1970-somethin'
In the Spring and Summer of 1979, Gloria Gaynor's effusive anthem "I Will Survive" scorched airwaves and 8-tracks.
But America wasn't hopeful.
Jimmy Carter at a May 1979 address (Getty images)
Demoralized by a decade of political and economic turmoil and still sunk in the rut of what economists dyspeptically termed "stagflation," the nation suffered from a "crisis of confidence," then-President Jimmy Carter memorably said.
Fast-forward 29-years.
The Sun will publish a sprawling economic/history piece in Sunday's paper chronicling the similarities and differences between our political economy today and the one of the late 1970s ...
click below for more excerpts and some incredible statistics ....
Key numbers: Unemployment nationwide:
1979 (year-ending) 6.0 percent.
2008 (May 1) 5.5 percent.
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Inflation rate:
1979 - 11.2 percent
2008 (May 1) 4.2 percent
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Median income 1979, source
1979 $16,461. inflation-adjusted to 2006 levels: $42,606
Median income 2006 $48,201
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Gasoline prices (california)
average yearly price 1979 $0.90 (inflation adjusted: $2.16)
June 25 2008: $4.60
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While it's not there yet - the nation's economy is not even officially gripped in recession, according to federal GDP data - no one can discount the threat posed by persistently high oil prices.
The United States stands the risk of entering a period of "stagflation," like the late 1970s and early 1980s, characterized by the curious pairing of a bogged economy and torrid price gains.
Much like in 1979 - and the early 1970s as well - dizzying jumps in oil and gasoline prices helped crash consumer confidence, pinch pocketbooks and boost prices of foods and other consumer goods.
In 1979, inflation roared in the double-digits (although it would get worse before it got better, pumping up through the late 1980s) and gas prices spiked nearly 50 percent over the 1978 average.
The pumps got crimped by both the building Iranian Revolution - which slowed Iranian output to a trickle - and a maze of regulations intended to control price.
About SB Now Blog
Andrew Edwards. E-mail Andrew here.
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