Wind the clock back to 1982 and you will find both negative and positive comparisons.
I was doing Year 12 and looking to transition straight into the workforce.
In 1982-83 the world was hit by high rates of inflation.
It had lingered since the 1970s but became a fixture, driven by the inflationary effects of higher oil prices — sound familiar?
Central banks sought to reduce inflation through tighter monetary policy, including raising interest rates.
A number of major economies, led by the United States, entered a recession.
In Australia, the economic headwinds were also full of blinding dust, the result of a deep and distressing drought.
Adult unemployment peaked at 10.5 per cent, youth unemployment was in many areas a staggering 50 per cent.
The future for a 17-year-old school leaver looked bleak.
What emerged from this recession was the political will to reform and protect the national economy from future shocks.
It coincided with the election of a fresh government led by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, but as veteran commentator and journalist Paul Kelly noted in a keynote address to the Reserve Bank, there was bipartisan support.
“John Howard is right to argue that in the 1980s the Opposition supported many of the government’s reform directions,” he said.
“In fact, the Opposition often attacked the government for not advancing further and faster.”
In 1983 the decision was made to float the Australian dollar and allow foreign banks to enter a reformed financial sector.
The Australian economy was opened up and Hawke’s Accord, which backed economy and jobs growth over wages, was critical.
The breaking of the drought coupled with key economic reforms led to a quick recovery.
My 17-year-old concerns in the face of turmoil and change were not dissimilar to the concerns of many young people now.
Can I get a job, let alone forge the career I want, and will I be able to afford to live the life I want?
As I said, it looked bleak.
A decade later, the “recession we had to have”, according to Keating, was sharper.
Despite facing an election, Keating refused to apologise, or unwind the 1980s reforms.
The economy is unrecognisable 30 years later, and again we face the challenge of rising inflation.
In a rare interview on the ABC’s 7.30 Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said he expected inflation would peak at a “very high” seven per cent late this year.
Interest rates, which have been at historic lows as part of the emergency response to the pandemic, will rise to curb inflation, but Mr Lowe indicated while he was not sure “how fast or high”, it could be gradual.
There will be short-term pain for many, but in the long run, history tells us that however bleak it is, we will get to the other side.
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