Allow us to explain as quickly as possible how the headline above could possibly make sense.
Australian social demographer Bernard Salt recently caused a nationwide uproar when he suggested young people would be able to afford a house if they didn’t spend so much money on smashed avocado dishes.
“I have seen young people order smashed avocado with crumbled feta on five-grain toasted bread at $22 a pop and more,’ Salt wrote in a column for Weekend Australian.
He continued: “I can afford to eat this for lunch because I am middle-aged and have raised my family. But how can young people afford to eat like this? Twenty-two dollars several times a week could go towards a deposit on a house.”
Social media users were quick to point out Salt’s poor economics:
Forgoing a $20 smashed avocado meal a week will save $1040 a year. A 20% deposit for a home in Sydney is ~$200,000 (@ median house price)
— Frank Keany (@FJKeany) October 16, 2016
Comments about the absurdity of Salt’s remarks flooded the internet…
And smashed avocados have even made it to the senate:
When a real fresh avocado is held up in economics estimates to highlight the #smashedavo debate @abcnews pic.twitter.com/qFWBzMlJiv
— Anna Henderson (@annajhenderson) October 19, 2016
Cafes, afraid that they’ll lose business as young people decide to buy property in droves with their avocado money, are getting in on the action too.
Discounted smashed avocado dishes are starting to appear on menus across the country with names like ‘Retirement Plan’ and ‘The Baby Boomer’.
Blackboards in Sydney feature specials like ‘Home Saver’s Signature Avocado’ and ‘The Millennial’.
Avocados Australia offered the most reasonable take: “Who even needs a house when you have smashed avo on toast?”
Given that most young people can only dream of affording their own house – Australia’s situation is similar to what Canadian millennials face – who’s to argue against splurging on life’s little pleasures?
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