Pretty much everywhere you look these days in the media, the talk is of a 'cost of living crisis.' I don't ever recall hearing the phrase used in the past, even during periods of high inflation. 

This is at least partly due to the tendency of media organisations to exaggerate any troublesome event - storms become 'rain bombs', for example. There is a crisis around every corner and an editor ready to beat up an item.

Sure, the CPI had been unusually high over the past few years, but we had inflation in the seventies and few obsessed over it the way many do now. Is it just the news media that is responsible for incandescent language?

I think not. Back when I was a kid, homes were modest, with a single bathroom. Children often shared bedrooms. There was a single TV with four free-to-air channels. There were no streaming services to subscribe to. You saw it on TV or at the movies or you didn't see it. You heard it on the radio or you lashed out for an LP to play on the one family stereo system, or you didn't hear it.

If you add in all the subscription costs to streaming services, plus the the cost of the internet, plus the cost of all the devices, plus the extra cars parked in the drive, plus the takeaway/home delivery meals, well I could go on and on, then part of this 'crisis' is manufactured in ordinary suburbs all around Australia, living beyond their means.

I don't want this to sound like old fogeyism, but I doubt that people are any happier or less stressed. The stats certainly tell us otherwise.