Come on, Steve, by the time Reagan renominated Volcker, interest rates were coming down, oil prices were coming down and (geez, what a surprise!) the economy was on the mend.
It took guts for Carter to nominate Volcker in the first place. That was in 1979. Carter was up for reelection the next year. He knew Volcker was going to raise rates dramatically, and that that would be a severe headwind for his reelection. That took courage and, especially, integrity. The integrity to do what was right for the country even if it plausibly meant losing the election.
Your memories of those years may be worse than others here because you were in Washington, and at that time, when Boeing sneezed Washington got the flu. Or worse. Boeing had some hard times back then. And of course there was Whoops, which was indeed hurt by the rates that Volcker pushed on the country. You are giving Reagan way too much credit when you "To suggest that Volcker could have carried this off without the help and consent of Reagan is nuts!" Way way too much credit. Reagan had nothing to do with what Volcker was doing. Zero. He was independent, as he proved when he was raising rates during the 1980 election.
Do you give Obama any credit for getting us out of the Bush mess - or does that credit all go to Bernanke?
I don't know how much credit I give Obama. Some, yes. But I find a lot to criticize too. No one of any consequence went to jail. Derivatives can still be traded on private, hidden markets. He has been too cozy with the Big Banks, and those were the guys who got us in this mess--but their top executives weren't even fined as individuals! And the truth is, we still aren't really out of "the Bush mess." We have a long way to go. |
