Mailbag, incl: Don’t miss the glimmers of light. August 23, 2026

**SPEAKER_1** (0:04)
Shares, the S&P, the ISX, stocks. This is the Motley Fool Money Mailbag.

**Scott Phillips** (0:10)
Welcome to Motley Fool Money, our very special Sunday morning Mailbag edition. I don't need to tell you what's special, I don't need to tell you what's Sunday, I don't need to tell you that Andrew Rampage is fired up as always. We got some Twitter feedback during the week.
Suffice it to say, he doesn't need any extra incentive to rant, and yet, some of you out there have a specific responsibility, and frankly, you should have a good hard look at yourselves, because don't wind the bloke up, it's not a good idea. Mr. Page, how are you?

**Andrew Page** (0:41)
Well, I mean, in their defense, there's a lot of triggers that are out there at the moment.

**Scott Phillips** (0:47)
Yes, but they threw it at you, it wasn't something you came across like, oh, I'm going to say this to Andrew, this will be good.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:52)
That's right. He's poking the bear, poking the bear.

**Scott Phillips** (0:56)
Poking the bear, poking the bear. Mates, why don't we get straight to it, so rather get in any more of those tangents. We'll start and answer some questions from our listeners, because allegedly, despite the appearance otherwise, this is what we're supposed to do. So let's start with one.

**Andrew Page** (1:07)
And we'll get to a tangent in due course when the first opportunity.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:11)
And a rant, and a rant. All right. Let's do it.

**Scott Phillips** (1:14)
What are we doing? James says, hail ye, gods of pods, which I quite like, nicely. Kiss the ring, bend the knee, yada, yada, yada.
James.

**Andrew Page** (1:25)
I think people are just going through the motions at this point.

**Scott Phillips** (1:27)
Are they?

**Andrew Page** (1:28)
Yeah.

**Scott Phillips** (1:29)
Okay. General warning.
I'm going to let James off for this one. At some point, you may not have your question answered. It's all I'm just saying. I'm just saying we don't necessarily need the praise. We don't deserve the praise. We don't desire the praise. None of that might be true.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:42)
We need the praise.

**Andrew Page** (1:43)
We really need the praise. We're very, very fragile egos that you guys are dealing with.

**Scott Phillips** (1:48)
Now, you mentioned, we mentioned ranting and tangents. James starts with, I hope you guys can explain the property problem. And feel free to go on a 30-minute rant.
I will start the stopwatch. Just like every other week, okay? For Tony Barber. And your time starts now. I am 32 years old, but don't call me a bastard just yet. No, James, you don't get to make those rules. You're a bastard. Last year, spurred on by the federal, government's 5% deposit scheme, I purchased a property in Melbourne and borrowed 95% at an interest rate of 5.8%.
Fast forward one year. The property has gone down by over 5%, like a lot of properties in Melbourne, so that I now owe more than it's worth. My interest rate is 6.55% and lucky to go up another two times, possibly three, with the latest minimum wage increases pushing up inflation and a budget that now lumps me with all those boomers that made millions on their properties. And no, not just you, Albo, so that the new changes to negative gearing and CGT will likely lead to 8-9% house price drop in 2026 in Melbourne alone. Can you please explain to me and my two-year-old kid how the government is stopping intergenerational wealth transfer but sending me bankrupt and back to the rental pool? Thanks, James. I will start by saying, James, I feel like you're shooting the messenger a little bit. We're not here to defend Albo or anything else that's going on. So I think I'm always inclined to the Tony Jones. I'll take that as a comment, but we'll at least talk to it. If not, explain to you how things are happening and what the government may or may not be right or wrong about. So we'll leave that bit, I think, alone.
Decent problem for James, though, Ryan.

**Andrew Page** (3:35)
Oh, it's a tragedy. And this is why I get, honestly, it's why I get so rolled up about these things. It's, I mean, people's lives are impacted by these policy decisions, you know, and it's a tough situation to be in. So a couple of things I'd say, first of all, there was a lot of likelies and expecteds in there, James. Are interest rates going to go up another two or three times? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I know that's the current narrative at the moment, but I mean, I've been watching this stuff long enough to know that they're almost always wrong.