Jimmy Carter crossed the century mark on Tuesday, celebrating his 100th birthday, something no other U.S. president has accomplished.
President Carter's term was marred by a number of domestic and international policy mistakes. Perhaps nothing was more significant than inflation. Inflation rose to the highest levels ever recorded in modern American history, and the problem did not go away until inflation spiked under the Biden-Harris administration.
Ironically, Carter owed his presidency to inflation. It was the biggest problem facing this country in 1976, according to a 1976 Gallup poll. Under Richard Nixon, under the weight of the Vietnam War and Lyndon Johnson's Great Society program, approval ratings rose to 12 percent by the end of 1974. By the 1976 election, it had fallen to 5 percent, but the public remained highly dissatisfied. With the rising cost of living. Going into the election, Mr. Carter enjoyed a 20-point advantage on inflation.
Inflation began to rise again in the early months of the Carter administration, rising relentlessly for the next four years, reaching 14.6 percent in 1980. Not surprisingly, inflation was still Americans' number one problem in 1980, according to a Gallup poll. But this time, Mr. Carter's advantage on this issue was reduced to zero. According to new york timesA /CBS News poll found that 40% of people cite inflation as their top concern, more than twice as many as the next runner-up, energy.
In his famous 1978 address to the nation, Mr. Carter outlined his anti-inflation plan. He argued that reducing the budget deficit was the key to curbing inflation, saying: “The government spends too much of what our country produces.”
This probably resonated with many voters. But Mr. Carter continued to argue against tax cuts, arguing that they would increase inflation.
Peter Suderman says: reason The magazine said of the 1980 debate between Reagan and Carter:
The question inevitably arose when Carter finally faced off against Reagan in a head-to-head debate in the days before the 1980 election. Mr. Carter was asked about the rise in the consumer price index during his tenure, which jumped from 4.8% in 1976 to more than 12% in 1980. “Can inflation actually be controlled?” the host wondered.
Mr. Carter deflected, blaming OPEC for raising oil prices and defending a lackluster economy because “this recession was the shortest since World War II.” Additionally, job creation was strong, with 9 million new jobs, he said. He claimed that President Reagan's income tax cut plan could cause inflation to reach 30%. And subsequent research revisited the old idea that it was Americans' economic profligacy that was most responsible for rising prices. “We have asked Americans to sacrifice,” he said.
When President Reagan had the opportunity to answer the same question, he reversed President Carter's answer. “I think this idea that's been born in this country that inflation has somehow come upon us like an epidemic is that it's therefore out of control and no one can control it.” Something about that. “That's completely false,” he said. He cited President Carter's broken promises on the economy and criticized the president for trying to evade responsibility, noting that millions of Americans remain unemployed. According to President Reagan, President Carter said, “The blame for inflation is the people's fault, it's OPEC's fault, it's the Federal Reserve's fault, it's the American people's lack of productivity, and the American people are too rich. “We must share,” he said. Because there is scarcity, we have to make sacrifices and get used to doing with less. Inflation does not occur because people are living in such abundance. Inflation is happening because the government is living too richly. ”
Mr. Carter was the only elected president whose presidency was invalidated by inflation. But his longevity also allowed the second Democratic president, Joe Biden, to see him lose the trust of the American public due to inflation.
As inflation rises again in the minds of many Americans, Kamala Harris could become the heir to the legacy of political leaders ousted by falling currency values and rising costs of living.
