Those cuts don't do what they used to do AUSTRALIANS' newfound prudence is undermining one of the key lessons of Politics 101: lower interest rates are good for votes. Economics 101 might be due for a review as well: rate cuts simply aren't having the same impact on the economy. The jump in the saving rate from zero to 10 per cent of disposable income in the past decade, and the increase in the share of households' financial assets in deposits by a quarter to 25 per cent since 2008, indicate lower interest rates are becoming both less potent and politically less attractive.