After twenty-nine years without a recession, Australia now faces the worst economic downturn in living memory. Unemployment is officially at 7.4 percent. With the addition of those receiving government wage subsidies or who have stopped looking for work, the figure is closer to 12 percent. On any substantive reading of the employment data, this is a sharper and deeper recession than the downturns of the 1990s and 1980s.

The pain is real for millions. Even before the virus hit, Australia’s economy was treading water. For those who do have jobs, wages have barely grown in a decade and workplace conditions are difficult. With around a third of the workforce in casualized or gig employment, insecurity is rife and workplace protections vestigial. Compounding this, the housing market is among the most over-leveraged and expensive in the world, with extremely high levels of rent and mortgage stress.

And yet for some, the economic news is no big deal. Amidst the news of job losses and business failure, a strange economic factoid floated to the surface recently: luxury cars are selling in record numbers. Who buys a BMW or Mercedes during a devastating recession? The answer: rich people. The highly skewed nature of the downturn has smashed younger and poorer demographics, while leaving well-heeled Australians with their wealth intact and far fewer opportunities to dispose of their income.