4 ms·

President Carter solved inflation, and it cost him the election, and President Reagan got the credit. Carter appointed Paul Volcker, an inflation hawk, as Fed c

President Carter solved inflation, and it cost him the election, and President Reagan got the credit. Carter appointed Paul Volcker, an inflation hawk, as Fed chair in 1979. Volcker solved inflation by raising interest rates, causing two recessions, one of which was during Carter's re-election year. Reagan kept Volcker on for a short time before firing him, but Volcker got the job done, so it was President Carter that took inflation seriously and solved it with his hawkish Fed chair appointment. President Reagan gets credit for a booming economy, but it was President Carter that was responsible for that through massive deregulation. Reagan is thought of as a deregulator, but he only had two deregulations, one of which was Savings and Loan, which massively contributed to the 2008 mortgage crisis. Conservatives think back to the good old days of Reagan's two terms, but Reagan, seriously, didn't do shit, and everything everyone loves about that decade was solely due to the policies and decisions and sacrifices of President Carter. The man absolutely is a saint, and if there is any US President that could validly be canonized, it is him.

Der_Einzige 4y ago
FDR first (and the first lady) then Carter re: canonization.
- Maursault 4y ago
  I can't think of any miracles performed by FDR. Carter got Israel to return land to Egypt with the Camp David Accords, which is nuts when you think about it, created the Department of Education, and solved inflation. Running a successful Presidential campaign on peanuts with the Religious Right behind him could be one also, and I'm sure there are more with his nuclear military career, but three will suffice. And not for nothing, his initials are JC, so maybe canonization isn't quite good enough. If Gabriel ever retires, then perhaps Left Hand of God if it becomes available. Actually there may be some room, as both Jesus and Michael sit on the Right.
lambdasquirrel 4y ago
Pretty much this. If there was ever a fundamental flaw of democratically-based systems, it's that people need to stop electing their leaders on the basis of how the economy is doing right now, at this moment.
starkd 4y ago
This is not accurate. When Carter appointed Volcker, inflation was a dire problem, having reached upwards of 20%. He hiked the fed fund rates in full point increments, provoking howls of protest because it sent the economy into a full recession. But it took over a decade for inflation to come down to near zero range. (That's where the term stagflation comes from. There was zero GDP but high inflation.) Volcker could very easily have succumbed to the pressure and reversed course, but he did not. Reagan refused to criticize him, because there was general agreement that high inflation was just not tenable. It is the cruelest tax because it affects the low-income the most. President Carter did not solve inflation. He appointed Vocker towards the end of his term, and it was not the priority it should have been throughout his term. Inflation had been festering since the Nixon administration. Nixon confronted the problem with his disastrous use of price controls. Gerald Ford tried combatting it with his WIN (Whip Inflation Now) campaign. By the time Volcker was appointed, he was able to hike rates because he was given the political space to do so. But he had to endure a lot of nasty criticism at the time.
- Maursault 4y ago
  > President Carter did not solve inflation. He appointed Vocker towards the end of his term, and it was not the priority it should have been throughout his term. This statement is self-contradictory. President Carter solved inflation by appointing Volcker. Period. He sacrificed the his presidency to do it, thus he took it seriously. No president gets anything done in during their first term, but President Carter's decisions not only solved inflation, it turned the economy around.
  - starkd 4y ago
    Way to pull out one sentence while ignoring the rest of the comment. Inflation had been a problem long before Carter. Neither Nixon (with his disastrous price controls) nor Ford (with his WIN campaign) was able to solve it. Volcker was appointed in 1979 to the end of Carter's term. He encountered fierce resistance when he jacked up rates the way he did (in full point incremenents), because the economy tanked. He would not have been able to hold the coarse had he not been given the room to do so. It took a good decade before inflation reached anywhere near zero. It was not easy, because the fed fund rates is a coarse instrement to use to bring inflation. It's not a dial that can be dialed up and down. You are merely waving a tribalistic flag while ignoring the details.
starkd 4y ago
>> Reagan kept Volcker on for a short time before firing him That's not how it works. He was appointed with the approval of the senate. The president does not have the ability to fire the Federal Reserve chair.

Der_Einzige 4y ago

FDR first (and the first lady) then Carter re: canonization.

Maursault 4y ago
I can't think of any miracles performed by FDR. Carter got Israel to return land to Egypt with the Camp David Accords, which is nuts when you think about it, created the Department of Education, and solved inflation. Running a successful Presidential campaign on peanuts with the Religious Right behind him could be one also, and I'm sure there are more with his nuclear military career, but three will suffice. And not for nothing, his initials are JC, so maybe canonization isn't quite good enough. If Gabriel ever retires, then perhaps Left Hand of God if it becomes available. Actually there may be some room, as both Jesus and Michael sit on the Right.

lambdasquirrel 4y ago

Pretty much this. If there was ever a fundamental flaw of democratically-based systems, it's that people need to stop electing their leaders on the basis of how the economy is doing right now, at this moment.

starkd 4y ago

This is not accurate. When Carter appointed Volcker, inflation was a dire problem, having reached upwards of 20%. He hiked the fed fund rates in full point increments, provoking howls of protest because it sent the economy into a full recession. But it took over a decade for inflation to come down to near zero range. (That's where the term stagflation comes from. There was zero GDP but high inflation.) Volcker could very easily have succumbed to the pressure and reversed course, but he did not. Reagan refused to criticize him, because there was general agreement that high inflation was just not tenable. It is the cruelest tax because it affects the low-income the most. President Carter did not solve inflation. He appointed Vocker towards the end of his term, and it was not the priority it should have been throughout his term. Inflation had been festering since the Nixon administration. Nixon confronted the problem with his disastrous use of price controls. Gerald Ford tried combatting it with his WIN (Whip Inflation Now) campaign. By the time Volcker was appointed, he was able to hike rates because he was given the political space to do so. But he had to endure a lot of nasty criticism at the time.

Maursault 4y ago
> President Carter did not solve inflation. He appointed Vocker towards the end of his term, and it was not the priority it should have been throughout his term. This statement is self-contradictory. President Carter solved inflation by appointing Volcker. Period. He sacrificed the his presidency to do it, thus he took it seriously. No president gets anything done in during their first term, but President Carter's decisions not only solved inflation, it turned the economy around.
- starkd 4y ago
  Way to pull out one sentence while ignoring the rest of the comment. Inflation had been a problem long before Carter. Neither Nixon (with his disastrous price controls) nor Ford (with his WIN campaign) was able to solve it. Volcker was appointed in 1979 to the end of Carter's term. He encountered fierce resistance when he jacked up rates the way he did (in full point incremenents), because the economy tanked. He would not have been able to hold the coarse had he not been given the room to do so. It took a good decade before inflation reached anywhere near zero. It was not easy, because the fed fund rates is a coarse instrement to use to bring inflation. It's not a dial that can be dialed up and down. You are merely waving a tribalistic flag while ignoring the details.

starkd 4y ago

>> Reagan kept Volcker on for a short time before firing him That's not how it works. He was appointed with the approval of the senate. The president does not have the ability to fire the Federal Reserve chair.