No genius formula, ancient wisdom, or otherwise elaborate algorithm led the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to raise the national minimum wage by 5.2 per cent. But, with inflation this month hitting 5.1 per cent, the FWC figured they’d do one better – for better or for worse.

It seems economic recklessness is acceptable if it means the government can sell a warm and fuzzy headline celebrating how ‘minimum wage increases faster than CPI’.