Recent price increases in the US, and demands for a forceful response by the Federal Reserve, have brought back memories of the 1970s and all of the economic and political disasters of those years. To avoid repeating past mistakes, policymakers must recognize that today’s inflation is not a macroeconomic issue.
AUSTIN – The headline chosen for Harvard economist Jason Furman’s November 15 commentary in the Wall Street Journal was both apt and sad. It was apt, because it repurposed then-President Gerald Ford’s “Whip Inflation Now” slogan from 1974, and sad because Furman’s advice comes straight from that era – and because his prescriptions could reprise the economic and political disasters of those years.
AUSTIN – The headline chosen for Harvard economist Jason Furman’s November 15 commentary in the Wall Street Journal was both apt and sad. It was apt, because it repurposed then-President Gerald Ford’s “Whip Inflation Now” slogan from 1974, and sad because Furman’s advice comes straight from that era – and because his prescriptions could reprise the economic and political disasters of those years.