The economy under Jimmy Carter experienced inflation and unemployment that were both in the double digits as the result of an oil price shock that began when Iranian oil workers went on strike.
When Jimmy Carter took office in 1977, the US economy was still recovering from the severe 1973-75 recession. However, it was doing so at a fast pace. The period of 1977-78 saw the creation of a million net new jobs and real median household income growth by 5%.
The 1970s were bookended by oil shocks that brought soaring prices for gasoline. Meat prices also spiked. On the popular sitcom All In The Family, Archie Bunker was reduced to eating meatless spaghetti.
Ultimately, it took a crackdown by cigar-chomping Fed chairman Paul Volcker to break the cycle of rising prices and wages. Volcker slammed the brakes on the economy by raising interest rates to 20% , tough medicine to prove he was serious about getting inflation under control.
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