-
-
-
The 1970s saw inflation skyrocket as producer and consumer prices rose, oil prices soared and the federal deficit more than doubled. By August 1979, when Paul Volcker was sworn in as Fed chairman, drastic action was needed to break inflation’s stranglehold on the U.S. economy. Volcker’s leadership as Fed chairman during the 1980s, though painful in the short term, was successful overall in bringing double-digit inflation under control.
-
1971-4.4
1972-3.2
1973-6.2
1974-11
1975-9.1
1976-5.8
1977-6.5 -
Dec 31, 1977 6.01 trillion
Dec 31, 1976 5.73 trillion
Dec 31, 1975 5.49 trillion
Dec 31, 1974 5.35 trillion
Dec 31, 1973 5.46 trillion
Dec 31, 1972 5.25 trillion
Dec 31, 1971 4.91 trillion -
Jan 1, 1977 7.50%
Jan 1, 1976 7.90%
Jan 1, 1975 8.10%
Jan 1, 1974 5.10%
Jan 1, 1973 4.90%
Jan 1, 1972 5.80%
Jan 1, 1971 5.90% -
1971-5
1972-5 3/4
1973-9
1974-8
1975-4 7/8
1976-5 7/8
1977-6 1/2 -
Fical Policy
President Jimmy Carter (1973-1977) sought to resolve the dilemma with a two-pronged strategy. He geared fiscal policy toward fighting unemployment, allowing the federal deficit to swell and establishing countercyclical jobs programs for the unemployed. To fight inflation, he established a program of voluntary wage and price controls. Neither element of this strategy worked well. By the end of the 1970s, the nation suffered both high unemployment and high inflation. -
It was a time when families still gathered together for dinner each night and when new-fangled gadgets made it easier to cook, do homework, or play together. People began to care more about their environment and sports figures started making seven-figure salaries.
-
Prime rate reduced from 6-æ percent to 6-½ percent.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
January 21: 9-¾ percent
January 31: 9 percent
February 6: 8-¾ percent
February 19: 8-½ percent
March 3: 8-¼ percent
March 8: 8 percent -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-