Reform
This morning, as Michael Vick led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 26-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, I marvelled at the benefits of opportunity and reform. Two years ago today, Vick was sitting in a US federal prison after being sentenced on a litany of dog fighting charges. His future looked bleak, his arse was broke, he was being vilified to high hell, animal rights activists wanted to wear Vick skin boots and there were questions if he’d ever play in the NFL again. Contrast Vick, at that time, with the average Australian mortgage holder, or even more specifically the average variable rate mortgage holder with the Commonwealth Bank. They’d just received a 58 basis point cut – leaving them with an interest rate virtually comparable to the one they have today. November 2008 – 7.74%. November 2010 – 7.81%. To better illustrate any rise or fall in interest rates, some hack will usually paint the picture of what this will do for a $300,000 mortgage. In November 2008 that mortgage hol...