General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A lot of people here experienced the Good Old Days very differently than my family did, I guess [View all]Warpy
(111,442 posts)and obviously had no clue that 2-4% inflation is built into fiat money. They were desperate to fix a problem that existed because the US had gone off commodity based currency (gold and silver) in favor of a fiat currency that could allow the money supply to expand as the economy did, which means inflation. Their ignorance devastated the economy in the early and mid 70s as their idiotic policies stifled "unimportant" things like hiring.
Even Boston got shabby in the 70s, clobbered first by stupid Republican anti inflation policies, then by the OPEC oil shocks sending double digit inflation through the economy, inflation the usual cadre of oinkers in the press blamed on unions.
Your memories of the "good old days" just before Reagan are accurate. The bungling of the end of the New Deal period is what allowed Reagan to happen and the final nail put into the coffin of the working public.
What should be pointed out about the years of Nixonian stupidity is that the people who had jobs were able to live on what they paid, even if they were marginal workers getting minimum wage. While the shops and factories are open again, too many of the people working in them now are not able to survive long term on what they make.