When Taylor Swift was in Australia, it seemed like all the problems in the country could be solved. Public transport temporarily sorted itself out, people united together in love (or hate) of Tay Tay, and some economists even theorised that increased consumer spending would fix the national economy.
It’s been months now since Australia was graced by the presence of the music superstar as she performed her Eras Tour shows in Melbourne and Sydney. Remember that? It was the only thing we were allowed to talk about for a month, and everyone was making Swiftie puns. It truly was a “Cruel Summer”.
Well now the data is in, and one Federal Budget later, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been able to deliver the verdict on the question everybody has been asking:
Did Taylor Swift fix Australia’s economy?
Because that’s what she came over here to do after all, right?
It had nothing to do with music, millions of fans, or visiting Sydney’s second-best zoo twice. Everyone knows the real reason Tay Tay came Down Under was because she was here to gift us a dose of Swiftonomics.
That’s an actual term BTW. It refers to the influence that the Eras Tour has on an economy as fans spend money on tickets and products, and local governments and service providers spend on meeting the increased demand for food, accommodation, transport, and venues.
But did it work?
What did Taylor Swift do for the Australian economy?
A report from the Australian Bureau Of Statistics on national income, expenditure, and product revealed a 0.1% growth in the national economy in the March 2024 quarter.
This is the smallest amount of growth in Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) on an annual basis since December 2020. Ya know, right before COVID-19 hit?
“Taylor Swift and the Formula 1 got hearts racing. It was a huge quarter of live entertainment in Australia, as Taylor Swift and Pink performed sold-out concerts,” read a highlight from the report.
Jim Chalmers also name-dropped Taylor Swift in Parliament, saying that not even the power of Tay was enough to solely keep Australia from a recession.
“Yes, there was someone off spending. Yes, Taylor Swift was very popular when she was here. And those concerts were incredibly well attended, Chalmers said.
“But overwhelmingly the story of consumption, our economy, is about people focusing on the absolute essentials. And we saw that in the national accounts too.”
So… what did Taylor Swift do for the economy?
The answer: not enough. We’re still screwed.
Turns out when you’ve got a government that decides to spend $368 BILLION on submarines that won’t arrive for decades or chooses not to increase the taxation on billionaires and the mining industry, then you’re in for a hard time.
In summary, Taylor Swift needs to come back to Australia to fix our economy, and she only needs to do it approximately 999 more times for us to be fine!
