Remember when The New York Times attempted to spin the 1970s stagflation crisis in order to protect former President Jimmy Carter’s political image before the 1980 elections? MRC Business does.
The newspaper published a 1979 propaganda piece erroneously headlined, “The 70's: America Learns To Expect a Little Less,” The piece tried to paint lipstick on the pig of an economic disaster that Carter oversaw.
Carter’s policies resulted in stagnant growth and a ridiculous annual inflation rate of 11.3 percent in 1979.
"[D]espite the prospects of a recession next year, the economic reality is perhaps better than the psychology. Inflation in terms of what people actually spend is not so bad as the Consumer Price Index suggests,” Lee said. [Emphasis added.]
The author, who appears to be the late Times business and financial news editor John M. Lee, whitewashed the dangerous economic situation Americans were facing at the time: “The rate of price increase throughout the economy (the gross national product deflator) is less than at this time last year.”