It's not good.

情況並不好。

We've got low wage growth, slow retail sales, falling house prices.

我們的薪資成長緩慢，零售業績也低，房價更是直落。

It could be trouble for the economy.

這可能會重挫經濟。

What are we going to do?!

我們該怎麼辦？！

We could deploy...the weapon!

我們可以利用...那個武器！

What's the weapon?

什麼武器？

The interest rate.

利率。

Last week was a dramatic one for the Australian Reserve Bank.

上週對澳洲儲備銀行來說非常地戲劇化。

It probably didn't go down quite like this...

但情況大概不像這樣...

Are you...are you sure, boss?

你...你確定嗎，老闆？

But its decision to lower Australia's interest rate did get a lot of people talking.

但它降低澳洲利率的決定的確引來人們關注。

Now, I know what you're thinking.

我知道你在想什麼。

Wait, what is an interest rate?

等等，什麼是利率？

Well, let me explain.

那就讓我來解釋吧！

You probably know a little bit already about loans, right?

相信你對貸款大概已經有一點基本的了解了，對吧？

They're the things that adults usually have to get when they buy a house.

成年人買房時大多需要貸款。

Houses are super expensive, and people often don't have that sort of money just lying around, so they borrow it from the bank.

房子非常貴，而人們手邊通常沒有這麼多可運用的金錢，因此他們會去銀行借。

And not just houses.

不只是房子。

You can also borrow money for cars or holidays or businesses.

你也可以借錢來買車或是度假或是進行商業活動。

But borrowing isn't free.

但是借錢不是沒有代價的。

In exchange for letting you hold onto its money, the bank charges interest, which is a percentage of the loan.

讓你使用它的錢時，銀行會索取貸款的一部分當作利息作為交換。

It's up to banks to decide how much interest they charge and give customers, but they often base that decision on a special national interest rate, which is set by the Reserve Bank.

銀行可以自己決定他們要向消費者索取和給予多少利率，但他們通常會依照儲備銀行設定的特別的國家利率決定。

What's a reserve bank?

什麼是儲備銀行？

Do you even work here?!

你真的在這裡工作嗎？！

The Reserve Bank is Australia's central bank.

儲備銀行是澳洲的中央銀行。

It's not like other banks.

它不像其他的銀行。

You can't go there to get a home loan or a savings account.

你無法在那裡貸款來買房或是開戶存款。

Its job is to make the big decisions about Australia's money, from what it looks like to how much of it gets printed.

它的任務是做有關澳洲貨幣的重大決策，從澳幣該長什麼樣子到要印多少澳幣。

It also sets the cash interest rate.

它也制定市場利率。

That's the interest rate that banks pay when they borrow money, and it's a powerful tool when it comes to managing Australia's money.

市場利率是銀行向儲備銀行借錢時所要付的利率，在管理澳洲貨幣時它是一樣很有效的的工具。

You see, interest rates have a big effect on the economy.

要知道，利率對經濟有很大的影響。

When they're low, people like your parents tend to have more money to spend on other stuff, and that helps businesses.

當利率低時，人們，像是你的父母會有更多資金去花在其他事物上，這將會促進經濟。

So, if things aren't doing so well, the RBA can lower interest rates.

所以，假使狀況不好，澳洲儲備銀行可以降低利率。

Yeah. It's fantastic.

沒錯。那真是太棒了。

And if banks decide to pass on those lower rates, it can give the economy a boost.

而如果銀行決定要採較低的利率，那就能活絡經濟。

Cool. Sounds like a plan.

酷。聽起來可行。

Here. Let me do it. No!

那麼。讓我來吧。不！

Lowering interest rates is a big decision.

降低利率是一個重大的決定。

There can be serious consequences.

它可能會導致嚴重的後果。

Lower interest rates can encourage people to take out loans they can't afford.

較低的利率可能會變相鼓勵人們借超過他們可以負擔的貸款。

It can also lead to inflation, which is when Australia's money essentially becomes worth less because there's too much of it floating around.

它也可能導致通貨膨脹，就是當澳洲貨幣貶值，因為市面上有太多澳幣流通時。

In some cases, that's a good thing because it can make it easier to sell stuff overseas, but it has to be managed carefully.

就某些狀況來說，那是一件好事因為這讓出口貿易更容易，但它必須被謹慎地監控。

And at the moment, there's another big problem.

在此同時，還有另一個大問題。

They're already so low!

它們已經很低了！

I know!

我知道！

Yep. Right now, the basic rate is the lowest it's ever been.

沒錯。現在的基礎利率已經是史上最低的了。

Back in the '90s, it was about 17.5%.

過去在 90 年代，利率大概是 17.5 %。

But when the global economy took a dive in the late noughties, so did interest rates, and they've gone down heaps since then.

但當全球經濟在千禧年代晚期衰退時，利率也一樣，它們自那時起就從高峰一直下降。

For the past three years, the RBA hasn't changed them, but last week it decided that it needed to roll out the interest rate weapon.

過去三年，澳洲儲備銀行都沒有改變利率，但在上週，它決定它必須再次使用利率武器。

The trouble is, now Australia's interest rates can't actually get much lower.

麻煩的是，現在澳洲的利率已經低到不能再低了。

What do we do if this doesn't work?

如果這個不管用，我們該怎麼辦？

I don't know.

我不知道。

It means they only get to use this economic weapon a few more times, and that's got some people worried, especially because economists reckon there'll be more interest rate cuts by the end of the year.

這意味著他們只能再用這個經濟武器幾次，而那讓一些人擔心，尤其是因為經濟學家推估在年底前會調降更多的利率。

While it's not a good sign for the economy, it is good news for borrowers, and many are hoping it's what Australia needs to get back on track.

當這對經濟來說不是一個好現象時，它對貸款人是好消息，而很多人也希望澳洲可以讓其利率返回正軌。