After nearly 30 years without a recession, it's only Australians in their mid 40s and older who have any grasp on what really difficult times are like. For those of us our mid fifties, we would have seen a reasonable amount but still nothing like our parents and grandparents experienced during and after WW2, particularly if they originated from Europe. There seems to be very little resilience and it's surprising to see what's happening this early on in the crisis with Centrelink offices being overwhelmed and panic buying after only a few days. It's like mass hysteria has gripped a large section the country. Other nations seem to be faring better, especially in Asia where there isn't a nanny state mentality.
I feel most sorry for those close to retirement who have had the value of their investments decimated and don't have enough working years left to recover, their golden years won't be quite so shiny. Being broke at 30 is bad enough, at 60 it's a disaster.
A recession is when your neighbour loses his job, a depression is when you lose yours.