A much more complicated tool would include other forms of wealth, such as the family home. But income remains one of the main determinants of living standards.

And when it comes to arguments over economic policy, our politicians often speak in terms of income. Like Mr Abbott, who said $185,000 was "not going to give you a particularly lavish life by any means".

Or Labor's former chief whip, Joel Fitzgibbon, who said: "In Sydney's west, you can be on a quarter of a million dollars family income a year and you're still struggling."

The calculator will not settle the fights over who deserves what in the budget. Nor will it inspire radical redistribution; "We are the 56 per cent" seems an unlikely rallying cry.

But in discussing the nation's financial position, a greater sense of our own can only help.