The great inflation and its aftermath : the past and future of American affluence /

Includes bibliographical references (p. 271-300) and index.

The basic premise of this book is that the inflationary period of the 1970s impacted global perception and history as much as the great depression. The fault of this inflationary period goes way beyond Carter to Johnson who first imposed wage and price controls. These were supported and strengthened through Nixon and Ford administrations. Finally, under Carton inflation grew above 10%. The cause was not oil or food prices, but government policy that cause the inflation. The great inflation was ended by Paul Volcker (head of Federal Reserve) with the support of Reagan by severly tightening money supply which caused the 1980-1981 recession. Prior to that, the Fed had supported the Presidents with loose money supply to help employment rates. Since this time, inflation has not been more than 2% per year. Samuelson's obvious concern is with current USA policy. USA economic growth is critical to people's lifestyle and happyness. There are several issues he believes could significantly slow USA growth - health care, global warming, and taxes.

lje 02/05/13

Loan