The 1970s was a decade of stagflation -- the concurrence of a rising inflation rate and stagnant economic growth. The U.S. economy has not now reached the double-digit inflation rate (almost 15% by 1981), or the 9% unemployment rate, experienced back then. But the early '70s, not the decade's end, offer the more ominous parallels to today's situation.Not going back to the '70s economy should be a central theme of John McCain's campaign, but so far he hasn't emphasized it.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Early '70s parallels
Gerald P. O'Driscoll Jr. in the WSJ today seems immune to '70s nostalgia: