{"slug": "cash-strapped-australians-yearn-for-the-happy-days-of-covid-lockdowns", "title": "Cash strapped Australians yearn for the ‘happy’ days of COVID lockdowns", "summary": "Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that some Australians now report feeling happier during the COVID-19 pandemic than in 2026, citing government support payments and relief from work pressures. Today, those same citizens face cost-of-living crises, reduced real incomes, and job insecurity from AI, leading to a nostalgic view of the lockdown era.", "body_md": "## Cash strapped Australians yearn for the ‘happy’ days of COVID lockdowns\n\n10 June 2026\n\nTangentially related [to the previous post](https://disassociated.com/facebook-spent-billions-metaverse-new-name/). Data recently published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggests some Australians [felt better off during the COVID pandemic](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-09/happiness-index-shows-we-were-more-satisfied-in-covid-pandemic/106764966), despite lockdowns and other restrictions on their movements, than they do today.\n\nIn 2026 people are dealing with cost-of-living pressures, reduced real income, and the potential threat to their jobs from AI, among other things.\n\nIn contrast, during the pandemic, many Australians were the recipients of government UBI-like payments. Some were possibly also content with the prospect of not having to work, even if they couldn’t go too far from their homes.\n\nWhoever could have thought some people might one day look on that difficult period with fondness?\n\nRELATED CONTENT\n\n[Australia](https://disassociated.com/tag/australia/), [economics](https://disassociated.com/tag/economics/), [health](https://disassociated.com/tag/health/), [pandemic](https://disassociated.com/tag/pandemic/), [trends](https://disassociated.com/tag/trends/)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/cash-strapped-australians-yearn-for-the-happy-days-of-covid-lockdowns", "canonical_source": "https://disassociated.com/cash-strapped-australians-yearn-happy-days-covid-lockdowns/", "published_at": "2026-06-09 21:00:28+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-11 18:59:06.339052+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Australian Bureau of Statistics", "ABC News"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/cash-strapped-australians-yearn-for-the-happy-days-of-covid-lockdowns", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/cash-strapped-australians-yearn-for-the-happy-days-of-covid-lockdowns.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/cash-strapped-australians-yearn-for-the-happy-days-of-covid-lockdowns.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/cash-strapped-australians-yearn-for-the-happy-days-of-covid-lockdowns.jsonld"}}