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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ish who wrote (117781)	6/2/2005 5:57:14 PM
From: michael97123	Respond to of 793983

Nixon was a great man but he had flaws and demons that got the better of him. The whole episode was certainly not necessary for any president but certainly not for one who won 49 states.

To: Ish who wrote (117781)	6/2/2005 6:46:39 PM
From: miraje	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793983

Nixon was a great man He did make mistakes other than Watergate. I remember this one in particular. prentiss-smith.com ...The clearest example of an election driven policy backfiring in subsequent years was Richard Nixon’s decision to impose wage and price controls. Richard Nixon assumed the presidency at the end of the go-go sixties, an era of tremendous technological advancements and a booming stock market. The stock market and economy started falling soon after he took over as president. By 1971 he was faced with unemployment of five percent and inflation of five percent, terrible numbers at the time. Nixon felt that a weak economy in 1960 had contributed to his defeat by John F. Kennedy, and he was worried that a troubled economy would cost him again in 1972. Looking for a way to juice the economy without increasing inflation, he settled on the idea of wage and price controls combined with government stimulus. This was a shocking proposal, as wage and price controls had last been used in the WWII era and Nixon had vehemently opposed them. Wage and price controls are generally considered to be a last resort economic policy, because they interfere with the function of the free market and typically create a huge spike in inflation when removed. Obviously, President Nixon believed that the success of his re-election drive in 1972 called for unusual measures. Wage and price controls became law in August of 1971, one year before the election. The economy advanced in 1972 without an increase in inflation, the stock market gained 17 percent, and Nixon was re-elected in a landslide. By 1973-74 the economic wheels were coming off, the wage and price controls were relaxed, inflation accelerated, the economy went into a deep recession, and the stock market collapsed. While Nixon resigned over Watergate, the disastrous state of the economy in 1974 did not help his standing with the public...