people face a sharp insight into what it means to take the plunge later this year as cheap fixed rate loans start reverting back to crippling principal and interest repayments.
When economists talk about a looming 'correction', they're not necessarily referring to a mea culpa on Phil's advice, but more possibly the state of the housing market as a result of it.
It would be nice if governments and banks could take pre-emptive steps to soften the blow, but bail-outs only ever seem to end up going to the big end of town.
Which has revelled in record returns this profit reporting season, heightening the sense of have and have not.
It seems a little tone deaf as everyone tightens their belts, that CEOs could vow to cut more jobs, close more branches and ship more services overseas.
But I heard at least one CEO last week announcing just that, and sheepishly claiming it might be in the national interest.
Relieving people of employment, he said, though unfortunate, and painful, and a bad look, could ultimately help Australia because it might take pressure off wages growth.
Obviously not his wages growth.
But certainly those sacked because presumably they won't be around to demand a wage rise.
That will help keep inflation down, according to the experts.
If not the workers.
The trick for politicians, elected by the workers, will be making it sound like whatever they do about the resultant pain is in our interest.
Which gets us back to the crystal ball of Philip Lowe and how high can he go.
The one beacon of hope looking to the future is another joke about economists and how they've only managed to predict six of the last two recessions.
Fingers crossed.
